dimity_blue | Reading

I started out yesterday morning with a headache, but it eased off somewhat for most of the day. Unfortunately, it came back quite badly in the evening and I was forced to take a couple of tylenol. I think it was caused by tiredness, and when I went to bed I fell asleep fairly quickly. To my disappointment, after about an hour I woke up and couldn't get back to sleep for a long time, so I'm still tired today although I don't have a headache. However, I decided to take it easy today. I could have gone for a walk because it's fine and almost sunny although colder than yesterday, but I used the rebounder for half an hour and called that enough.

Now that I'm motivated to crochet again, I ordered enough yarn for a throw blanket and have started making lacy granny squares for it. I found some acrylic yarn online which is lovely and soft and feels good to work with, and I've already completed one square while watching a show. I always feel vaguely guilty if I watch shows without working on a knitting or crochet project at the same time.

anais_pf posting in

thefridayfive

These questions were written by

destined_dreams.

1. What type of hair do you have? (Thin, Normal, Thick, Frizzy, etc.)

2. What color is your hair currently?

3. What colors have you dyed/highlighted your hair?

4. If you could dye your hair any color, what would it be?

5. What is your hair's length?

Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.

If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!

maju

It's much warmer today - about 6C/43F - so I actually left the house! It felt good to be outside, and I was pleased to find that although there was plenty of snow piled up alongside all the roads and paths, there was hardly any ice where I was walking. We are supposed to be inundated with snow on Sunday (along with a lot of the rest of the country) so I'm afraid there will be fresh snow on top of ice after the partial thaw today and possibly tomorrow.

maju

A while ago my daughter told me about an upcoming show called "Riot Women" about a bunch of menopausal/post menopausal women who start a rock band in order to compete in a talent show. At the time I couldn't find it available anywhere to stream in the US so I kind of gave up on being able to see it. However, this morning I opened up Britbox for the first time in a while and there it was as a recently acquired show. I've started watching the first episode and it has gripped me. Unfortunately it seems that there are only 6 episodes.

maju

I've decided to keep using H&R Block for my taxes for the sake of continuity and so as not to have to transfer all my information to someone else. I have a new tax preparer (someone who also lives in Connecticut) but presumably he will have access to my previous years' returns. Anyway, I have uploaded the two income statements I already have, but I'm waiting for two or three more. My Social Security statement won't be available until the end of January and my Schwab statement won't be available until the end of February, which is annoying, but it's still well before the middle of April, and I should have another one from my inherited life insurance policy but I have no idea when that will be available. 2025 was relatively uncomplicated financially compared to 2024, but 2026 might be complicated by the sale of my house in Maryland. However, I don't have to think about that right now. (I'll be very happy when it does sell and I don't have to keep paying the utilities though.)

I've decided to start making my egg muffin things for lunches again. I've mostly been eating dinner leftovers for lunch since I've been here, which is fine, but I would like to not have to rely on leftovers always being available. My daughter tells me that Aria is very anxious to help me (mainly by beating the eggs I guess) so I'm planning to make them on Saturday morning. She keeps asking her mother when I'm going to make them, but her mother is not going to tell her until she wakes up on Saturday morning because otherwise, to quote her mother, she will probably be down in the basement in my bed prying my eyes open at 4:30 am on Saturday and telling me it's time to cook.

deird1

I've got a few more drabbles, to match the ones I did earlier.

( seven new drabbles )

thisbluespirit

Hello, I am still recovering, etc. Quite nicely as these things go, but still not up to doing all my usual little things.

Anyway, thought of something fannish and fun I could do if anyone wanted it - I made a personalised bingo card for

theseatheseatheopensea once, which was fun, and I do always love doing that kind of thing. So...

... if anyone else would find a custom-made bingo card (for writing/creating prompts) fun/useful/inspiring, comment here and I will have a go at making you one!

(I'll use the Bingo Generator, so it's very easy, and if I fail and include some rubbish prompts, a new card without such prompts can magically be re-generated with no trouble. Will do any size from 2x2 to 5x5.)

So just comment here if you'd like one & say what size card you'd prefer. You can also point me to/away from any fandoms/prompt types etc if you'd like, but no need. (If I'm really stuck for some reason, I'll just ask you for some pointers!)

maju

Violet has had a resurgence of interest in knitting and it seems she practiced enough in my absence to now have a good grasp of the mechanics of the knit stitch. She has had to start a new project, because the one she started some time ago accidentally went through the wash and ended up extremely felted. It was a rather fuzzy yarn and hard to knit with, so I was happy to start her off with some smoother yarn that she had chosen for herself at Michael's (I think) and hadn't used yet. So far the little practice piece she is working on has no holes and no extra stitches and is looking good.

There has been a lot of activity in the basement over the last few days. My son in law decided to move his piano away from the part of the basement where I sleep, but his chosen spot (and really the only other place in the house as it's currently set up where there is room for a piano) was just a tiny bit too narrow for the piano. He worked out that if he took the quarter round molding off the parts of the wall on each side of the space the piano would just fit, so he did that this morning but then discovered that the one convenient power point is behind a large shoe rack that's right beside the piano, and there isn't enough clearance to insert a power cable (making the power point very not-convenient). There are at least three double power points in the part of the basement where I sleep, but only the one at the other end where the piano now is, because it's set up as a storage area. There is, however, a power point halfway along the hallway between the two areas, so I'm thinking my son in law will have to run a long extension cord from there to the piano.

While he was thinking about the piano placement, he and my daughter also decided that maybe they could reposition the corner couch that's near my bed, and put it over where the piano used to be. Unfortunately they didn't ask my opinion first (I was upstairs doing something else while this was going on) and when I saw the new layout I didn't really like it, so they ended up moving the couch back.

goodbyebird posting in

fandom_icons

01-12 the x-files s1

H E R E

01-04 stranger things
05-08 good trouble
09-15 wheel of time
16-16 babylon 5
17-25 comics
26-28 pluribus
29-41 interview with the vampire

H E R E

maju

I had a very short night last night; I had some slightly painful gas when I went to bed which kept me awake for a while, then when it stopped being painful I couldn't get to sleep so I eventually got up and read for a while. I don't think I went to sleep until well after midnight. No doubt I'll sleep better tonight.

I finally got some motivation to pick up the granny square I started some weeks ago, and it's now almost finished. The multicoloured blanket I was making squares for before I moved is currently in storage, so this will be a new project. I'm using a yarn I've used before for knitting scarves; I like it because it's part wool and part synthetic and is soft and also washable. Unfortunately it only comes in a few colours but I'm thinking of using just two for the blanket anyway, either dark green and dark purple or dark green and burgundy.

duskpeterson

So famed is the Empire of Emor for its law system that many foreigners do not realize that Emor holds accomplishments in other arts. Foremost among these arts is medicine.

Until the practice of medical training was formalized in Emor, the knowledge of how to heal was informally passed on by peninsularean men and women who received no special training. Despite these drawbacks, some of the healers were quite good; Koretia's healing women deserve special mention. But the creation of the Medical Academy during the period of the Middle Charas caused knowledge of healing to leap forward immensely. These days, many a healing woman, priest, or bard will travel north to spend time in the Medical Academy, learning valuable lessons.

The Physicians' Quarters next door were created after the Medical Academy, as a place to allow students to work under experienced doctors. The Physicians' Quarters cares for city residents and a select number of soldiers who are undergoing lengthy convalescence.

Because of the doctors' important work, visitors may find it difficult to obtain entrance to either the Quarters or the Academy. I've found that dropping a rock on my foot does the trick.

[Translator's note: The protagonist of Death Mask begins his journey at the Physicians' Quarters.]

chez_jae

Sugar and Spite (Witch City Mystery, #15)

Sugar and Spite by Carol J. Perry

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

View all my reviews

I have today off, so I stayed up late to finish reading Sugar and Spite by Carol J Perry. It’s the 15th book in her “Witch City” mystery series featuring TV reporter, Lee Barrett Mondello.

With Halloween approaching, Lee is tasked with doing a series on local candy shops in Salem. Considering she’s eight months pregnant, she welcomes the easy nature of her assignment, although Lee sometimes finds herself missing the more serious investigative reporting she used to do. While touring Casa de Chocolatte, Lee stumbles upon the dead body of the owner’s ex-husband, Bernie Bingham. Shop owner Shirley Parker had divorced Bernie years ago, but she was still making palimony payments to him. The police naturally focus on Shirley. Lee, however, learns that Bernie had crossed plenty of shady characters in Salem. She tries to focus on her own assignments, but Lee keeps getting drawn back into the drama. She notices that both Shirley and her adult son, Hugh, seem to show up wherever she goes. Lee’s husband, Pete, becomes aggravated and even more protective, as does their cat, O’Ryan. Lee can’t wait for this case to be solved so she can concentrate on motherhood.

I enjoyed the first 70% of this story. Characters were real and relatable, the plot was fast-paced and exciting, and Bernie’s murder was truly confounding. Late in the book, however, things went completely off the rails. The author dropped her fudge, and the editor failed to clean it up.

( Spoilers and Bitching )

Since all of that ‘What-the-F*ckery’ happened late in the book, it gave the impression that the author had tired of it and was just trying to wrap things up quickly. It was sloppy. Even the resolution of the murder was just handed to them when one character came to the police to throw another under the bus, bringing the receipts along to prove it. It was disappointing. Another thing I found disappointing was the lack of the trademark paranormal element. Lee’s pregnancy seemed to have curtailed her ability to see visions in reflective surfaces. The author didn’t indicate this is the last book in the series, but with the way the final chapter ended, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Favorite lines:
♦ “The trailer says there’s a crazy cat lady in it.” We’re everywhere! Muahaha!
♦ “Cats are all kinds of magical, aren’t they?”

I truly enjoyed most of the book until it went tits up at the end. For that reason, it gets an average score of three, and I believe that’s being lenient.

Current Mood: annoyed
Current Music: "On Sacred Ground" ~ Yanni

maju

After two or three inches of snow yesterday, we had another two or three this morning. As a result, it's ethereally beautiful outside right now. I'm always disappointed when the snow either starts melting or rain washes it away and the snowy trees turn back into just bare trees again.

Eden was given a small knitting kit for Christmas: wool, needles, and instructions to knit a stuffed tea cup. (It's very cute and I'm tempted to make one for myself.) This morning she asked me to help her get started on it, which meant starting with teaching her the basics of knitting. The instructions included a section for those new to knitting, including how to cast on, but unfortunately they chose to teach the long tail method of casting on which even I have never mastered. There are so many easier methods which work perfectly well; I have no idea why someone would choose the most complicated for a beginner knitter. I cast on some stitches for Eden and then started teaching her how to do the knit stitch. She successfully completed two stitches and then declared she had to go and do something else - and never came back, even though she seemed very pleased with herself for the two stitches she had done.

author_by_night

Snowflake Challenge #9

Talk about your favorite tropes in media or transformative works. (Feel free to substitute in theme/motif/cliche if "trope" doesn't resonate with you.)

This list is a jumble of tropes and themes.

- Found Family, in both media and transformative works.

- AUs that play with how the changed context changes the characters and/or setting(s) in turn.

- Likewise, Body Swaps - both fic and in the media - that really show how the swapped characters learn about each other.

- I don't know what the term for this trope or motif is, but basically a HUGE number of fics that explore a major canon event, whether something only alluded to in backstory, or an extension of a canon event. It's basically a trope exclusive TO that fandom, since it's that specific canon event or backstory people keep writing about.

Two forms this can take are AUs (as previously mentioned) and fix-its (which I also love).

- I don't think there's a trope name for this, but I appreciate storylines where conflict isn't about miscommunications, but instead the simple fact that one conversation can't resolve the issue. I enjoy the complexity.

- Don't think there's a name for this either, but I've appreciated the rise in supportive female exes and former love interests (sometimes one-sided) in M/M fiction. Thinking specifically of Our Flag Means Death, Schitt's Creek, Heartstopper and Heated Rivalry.

maju

My daughter and the girls have gone to visit a friend who lives an hour or so away, west of us and therefore closer to NYC. Just as they were leaving it started to snow lightly and as time passes the snow is getting heavier. Presumably the snow ploughs will be out and they won't have any trouble getting home again.

Yesterday I actually sat down and started getting the edge pieces of the puzzle in place, and I'm going to work on the puzzle some more this afternoon while it's quiet. My motivation for getting started was that my youngest daughter gave me this puzzle for Christmas and I don't want her thinking I'm not going to do it.

magnavox_23 posting in

fandom_icons

68 icons from Good Omens, Our Flag Means Death, Doctor Who, Xena: Warrior Princess, Reservation Dogs, Star Trek TOS, Heated Rivalry, Hazbin Hotel, Hellava Boss, What We Do In The Shadows + misc actors

Check our the rest here. <3

bill_schubert

Beaux just takes a good picture.

maju

I keep starting things and then not continuing with them. A couple of weeks ago I started a new crochet granny square; I did about three rounds and haven't picked it up again. Yesterday evening while Eden was down in the basement with me watching something on my phone I opened one of the puzzles I was given for Christmas and sorted out most of the edge pieces into a small plastic container, but I haven't yet been motivated to get out my puzzle mat and actually try to put those pieces into position. I'm a bit hesitant to work on the puzzle when the girls are around because I can see Aria thinking it's funny to play with the pieces and to throw them around just for fun (or just to be deliberately annoying), so when I do work on it, it will have to be during school hours. I used to have visions of the girls helping me with puzzles when I was visualising what it would be like living in an apartment at their house, but I'm not sure that's a realistic vision right now.

It was -7C/19F first thing this morning and I decided that today would be a day to stay inside. I'm glad I've got the rebounder for days like this.

fabiadrake posting in

historium

Hello, this is a little mass-post of some historical(-adjacent) fics I’ve written previously (barring Band of Brothers, which for some reason has caused me to write more stories than I usually would per fandom and so would make this post too long). At present I’ve restricted access on AO3 but not DW; either of those could change.

I am too lazy to cross-post these to any fandom-specific comms today, so advance apologies if I eventually muster the stamina to do so and you see them again sometime.

Creator: bluewoodensea
Title: The Autumn Leaves
Fandom: Hornblower
Rating: T
Word count: 2k
Pairings: Horatio/Clayton
Notes/Warnings: Angst, grief, death; contains spoilers
Link: AO3 / DW

Creator: bluewoodensea
Title: Meerüberrauscht
Fandom: 1899
Rating: M
Word count: 6k
Pairings: Eyk/Sebastian
Notes/Warnings: Alcoholism, bereavement; contains spoilers
Summary: Non-linear relationship study, partially real memories (unshared) and partially false memories (shared)
Link: AO3 / DW

Creator: bluewoodensea
Title: The Book; His Reader
Fandom: Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
Rating: M
Word count: 4k
Pairings: Childermass/Vinculus
Notes/Warnings: Spoilers
Summary: Post-novel; Childermass and Vinculus leave York
Link: AO3 / DW

Creator: bluewoodensea
Title: All the World
Fandom: The Forsyte Saga
Rating: G
Word count: 200
Characters: June Forsyte
Notes/Warnings: Mild spoilers
Summary: Just a short character study (in defence of June Forsyte’s happiness)
Link: AO3 / DW

Creator: bluewoodensea
Title: The Ways of Silence
Fandom: The Borgias
Rating: T
Word count: 600
Characters: Micheletto & the taxidermist
Notes/Warnings: (eg. spoilers, triggers; choose not to warn)
Summary: Why Micheletto Corella didn’t murder anyone this time
Link: AO3 / DW

Creator: bluewoodensea
Title: Poor Monster
Fandom: Twelfth Night
Rating: G
Word count: 400
Pairings: Viola/Olivia
Summary: I’ll be honest, it’s a post-canon fix-it
Link: AO3 / DW

anais_pf posting in

thefridayfive

These questions were written by

frieliegh.

1. If you could change one life-changing event in the life of someone important to you, would you?

2. Which do you think is easier to do, being friends for many years, or being life partners for many years?

3. Have you ever walked away from someone you considered a friend?

4. If you had to choose between telling the truth and hurting a friend or lying and making them happy, which would you choose?

5. Which would you rather hear--the truth which will hurt, or the comforting lie?

Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.

If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!

Clouds drifting by

May the fic be with you

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The Friday Five for 23 January 2026: Hair

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more urban fantasy

Personalised bingo card offer

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FIC: Physicians' Quarters and Medical Academy (Tempestuous Tours)

Book 7, 2026

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Multi Fandom Icons

Photogenic

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Six stories for six fandoms

The Friday Five for 16 January 2026

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