Xena Woofier Princess
Jun. 13th, 2026 11:16 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cosmolinguistTomorrow we're meeting a dog we night dogsit while her human is away in a couple weeks.
It's someone from queer club whose dogsitter fell through at the last minute. Xena the dog is a yorkie/jack russell/Brussels griffon mix, so a shaggy adorable little dog and we're assured she's cuddly and easy to look after.
I'm excited to meet her.
Review: Taste of Home Grand Prize Winners
Jun. 12th, 2026 11:20 pmysabetwordsmith posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
book_loveTaste of Home Grand Prize Winners
by Catherine Cassidy (Editor)
Today we finished our tenth cookbook of the year. The front matter includes a table of contents and information about contests. The recipe chapters are Appetizers; Salads, Sides & Such; Soups & Stews; Main Dishes (Beef, Poultry, Pork, Seafood & Meatless); Casseroles; Breads & Rolls; Breakfast & Brunch; Cookies, Bars & Candies; Cakes & Pies; and Just Desserts. There is also an index, divided into an ingredient section and an alphabetical list of titles.
( Read more... )
by Catherine Cassidy (Editor)
Today we finished our tenth cookbook of the year. The front matter includes a table of contents and information about contests. The recipe chapters are Appetizers; Salads, Sides & Such; Soups & Stews; Main Dishes (Beef, Poultry, Pork, Seafood & Meatless); Casseroles; Breads & Rolls; Breakfast & Brunch; Cookies, Bars & Candies; Cakes & Pies; and Just Desserts. There is also an index, divided into an ingredient section and an alphabetical list of titles.
( Read more... )
I Work Very Hard, And I Would Like To Try Cake
Jun. 14th, 2026 08:34 pmconulyWelp, I'm convinced. Let's get that hard-working horse some cake!
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( Read more... )
( Read more... )
saturday here, but otherwise a Friday Five
Jun. 13th, 2026 11:41 amtielan1. What is place you have visited, or want to visit, that starts with D?
Have visited Dubai, DC, and Derbyshire. Have never visited Denmark. Would have liked to visit Dare Es Salaam, but I suspect those days of that kind of travel are largely over.
2. What is a food that you like, or don't like, that starts with R?
Raspberries. Rhubarb. Radishes. All growing in my garden.
3. Own anything that starts with the letter M?
Mops, mats, mapbooks, maquettes (statuettes), mogs. :D
4. Know anyone whose name (first, middle, or last) that starts with N?
I know a Nick and a Nonie and a Nat.
5. Favorite movie, book, TV show, or song whose title starts with T?
Does The Winter Soldier count? Okay, let's go with a song by P!nk: Trustfall which is my first choice for karoake every time. I love the strong melody, combined with the words, and the way that you just belt it with your whole belly.
Have visited Dubai, DC, and Derbyshire. Have never visited Denmark. Would have liked to visit Dare Es Salaam, but I suspect those days of that kind of travel are largely over.
2. What is a food that you like, or don't like, that starts with R?
Raspberries. Rhubarb. Radishes. All growing in my garden.
3. Own anything that starts with the letter M?
Mops, mats, mapbooks, maquettes (statuettes), mogs. :D
4. Know anyone whose name (first, middle, or last) that starts with N?
I know a Nick and a Nonie and a Nat.
5. Favorite movie, book, TV show, or song whose title starts with T?
Does The Winter Soldier count? Okay, let's go with a song by P!nk: Trustfall which is my first choice for karoake every time. I love the strong melody, combined with the words, and the way that you just belt it with your whole belly.
hockey dropping like flies
Jun. 13th, 2026 09:38 amtielanOne out with a hamstring injury. Another with a cold. I'm still in recovery. Two more who can't be relied on.
It's gonna be a rough week.
I'm at the tail end of a racking cough (not RSV, not COVID, not Flu A/B), being managed with cold-and-flu ephenphedrine or whatever that stuff is called. Doc decided against antibiotics, which is a pity because antibiotics would have cleared this up fast, and instead I'm supposed to survive on about 3 hours of sleep a night because the other 3 hours I would get is taken up with racking coughs. Then again, I often reach for the antibiotics a bit faster than perhaps we should so...
I'm just hoping I haven't passed it on to anyone I've seen this week. UGH.
It's gonna be a rough week.
I'm at the tail end of a racking cough (not RSV, not COVID, not Flu A/B), being managed with cold-and-flu ephenphedrine or whatever that stuff is called. Doc decided against antibiotics, which is a pity because antibiotics would have cleared this up fast, and instead I'm supposed to survive on about 3 hours of sleep a night because the other 3 hours I would get is taken up with racking coughs. Then again, I often reach for the antibiotics a bit faster than perhaps we should so...
I'm just hoping I haven't passed it on to anyone I've seen this week. UGH.
Tortured Soul
Jun. 11th, 2026 09:26 pmcosmolinguistI never did get used to the noise that the extractor fan in the bathroom makes.
But the other day, something went wrong with it so now it makes the most horrible sound, a loud high-pitched squeal. The others started describing it as "like there's a tortured soul trapped there." It makes me laugh but it is true.
Both of them have forgotten and had the startling experience of turning on the light...often first thing in the morning, which seems extra unfair! (D really made himself jump with this when he got up early last Saturday morning, poor lad.) I haven't avoided it out of any skill or smarts of mine, it's just that I never turn on the light this time of year.
I said for a while that I should put some tape over the light switch to help remind us, stop this from happening. But I only got around to it early this afternoon. Which is lucky, because only then did I realize that our cleaner was about to come over, and he -- very naturally! -- turns on the lights in the rooms he's cleaning. And he actually starts with the upstairs bathroom, so I did it almost in the nick of time!
By the time he turned up, I was back at my computer but it's near the front door so I could hear V catching up with him -- how's your son, don't bother cleaning the cooker because I took it apart and scrubbed it last night... I didn't hear it all but got the gist -- and I said "and the light switch!" and they told him "oh! yeah" and the next phrase I clearly heard was "it sounds like a tortured soul..."
Support queer theater in India
Jun. 12th, 2026 12:43 pmbrainwaneMy friend Deepa, an artist in India, is crowdfunding for SatRangaM, India's biggest queer theatre festival. It's a very grassroots effort with no corporate sponsorship, and it needs more support to break even when they go on stage next week. They need about USD $10,500 total to showcase twelve performances, all written and directed/choreographed by queer artists, plus workshops & discussions.
https://chuffed.org/donate/183093-fund-satrangam-indias-biggest-queer-theatre-festival
Help celebrate Pride month in South Asia, and support more than fifteen queer artists from across the spectrum of gender identity and sexual orientation.
https://chuffed.org/donate/183093-fund-satrangam-indias-biggest-queer-theatre-festival
Help celebrate Pride month in South Asia, and support more than fifteen queer artists from across the spectrum of gender identity and sexual orientation.
Last week I mentioned the drying racks to my sister
Jun. 13th, 2026 11:08 amconulyand she said we still have them "because what if the dryer breaks" and I thought to myself "oh, yeah, that's gonna come back to haunt us" but I didn't say anything for fear of making it worse and today - the dryer broke!
*headdesk*
This is Jenn's fault. I will stand by that.
The first repair appointment I could make is next week, but that's okay, we won't have enough money until next week anyway.
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*headdesk*
This is Jenn's fault. I will stand by that.
The first repair appointment I could make is next week, but that's okay, we won't have enough money until next week anyway.
( Read more... )
Roller Party
Jun. 7th, 2026 12:44 pmdorchadasYesterday was Laila's birthday party, and ![[instagram.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/profile_icons/instagram.png)
sashagee had decided long ago that she was going to give Laila a roller skating party since Laila had been asking about roller skating for a while. The only problem is that there are no roller rinks at all on the north side, but she did manage to find one--Martin Luther King Jr. Entertainment Center on 76th street. So sashagee sent out invitations, a couple of her classmates responded (not as many as we were hoping for bit a few), and we drove out there with Papa and Nana at around 11:30 a.m.
Laila had a good time! She got to see her Uncletheshortlifeofaman--and, more importantly, get her plush Foxy back after Foxy spent a long time away on a world trip and a rejuvenating spa session (aka, we can't find the original plush but theshortlifeofaman found another one on sale somewhere)--and theshortlifeofaman's girlfriend omfg_its_chels, who's an atual roller derby girl and thus the most qualified of anyone to skate; hang out with a couple of her classmates; and skate! Laila didn't actually do that much skating, because this was literally the first time she had ever skated before, but she put on her roller skates and her Grandpa took her out with one of the pipe hand-hold frames that the center provided. She didn't do much skating, but she did more than one of her classmates (whose parents just could not convince him to get out on the rink). And now she's talking about how much she wants to go skating, and sashagee has her own skates so they can go skating together. In the summer there are some park districts that open family skating, including a couple right by my work. They could go skating and we could all go to lunch together.
We did get some sad news that one of Laila's classmates, whose birthday we went to a few months ago, isn't going to Laila's neighborhood school next year because they live outside the district and so they didn't get in--Chicago works basically like Japanese schools, where you can apply to go to any school in the district you want to. They're going to keep trying but they won't be classmates together next year.
( bonus pictures )
Final note: It's true that her birthday was almost a month ago but we had to wait until she got the all-clear after her surgery to perform physical activity, and then we had to have enough lead time
sashagee had decided long ago that she was going to give Laila a roller skating party since Laila had been asking about roller skating for a while. The only problem is that there are no roller rinks at all on the north side, but she did manage to find one--Martin Luther King Jr. Entertainment Center on 76th street. So sashagee sent out invitations, a couple of her classmates responded (not as many as we were hoping for bit a few), and we drove out there with Papa and Nana at around 11:30 a.m.Laila had a good time! She got to see her Uncle
theshortlifeofaman--and, more importantly, get her plush Foxy back after Foxy spent a long time away on a world trip and a rejuvenating spa session (aka, we can't find the original plush but theshortlifeofaman found another one on sale somewhere)--and theshortlifeofaman's girlfriend omfg_its_chels, who's an atual roller derby girl and thus the most qualified of anyone to skate; hang out with a couple of her classmates; and skate! Laila didn't actually do that much skating, because this was literally the first time she had ever skated before, but she put on her roller skates and her Grandpa took her out with one of the pipe hand-hold frames that the center provided. She didn't do much skating, but she did more than one of her classmates (whose parents just could not convince him to get out on the rink). And now she's talking about how much she wants to go skating, and sashagee has her own skates so they can go skating together. In the summer there are some park districts that open family skating, including a couple right by my work. They could go skating and we could all go to lunch together.We did get some sad news that one of Laila's classmates, whose birthday we went to a few months ago, isn't going to Laila's neighborhood school next year because they live outside the district and so they didn't get in--Chicago works basically like Japanese schools, where you can apply to go to any school in the district you want to. They're going to keep trying but they won't be classmates together next year.
( bonus pictures )
Final note: It's true that her birthday was almost a month ago but we had to wait until she got the all-clear after her surgery to perform physical activity, and then we had to have enough lead time
The Harbingers season finale was great
Jun. 10th, 2026 11:13 amconulyand you all should catch up on the entire season so you can listen to it when it comes out for real. There are transcripts.
Also, they gave out stickers, so now I have something to slap over the Nazi sticker that just appeared by the train station.
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( Read more... )
Also, they gave out stickers, so now I have something to slap over the Nazi sticker that just appeared by the train station.
( Read more... )
Atsui desu ne
Jun. 10th, 2026 10:17 amdorchadasFeels like 31°C at 7:30 a.m.
Feels like 38°C at 10:00 a.m.
There's supposed to be a thunderstorm later and then more thunderstorms tomorrow so we'll see if that brings the temperatures down, but we're also supposed to go to the farmer's market later. Oof.
Next Monday, forecasted temperature high is 19°C. That's the midwest!
Feels like 38°C at 10:00 a.m.
There's supposed to be a thunderstorm later and then more thunderstorms tomorrow so we'll see if that brings the temperatures down, but we're also supposed to go to the farmer's market later. Oof.
Next Monday, forecasted temperature high is 19°C. That's the midwest!
Insider baseball
Jun. 10th, 2026 12:32 pmcosmolinguistIt's probably not good that I'm now sad that Adrian Chiles doesn't know how much I would love to talk to him about baseball, is it.
He's *also| a fan of a low-budget team that no one wants to go see that isn't that good but weirdly kind of is sometimes!
(Being me, I had also noticed how weird it is that Brits use a lot of language from baseball without seeming to know why they say that.)
weekend away and the rest of life
Jun. 10th, 2026 04:29 pmtielanIt went well.
The host finally accepted the situation, we turned up, everything was fine, a great weekend was had. I'm so glad I did it.
Even if it was a bit stressful right before.
Also: I'm pretty sure I left the house with more food than I went into it with. Care of a pot of bolognaise that my friends made, and which turned out to be more than enough to feed 14 people (seven people, twice over - although, in all fairness, we weren't heaps hungry).
The house itself was pretty neat, albeit a little odd in design and layout. Apparently, it had originally been built around a courtyard in the centre of a three-wing house, and when they decided to extend the house, they roofed the courtyard, turning it into a dining/living space that looks in on the kitchen (which had a wall removed that it otherwise shared with the laundry.
We went to markets, antique shops, clothing shops, and a winery for lunch on Sunday. It was great, everyone got along, and there were enough extroverts and ambiverts to keep the conversation going!
--
And then I came home, and promptly acquired a sore throat, a cold, and a headache. I haven't tested for COVID yet. BLEH.
I do want a lot of sleep lately, though. And the house is cold. It's always cold here in winter and we don't realise just how bad it is until it's winter. BRR.
--
Otherwise, I am quite firmly getting into Avatar: The Last Airbender but just the original series, not the comics, the sequel about the Gaang, or the one about Korra. And mostly just reading the fic. Which is kind of fun.
I am also plotting fic. Because this is me.
One of them is a Black Jewels fusion. Because this is ALSO me.
How many of them will get written and finished? Probably none of them. Because, yes, me again.
The host finally accepted the situation, we turned up, everything was fine, a great weekend was had. I'm so glad I did it.
Even if it was a bit stressful right before.
Also: I'm pretty sure I left the house with more food than I went into it with. Care of a pot of bolognaise that my friends made, and which turned out to be more than enough to feed 14 people (seven people, twice over - although, in all fairness, we weren't heaps hungry).
The house itself was pretty neat, albeit a little odd in design and layout. Apparently, it had originally been built around a courtyard in the centre of a three-wing house, and when they decided to extend the house, they roofed the courtyard, turning it into a dining/living space that looks in on the kitchen (which had a wall removed that it otherwise shared with the laundry.
We went to markets, antique shops, clothing shops, and a winery for lunch on Sunday. It was great, everyone got along, and there were enough extroverts and ambiverts to keep the conversation going!
--
And then I came home, and promptly acquired a sore throat, a cold, and a headache. I haven't tested for COVID yet. BLEH.
I do want a lot of sleep lately, though. And the house is cold. It's always cold here in winter and we don't realise just how bad it is until it's winter. BRR.
--
Otherwise, I am quite firmly getting into Avatar: The Last Airbender but just the original series, not the comics, the sequel about the Gaang, or the one about Korra. And mostly just reading the fic. Which is kind of fun.
I am also plotting fic. Because this is me.
One of them is a Black Jewels fusion. Because this is ALSO me.
How many of them will get written and finished? Probably none of them. Because, yes, me again.
Another work lunch hit
Jun. 9th, 2026 01:07 pmdorchadasLast night as I was prepping my breakfast for the next morning--getting the rice in the rice cooker to sit overnight, cooking the salmon, etc--I realized that I couldn't do my normal salad for lunch since we didn't have any lettuce or spinach or anything, since sashagee used it all last week to make a giant dinner salad to stop it the CSA greens from going bad like they had the previous year. So I opened up the work food app to check what the pop-up restaurant was going to be the next day to see if it was worth just ordering that, and I was happily surprised to see Teranga was listed. Terangais a Senegalese restaurant that's up by where we live and I've been meaning to go for a while, so this was the perfect opportunity.
Tilapia filet with peppers and onions, with a bit of spicy sauce, jollof rice, and an extra--fried plantains, which I hadn't originally ordered but when I got up there the guy told me that I got to pick and extra side. I mentioned that I lived nearby the actual restaurant and I'm glad they were there so I could try it, he gave me some spicy sauce, and it took it back to the AMA part of the building to eat.
It was delicious. The sides were actually the best part--the fried tilapia was tilapia, and as the culinary advice I've seen goes, tilapia "takes on the flavors of what it's served with" meaning it's tasteless. The spicy sauce helped a lot with that, though it was pretty spicy with a slow-heat spice. The jollof rice was flavorful and a bit spicy itself. I did notice that the Teranga menu had a lot of fish on it, though, so I'd love to try again at the actual restaurant. Definitely going again if they come back.
Did some training of a new employee today. We're working on a specific project that isn't really like the other projects--there's a lot of redundant data that we're just skipping past, so we had some time to chat. It turns out she watches anime...just only Solo Leveling and Kaijū No. 8. Not what I would have expected for a woman in her 30s. Solo Leveling has never interested me in the slightest but Kaijū No. 8 did look kind of neat. If only I had time to actually watch much of anything.
sashagee used it all last week to make a giant dinner salad to stop it the CSA greens from going bad like they had the previous year. So I opened up the work food app to check what the pop-up restaurant was going to be the next day to see if it was worth just ordering that, and I was happily surprised to see Teranga was listed. Terangais a Senegalese restaurant that's up by where we live and I've been meaning to go for a while, so this was the perfect opportunity. Tilapia filet with peppers and onions, with a bit of spicy sauce, jollof rice, and an extra--fried plantains, which I hadn't originally ordered but when I got up there the guy told me that I got to pick and extra side. I mentioned that I lived nearby the actual restaurant and I'm glad they were there so I could try it, he gave me some spicy sauce, and it took it back to the AMA part of the building to eat.
It was delicious. The sides were actually the best part--the fried tilapia was tilapia, and as the culinary advice I've seen goes, tilapia "takes on the flavors of what it's served with" meaning it's tasteless. The spicy sauce helped a lot with that, though it was pretty spicy with a slow-heat spice. The jollof rice was flavorful and a bit spicy itself. I did notice that the Teranga menu had a lot of fish on it, though, so I'd love to try again at the actual restaurant. Definitely going again if they come back.
Did some training of a new employee today. We're working on a specific project that isn't really like the other projects--there's a lot of redundant data that we're just skipping past, so we had some time to chat. It turns out she watches anime...just only Solo Leveling and Kaijū No. 8. Not what I would have expected for a woman in her 30s. Solo Leveling has never interested me in the slightest but Kaijū No. 8 did look kind of neat. If only I had time to actually watch much of anything.
My thoughts reading this fic:
Jun. 9th, 2026 04:42 pmconuly1. This author is clearly pretty young. Still, they won't be half-bad once they get a little more experience.
2. Wow, this author's note is unhinged
3. and long
4. and not apparently connected to anything omg
5. Oh, wait, she's in the 7th grade!? Well, now I definitely won't leave any sort of comment about whatever the hell that was!
6. Still, she's definitely a better writer than I thought if she's producing this at the age of 12. (The fic, not the author's note.)
2. Wow, this author's note is unhinged
3. and long
4. and not apparently connected to anything omg
5. Oh, wait, she's in the 7th grade!? Well, now I definitely won't leave any sort of comment about whatever the hell that was!
6. Still, she's definitely a better writer than I thought if she's producing this at the age of 12. (The fic, not the author's note.)
It just seems like a very funny pair, juxtaposed like this
Jun. 9th, 2026 09:37 pmcosmolinguistThings I wanted to get done today that I didn't do:
- write that review of the gender-affirming sex toy for a sex blog
- apply for that job