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Dept. of Ambivalence and Hope
Dec. 24th, 2025 10:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaffy_rChristmas Eve Thoughts
I'm sitting in the livingroom, listening to Kpop rather than Christmas music of either secular or Christian origin. I've been prepping for Christmas Day, when we'll entertain four friends, and the house is full of the smell of two types of dressing cooked tonight so that I don't run the risk of overcooking it in the same oven as the tiny turkey (10.5 pounds) I bought for our somewhat unexpected meal. Unexpected, because we hadn't planned to do Christmas at all; one of our friends texted to ask if we were doing Christmas, possibly because they remembered that I'd said I wanted to invite them to a post-Thanksgiving dinner, and I just texted back "Yep!" because they've been very good to us, and this was one way we could repay them.
We jumped into "Emergency Christmas" mode, and I've already completed the cranberry orange relish and the Green Slime (it's a 1950s/60s recipe I got from Bob's mom, and it's not a canonical Christmas for our friends unless this is part of the menu, lime jello, cream cheese, maraschino cherries and all.) Tomorrow morning I'll stuff the bird with some of the dressing that didn't get baked tonight; I'll bake the veggie side-dish Bob and I chose; I'll make the peach cobbler I decided on instead of pie because cobbler is much, much easier to make. Then it's on to sweeping and damp-mopping the diningroom before putting extra leaves in the table and setting the Christmas board.
Last year, we were both despondent about the federal election and, without having the kids and Harlan here to be Christmasy for, we spent the day in a bit of a funk. To put it mildly.
A year later, the despondency has lifted a bit, but we still hadn't thought about Christmas much. We had improved enough to buy gifts for our three closest friends, and their son, but we'd expected to share them on New Year's Eve. Instead, that text came, and the rest is recent history.
And tonight, I got a comment on my AO3-archived story, "It Was Wonderful," a fanfic based on "It's a Wonderful Life," which Bob, Andy, and I have loved for years. For several years on Christmas Eve, I've reshared the fic, which I originally posted on my LJ, then on Dreamwidth, and I eventually posted it on AO3, and was always tickled when I got the few kudos I did for it.
The comment was thoughtful and that would have been all I needed to read. But the person then asked if they could do a podfic. They were polite, said they'd understand if I didn't want them to do that because they'd still love the story. I checked them out and found that they a) weren't the type of scammers apparently infesting the archive these days (people pretending to be fans of stories, then working around to asking for money to "create fan art" for stories) and b) were experienced podficcers.
I told them I'd be honored. It's the first time anyone's done that for one of my pieces, and it seems like a lovely and unexpected Christmas gift.
I'm not much of a believer these days - not a Christian, certainly, although my experience with Christianity growing up in a house filled with love was very good, and that experience colored the way I approach spirituality. But as Bob has often said, and I believe him, some stories are true even if they never happened. The story of a child born in a stable and placed in a manger for warmth, a child who angels sang to sleep, who shepherds approached quietly after having heard the lullabies, a child who was a hope of peace ... well, that's not a bad story to happen, even if it never did.
And then there's "It's a Wonderful Life," and "It Was Wonderful." You can find the latter at the link, should you like to read it, either the first time or perhaps for another time.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. Peace be unto all, even those who don't celebrate. I am lucky to know all of you.
I'm sitting in the livingroom, listening to Kpop rather than Christmas music of either secular or Christian origin. I've been prepping for Christmas Day, when we'll entertain four friends, and the house is full of the smell of two types of dressing cooked tonight so that I don't run the risk of overcooking it in the same oven as the tiny turkey (10.5 pounds) I bought for our somewhat unexpected meal. Unexpected, because we hadn't planned to do Christmas at all; one of our friends texted to ask if we were doing Christmas, possibly because they remembered that I'd said I wanted to invite them to a post-Thanksgiving dinner, and I just texted back "Yep!" because they've been very good to us, and this was one way we could repay them.
We jumped into "Emergency Christmas" mode, and I've already completed the cranberry orange relish and the Green Slime (it's a 1950s/60s recipe I got from Bob's mom, and it's not a canonical Christmas for our friends unless this is part of the menu, lime jello, cream cheese, maraschino cherries and all.) Tomorrow morning I'll stuff the bird with some of the dressing that didn't get baked tonight; I'll bake the veggie side-dish Bob and I chose; I'll make the peach cobbler I decided on instead of pie because cobbler is much, much easier to make. Then it's on to sweeping and damp-mopping the diningroom before putting extra leaves in the table and setting the Christmas board.
Last year, we were both despondent about the federal election and, without having the kids and Harlan here to be Christmasy for, we spent the day in a bit of a funk. To put it mildly.
A year later, the despondency has lifted a bit, but we still hadn't thought about Christmas much. We had improved enough to buy gifts for our three closest friends, and their son, but we'd expected to share them on New Year's Eve. Instead, that text came, and the rest is recent history.
And tonight, I got a comment on my AO3-archived story, "It Was Wonderful," a fanfic based on "It's a Wonderful Life," which Bob, Andy, and I have loved for years. For several years on Christmas Eve, I've reshared the fic, which I originally posted on my LJ, then on Dreamwidth, and I eventually posted it on AO3, and was always tickled when I got the few kudos I did for it.
The comment was thoughtful and that would have been all I needed to read. But the person then asked if they could do a podfic. They were polite, said they'd understand if I didn't want them to do that because they'd still love the story. I checked them out and found that they a) weren't the type of scammers apparently infesting the archive these days (people pretending to be fans of stories, then working around to asking for money to "create fan art" for stories) and b) were experienced podficcers.
I told them I'd be honored. It's the first time anyone's done that for one of my pieces, and it seems like a lovely and unexpected Christmas gift.
I'm not much of a believer these days - not a Christian, certainly, although my experience with Christianity growing up in a house filled with love was very good, and that experience colored the way I approach spirituality. But as Bob has often said, and I believe him, some stories are true even if they never happened. The story of a child born in a stable and placed in a manger for warmth, a child who angels sang to sleep, who shepherds approached quietly after having heard the lullabies, a child who was a hope of peace ... well, that's not a bad story to happen, even if it never did.
And then there's "It's a Wonderful Life," and "It Was Wonderful." You can find the latter at the link, should you like to read it, either the first time or perhaps for another time.
Merry Christmas to all who celebrate. Peace be unto all, even those who don't celebrate. I am lucky to know all of you.
And I turned 'round and there you go
Dec. 24th, 2025 09:47 pmviridian5I hope you guys have an idea that could help me. I've upgraded from the iPhone SE to 17--my SE was four years old, its battery was starting to suffer, and the screen had some cracks and dings that sometimes hurt my fingers--and the 17 is reacting weirdly to me syncing it into iTunes (on my PC laptop): it won't show recently played songs in iTunes since I started using the 17 and it randomly mixed up all the cover images of the songs on the phone. Is there a way to fix this? I've synced it four times tonight, and these things remain. (iTunes has all its recent updates.) My music is important to me!
+++
I'm testing out its camera. Yesterday was so dark and rainy that I could barely make out the details of this angel in person but the iPhone 17 rendered this.
I've shot this statue many times over many years in differing conditions and seasons and with different cameras, but I've never noticed the wing edges looking this sharp before. I also usually shoot this angel when it's completely or mostly dry, thus the color difference; the whiter the whole thing is, the drier it is. This angel has a fairly unusual look and design, which is why I keep going back to it.
My winter cemetery shots are most often about shapes and structure, since everything has been stripped bare, and that's certainly true here.
+++
I only sent out a few Christmas cards this year, mailing them the morning of the 24th. I think part of the delay came from me not getting any cards from anyone aside fromdine, so I didn't have many reminders. Nobody in my family sent me a card.
I ran out of tape completely halfway through wrapping the last present tonight! What are the odds?
+++
For seasons readings, I have a list of my Christmas-based fics here.
Happy holidays, folks!
+++
I'm testing out its camera. Yesterday was so dark and rainy that I could barely make out the details of this angel in person but the iPhone 17 rendered this. I've shot this statue many times over many years in differing conditions and seasons and with different cameras, but I've never noticed the wing edges looking this sharp before. I also usually shoot this angel when it's completely or mostly dry, thus the color difference; the whiter the whole thing is, the drier it is. This angel has a fairly unusual look and design, which is why I keep going back to it.
My winter cemetery shots are most often about shapes and structure, since everything has been stripped bare, and that's certainly true here.
+++
I only sent out a few Christmas cards this year, mailing them the morning of the 24th. I think part of the delay came from me not getting any cards from anyone aside from
dine, so I didn't have many reminders. Nobody in my family sent me a card.I ran out of tape completely halfway through wrapping the last present tonight! What are the odds?
+++
For seasons readings, I have a list of my Christmas-based fics here.
Happy holidays, folks!
Merry Christmas!
Dec. 24th, 2025 08:51 pmpaperghostDonations:
$10 to Wikipedia
$10 to Artfight
$15 to Furaffinity
£7 to Marapets
$10 to Sheezyart
$15 to Dreamwidth
I'll probably commission people after the holiday bustle.
$10 to Wikipedia
$10 to Artfight
$15 to Furaffinity
£7 to Marapets
$10 to Sheezyart
$15 to Dreamwidth
I'll probably commission people after the holiday bustle.
Seasons' Greetings 2025 (Gregorian)
Dec. 24th, 2025 09:52 pmdewlineI think that I've said this elsewhere: whatever you're celebrating or otherwise observing at this time of year, I hope that the Occasion(s) will be kind to you and yours.
Leaving it at that for tonight.
Leaving it at that for tonight.
shared without comment
Dec. 24th, 2025 08:41 pmsixbeforelunchWhat if there’s no ethical way to have unlimited access to every book, film, and record ever created? And moreover, what if that’s not something we should want?
What if we simply decided to consume less media, allowing us to have a deeper appreciation for the art we choose to spend our time with? What if, instead of having an on-demand consumer mindset that requires us to systematically strip art of all its human context, we developed better relationships with creators and built new structures to support them? What if we developed a politics of refusal — the ability to say enough is enough — and recognized that we aren’t powerless to the whims of rich tech CEOs who force this dystopian garbage down our throats while claiming it’s “inevitable?”
Tapes and other physical media aren’t a magic miracle cure for late-stage capitalism. But they can help us slow down and remember what makes us human. Tapes make music-listening into an intentional practice that encourages us to spend time connecting with the art, instead of frantically vibe-surfing for something that suits our mood from moment-to-moment. They reject the idea that the point of discovering and listening to music is finding the optimal collection of stimuli to produce good brain chemicals.
—Why I Quit Streaming And Got Back Into Cassettes by Janus Rose
Yuletide: My Present!
Dec. 24th, 2025 06:44 pmsenmutNew Skills (1668 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Manuel Garcia O'Kelly Davis, Sidris (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress), Mimi, Greg, Bernardo de la Paz
Additional Tags: Pre-Canon
Summary:
OMG OMG OMG, YES! This fic!
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Moon is a Harsh Mistress - Robert A. Heinlein
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Manuel Garcia O'Kelly Davis, Sidris (The Moon is a Harsh Mistress), Mimi, Greg, Bernardo de la Paz
Additional Tags: Pre-Canon
Summary:
Takes place just after Manny loses his arm
OMG OMG OMG, YES! This fic!
A Complete Mess
Dec. 24th, 2025 10:11 pmshadowhiveA Complete Mess
Pairing: Collie Parker/Gary Barkovitch, Billy Stebbins/Gary Barkovitch, mentions of others (and one unnamed man)
Rating: NC-17
Prompt: 101: Free use
Warnings: Free use, bukkake, Modern AU
Notes: Finally, after almost a year, I’ve finished an entry from the prompt table, woo! I started this in October and it would’ve been done sooner if it wasn’t for *gestures at all the issues in October/November* but finally it’s done, yay! It’s a modern au so you don’t need to know anything about The Long Walk (just that there’s hot men). Hopefully now I can actually write more! (And do lil gift fics next) title from 5 Seconds Of Summer.
( Read more... )
Pairing: Collie Parker/Gary Barkovitch, Billy Stebbins/Gary Barkovitch, mentions of others (and one unnamed man)
Rating: NC-17
Prompt: 101: Free use
Warnings: Free use, bukkake, Modern AU
Notes: Finally, after almost a year, I’ve finished an entry from the prompt table, woo! I started this in October and it would’ve been done sooner if it wasn’t for *gestures at all the issues in October/November* but finally it’s done, yay! It’s a modern au so you don’t need to know anything about The Long Walk (just that there’s hot men). Hopefully now I can actually write more! (And do lil gift fics next) title from 5 Seconds Of Summer.
( Read more... )
Yuletide Haul 2025
Dec. 24th, 2025 04:51 pmpetraGalavant:
Note the part where this is tagged as Original Music Composition! I GOT A GALAVANT SONG FOR YULETIDE!
There is a bug de-anonymizing the collection, so with any luck, my author will be willing to post more than the sheet music and save me from my current predicament of "I can sorta sight-read but not that well." I love the Madalena voice in this, so perfectly discontent with her amazing lot! and there's MUSIC!
Madalena's Ballad of Vast Success (1264 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Galavant (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Madalena (Galavant), Brief ensemble Galavant cast appearance
Additional Tags: Character Study, Inspired by the song What Am I Feeling (Galavant), Original music composition, Post-Canon
Summary:
Galavant 2:
The share button isn't working on Tad Cooper, a Life, which is an adorable summation of the life and times of Tad Cooper, as one can imagine from the title. I enjoyed the POV the author chose!
Slow Horses + Rivers of London:
My other Yuletide author took me up on my deep and soulful desire for Slow Horses + Rivers of London, and does great things with the interaction of law enforcement and Regent's Park, and the various characters. Spoilers for Diana Taverner's fate if you've only done the first book/show, but nothing that will surprise anyone. I love the way the mundane and magical intersect here:
The Spirit of Regent's Park (2370 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Slow Horses (TV), Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Thomas Nightingale, Diana Taverner, Jackson Lamb (Slow Horses), Emma Flyte, Molly Doran
Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Yuletide Treat, add some magic to your spy show
Summary:
*
What I wrote:
2 stories!
Spot either and I'll write you a drabble. One of them is so me it hurts and the other is less obviously so but still extremely Petra.
Note the part where this is tagged as Original Music Composition! I GOT A GALAVANT SONG FOR YULETIDE!
There is a bug de-anonymizing the collection, so with any luck, my author will be willing to post more than the sheet music and save me from my current predicament of "I can sorta sight-read but not that well." I love the Madalena voice in this, so perfectly discontent with her amazing lot! and there's MUSIC!
Madalena's Ballad of Vast Success (1264 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Galavant (TV)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Madalena (Galavant), Brief ensemble Galavant cast appearance
Additional Tags: Character Study, Inspired by the song What Am I Feeling (Galavant), Original music composition, Post-Canon
Summary:
Madalena stood on her balcony, in her castle perched high on a cliffside overlooking her vast and endless empire. "This is the best life has ever been. Everything I wanted is now mine... Yet sometimes it seems that there's something out there that eludes me, something I can neither buy nor take. But that's crazy! Who would dare deny me? Deceive or defy me? None at all! Well, almost none!"
Galavant 2:
The share button isn't working on Tad Cooper, a Life, which is an adorable summation of the life and times of Tad Cooper, as one can imagine from the title. I enjoyed the POV the author chose!
Slow Horses + Rivers of London:
My other Yuletide author took me up on my deep and soulful desire for Slow Horses + Rivers of London, and does great things with the interaction of law enforcement and Regent's Park, and the various characters. Spoilers for Diana Taverner's fate if you've only done the first book/show, but nothing that will surprise anyone. I love the way the mundane and magical intersect here:
The Spirit of Regent's Park (2370 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Slow Horses (TV), Rivers of London - Ben Aaronovitch
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Thomas Nightingale, Diana Taverner, Jackson Lamb (Slow Horses), Emma Flyte, Molly Doran
Additional Tags: Canon-Typical Violence, Crossovers & Fandom Fusions, Yuletide Treat, add some magic to your spy show
Summary:
Newly minted First Desk Diana Taverner visits the Folly to find out who this Thomas Nightingale fellow is, and learns a few things about London that are closer to home than she expects.
*
What I wrote:
2 stories!
Spot either and I'll write you a drabble. One of them is so me it hurts and the other is less obviously so but still extremely Petra.
hello, world!
Dec. 24th, 2025 03:09 pmthe_shoshannaMy low-key obsession with Heated Rivalry continues, and a local friend and I are planning to marathon the whole show on Boxing Day, whee! She will have already seen the final episode, because she is high-key obsessed and has been watching each one when it drops at midnight; I'm not that gonzo and will probably wait to watch it with her, thus also giving her the fun of watching me watch it. At least, I find that incredibly fun, so I hope she does too -- and I got to show dorinda the first two episodes a couple of days ago, which was wonderful!
Other than that, we're not doing much for the holidays. Geoff and I lit Hanukkah candles; he makes me actually light them, because it's traditionally the role of the woman of the house, and yeah that's very gendered but I mean so are we. And we both sing the blessing. We went to one sister's family Hanukkah meal, and are not going to the other sister's huge Christmas party; we're just going to have a quiet night in. And I'm roasting a duck, a thing I have done only once before!
(And then the next day I get AAAAAAAALL THE AMAZING TV, of course, and Geoff's on his own. He remains politely a- and be-mused at my hyperfocus.)
🇨🇦 "Canadian Economy Rallies as #1 Export Now Heated Rivalry" 🇨🇦
Oh, and we're having a couple of friends over for a NYE dinner. They have non-overlapping dietary restrictions, so I need to think about the menu! I suspect we're looking at roast squash and a salad of some kind...
In other news, I'm reading a book called How to Winter, which a friend recommended to me. I've never liked cold and generally don't enjoy winter (therefore I moved to Canada, because I'm also very smart), so anything that might make it less unpleasant is worth checking out! It's mostly about cultivating a mindset that focuses on the good in the season, and also about letting it affect you appropriately -- like, if winter dark means you want to sleep more and do different things than you do in summer light and warmth, that's okay, it's natural, don't fight it. It all makes perfect sense and yet I'm still grumpy about winter? On the other hand, I am trying to relax into the season a little more, and I think it's working, but it's also not as cold here as it might be and I rarely have to fight the weather in any way (I don't commute, e.g.), so maybe I'm playing on easier mode now. My SAD light helps with the lack of sunlight, so it's really being cold that I find hard. I've started wearing thermal leggings in the house; we have the heat at a comfortable enough level, but I'm really sensitive to drafts. (My desk faces two windows, and even with the leggings I still sometimes pull a heated throw over my legs.) And I think the leggings have made a huge difference.
I finished the most recent series of Shetland and
dorinda the first two episodes a couple of days ago, which was wonderful!Other than that, we're not doing much for the holidays. Geoff and I lit Hanukkah candles; he makes me actually light them, because it's traditionally the role of the woman of the house, and yeah that's very gendered but I mean so are we. And we both sing the blessing. We went to one sister's family Hanukkah meal, and are not going to the other sister's huge Christmas party; we're just going to have a quiet night in. And I'm roasting a duck, a thing I have done only once before!
(And then the next day I get AAAAAAAALL THE AMAZING TV, of course, and Geoff's on his own. He remains politely a- and be-mused at my hyperfocus.)
🇨🇦 "Canadian Economy Rallies as #1 Export Now Heated Rivalry" 🇨🇦
Oh, and we're having a couple of friends over for a NYE dinner. They have non-overlapping dietary restrictions, so I need to think about the menu! I suspect we're looking at roast squash and a salad of some kind...
In other news, I'm reading a book called How to Winter, which a friend recommended to me. I've never liked cold and generally don't enjoy winter (therefore I moved to Canada, because I'm also very smart), so anything that might make it less unpleasant is worth checking out! It's mostly about cultivating a mindset that focuses on the good in the season, and also about letting it affect you appropriately -- like, if winter dark means you want to sleep more and do different things than you do in summer light and warmth, that's okay, it's natural, don't fight it. It all makes perfect sense and yet I'm still grumpy about winter? On the other hand, I am trying to relax into the season a little more, and I think it's working, but it's also not as cold here as it might be and I rarely have to fight the weather in any way (I don't commute, e.g.), so maybe I'm playing on easier mode now. My SAD light helps with the lack of sunlight, so it's really being cold that I find hard. I've started wearing thermal leggings in the house; we have the heat at a comfortable enough level, but I'm really sensitive to drafts. (My desk faces two windows, and even with the leggings I still sometimes pull a heated throw over my legs.) And I think the leggings have made a huge difference.
I finished the most recent series of Shetland and
have spoilery reactions under the cut.
unfortunately I was extremely unimpressed. The revelation about Ed being involved in drug trafficking came completely out of the blue; no ground had been laid for it at all. I really didn't like the Bad Seed mentality behind everybody going "ooh, there were concerning reports about Stevie while she was in care" -- like, no shit a traumatized child ripped away from every familiar place and face "was manipulative," in other words she tried to regain some control of her environment and didn't trust adults? And just a lot of things that I can more or less accept as required by TV crime drama logistics but are still dumb, like Tosh and Ruth accepting that the AirBnB guy correctly identified Stevie in Edie's garden, when that was like the third version of the story he'd told (why should they suddenly believe him this time?) and he was some distance away, in the dark; at first he said "it was probably a man" and now he confidently declares "it was definitely this woman," and they just go yup, hard proof that she was there? Sorry, no. (I mean, she was there, but there's no way they should take his statement as proof of that, and they do.) Morag behaved like an idiot. And BILLY WOULD NEVER. I haven't looked but would not be at all surprised to find that the actor wanted off the show (is he the only person other than Tosh who's been there since series 1?) and this was the clumsy way they decided to write him out. I finished the series annoyed, and I really hope the next one is better. Preferably with a new writer.Fannish Fifty Challenge: Post # 46: due South Christmas Song
Dec. 24th, 2025 01:32 pmride_4ever'Tis the season for the due South Christmas song!
Short version from the TV episode:
Extended version:
Short version from the TV episode:
Extended version:
let nothing you dismay
Dec. 24th, 2025 01:13 pmmusesfoolGanache: made!
Cupcakes: frosted!
Bags: packed!
Garbage: taken out!
Dishwasher: running!
Me: showered, dressed, and waiting for my ride!
Whew!
It is all done and packed and only the last anxiety-inducing part - waiting for the car and schlepping everything down to the car - is left.
There were ZERO frosting explosions this year, though I did need to re-whip the strawberry buttercream, so I left it for last. There are still a bunch of stuff in the sink to be washed on Friday, but all the containers that...contained frosting are in the dishwasher, so they won't be all gross upon my return.
I did miscount and make one extra package of cupcakes, so I just addressed it to Baby Miss L - I'm sure her parents will love that. 😉 Also, the last gift I ordered for her - very late - is allegedly going to be delivered today! It's the 30 second dance party button! Which looks so fun and since I know Baby Miss L loves a dance party, it seemed like fate that I should get it for her.
I have only been skimming ye olde flist, but once I'm back home on Friday, all obligations are met and the next week is mine to do with as I will, so I will try to be more present here.
Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating! Happy Yuletide to those of you participating! And happy hump day to everyone else! See you on the flip side!
( 6-day plan, day 6 )
***
Cupcakes: frosted!
Bags: packed!
Garbage: taken out!
Dishwasher: running!
Me: showered, dressed, and waiting for my ride!
Whew!
It is all done and packed and only the last anxiety-inducing part - waiting for the car and schlepping everything down to the car - is left.
There were ZERO frosting explosions this year, though I did need to re-whip the strawberry buttercream, so I left it for last. There are still a bunch of stuff in the sink to be washed on Friday, but all the containers that...contained frosting are in the dishwasher, so they won't be all gross upon my return.
I did miscount and make one extra package of cupcakes, so I just addressed it to Baby Miss L - I'm sure her parents will love that. 😉 Also, the last gift I ordered for her - very late - is allegedly going to be delivered today! It's the 30 second dance party button! Which looks so fun and since I know Baby Miss L loves a dance party, it seemed like fate that I should get it for her.
I have only been skimming ye olde flist, but once I'm back home on Friday, all obligations are met and the next week is mine to do with as I will, so I will try to be more present here.
Merry Christmas to those who are celebrating! Happy Yuletide to those of you participating! And happy hump day to everyone else! See you on the flip side!
( 6-day plan, day 6 )
***
Two Purrcies; The Buffalo Hunter Hunter
Dec. 24th, 2025 09:56 ammecurtinPurrcy had stretched up to look out the window & chitter his teeth at a bird that had been teasing him, *personally*, by flitting around the porch looking for spider eggs & frozen insects. But then! It flew to another window!
Purrcy has a very pink NOSE and set of TOEBEANS. For your edification and comfort.
I avoided reading The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones for a long time because I don't really read or watch horror, it's usually too scary for me.* As we got into the yearly-roundup, what-did-I-miss, pre-Hugo nominations part of my reading cycle, it was showing up on too many lists for me to ignore it any longer, so I buckled up and took the plunge.
All the lists are right. It IS that good, great even. It's structured as a mostly-epistolary story, with an outer 1st-person narration by Etsy Beaucarne, a present-day white woman Communications Prof who's transcribing letters and diary entries written by her ancestor Arthur Beaucarne in 1912. Many of the diary entries transcribe a set of interviews with a Piegan Blackfoot Indian vampire, Good Stab. (Yes, I saw what Jones did there, with interviewing a vampire. I'm sure he meant to do it.) Some of the horror is vampire-related horror, but a fair bit is historical horror, especially related to the Marias Massacre.
For me, a wimp about horror, the epistolary form & the interview within it gave me enough insulation that I could read without being overwhelmed. (The lack of insulation is why visual horror is pretty much always a no-go for me, it gets too far into my brain & won't get out.) I think Jones used this structure to ease the (presumptive) white reader, though tougher than me, into the Indian POV. First we have the present-day white POV, then a blatantly racist, foolish past white POV we can easily treat as an unreliable narrator**, which makes the reader work to figure out what really happened with Good Stab, as we get his story filtered through Arthur. And because we the readers have to do so much work to piece the story together, it acts as an enthymeme: a story or argument that's more persuasive because the audience has connected some of the dots themselves.
I started to write more, but deleted it because so much of the pleasure of a book like this comes from connecting the dots yourself, from following the author's clues to get a picture of their world- (& monster-) building.
I haven't seen "Sinners" (Too Scary For Me), but the parallels are interesting. Was there something in the air? Is there something about vampires, that makes them the ideal metaphor?
*e.g. reviews of Jones' previous book, The Only Good Indians, make me pretty sure it's Too Scary For Timid Me.
** this is a *really hard sell*, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I consider Lolita to be fundamentally a failure as a work of literary communication, because Nabokov didn't realize how many readers would never stop identifying with Humbert.
Purrcy has a very pink NOSE and set of TOEBEANS. For your edification and comfort.
I avoided reading The Buffalo Hunter Hunter by Stephen Graham Jones for a long time because I don't really read or watch horror, it's usually too scary for me.* As we got into the yearly-roundup, what-did-I-miss, pre-Hugo nominations part of my reading cycle, it was showing up on too many lists for me to ignore it any longer, so I buckled up and took the plunge.
All the lists are right. It IS that good, great even. It's structured as a mostly-epistolary story, with an outer 1st-person narration by Etsy Beaucarne, a present-day white woman Communications Prof who's transcribing letters and diary entries written by her ancestor Arthur Beaucarne in 1912. Many of the diary entries transcribe a set of interviews with a Piegan Blackfoot Indian vampire, Good Stab. (Yes, I saw what Jones did there, with interviewing a vampire. I'm sure he meant to do it.) Some of the horror is vampire-related horror, but a fair bit is historical horror, especially related to the Marias Massacre.
For me, a wimp about horror, the epistolary form & the interview within it gave me enough insulation that I could read without being overwhelmed. (The lack of insulation is why visual horror is pretty much always a no-go for me, it gets too far into my brain & won't get out.) I think Jones used this structure to ease the (presumptive) white reader, though tougher than me, into the Indian POV. First we have the present-day white POV, then a blatantly racist, foolish past white POV we can easily treat as an unreliable narrator**, which makes the reader work to figure out what really happened with Good Stab, as we get his story filtered through Arthur. And because we the readers have to do so much work to piece the story together, it acts as an enthymeme: a story or argument that's more persuasive because the audience has connected some of the dots themselves.
I started to write more, but deleted it because so much of the pleasure of a book like this comes from connecting the dots yourself, from following the author's clues to get a picture of their world- (& monster-) building.
I haven't seen "Sinners" (Too Scary For Me), but the parallels are interesting. Was there something in the air? Is there something about vampires, that makes them the ideal metaphor?
*e.g. reviews of Jones' previous book, The Only Good Indians, make me pretty sure it's Too Scary For Timid Me.
** this is a *really hard sell*, don't let anyone tell you otherwise. I consider Lolita to be fundamentally a failure as a work of literary communication, because Nabokov didn't realize how many readers would never stop identifying with Humbert.
not a pav year
Dec. 24th, 2025 04:31 pmtielanBought carton egg whites to make the pav with. Didn't realise they'd overbeat so easily.
Ugh.
So I've made two pavs and neither one got to stiff peaks. Second time I actually looked up what went wrong and went "ARGH".
Do I try making a third?
Honestly, the last few years, my pav attempts have been somewhat substandard. They collapse and fall - I don't think I can get the gas oven cool enough for long enough to keep them from collapsing. It only goes down to about 120C before the dial cuts out and if possible you're supposed to leave it at around 80C for an hour.
Not an option in my oven.
I have a guest coming, too - invited a woman off a FB group "host a sister" who was bouncing around Christmas Day.
ETA: I ended up whipping up a third batch, and it's now in the oven. We'll try to bake the shell hard (high temp), then fluff the inside (long low temp).
Please please please please let this one work!
Ugh.
So I've made two pavs and neither one got to stiff peaks. Second time I actually looked up what went wrong and went "ARGH".
Do I try making a third?
Honestly, the last few years, my pav attempts have been somewhat substandard. They collapse and fall - I don't think I can get the gas oven cool enough for long enough to keep them from collapsing. It only goes down to about 120C before the dial cuts out and if possible you're supposed to leave it at around 80C for an hour.
Not an option in my oven.
I have a guest coming, too - invited a woman off a FB group "host a sister" who was bouncing around Christmas Day.
ETA: I ended up whipping up a third batch, and it's now in the oven. We'll try to bake the shell hard (high temp), then fluff the inside (long low temp).
Please please please please let this one work!
find a way to get the next one
Dec. 23rd, 2025 09:21 pmmusesfoolI just cleaned off the kitchen counter and put the last bowl/spatulas in the sink to soak (the dishwasher is already running, and all the cupcakes are cooked and 4 out of 5 frostings are made (I just finished the strawberry Swiss meringue buttercream) - tomorrow I will make the ganache and possibly also a whipped ganache (I've never done it with butter in it - does that make it more buttercream-ish?) just to change things up a bit.
Today, I baked the strawberry (doubled to make 80), apple cider (60), and funfetti (doubled to make 80) cupcakes - there could have been more funfetti, but not enough to fill a whole pan, so I didn't bother. I added cinnamon bits from King Arthur to the apple cider ones and dipped them in maple cinnamon sugar, which is a change, one that hopefully people will like.
I also discovered that the cupcake carriers I've had sitting in a box under a chair in my living room for a few months are the wrong size (they are for standard-sized cupcakes) so I only have 10 mini ones and I need 13, so I will use the some foil lasagna pans for my brother and sister and one of the kids - they'll get a few more cupcakes out of it, since the carriers hold 2 dozen but the 9 x 13" tray fits about 30. *hands* I'm just glad I still have a pack of them left to use; otherwise, I'd have been up a creek.
Tomorrow is Pipe-a-palooza 7: The Pipening! (yeah, it's kind of shocking to me I've been doing cupcakes for 7 years now - I started in 2019 - but I like it more than the chocolates [and it's also less time-consuming than the chocolates were] and I can't do ice creams anymore due to logistics, though they remain my all-time favorite of the homemade Christmas gifts I've done over the years.) Wish me luck! It's always the hardest part for me. Hopefully I will remember to take pictures to share afterwards.
Whoops, I started this entry an hour ago and got distracted by stuff like packing my overnight bag and refilling my water bottle etc. so I'm just gonna hit post now and work up the energy to go wash my hair.
***
( 6-day plan, day 5 )
***
Today, I baked the strawberry (doubled to make 80), apple cider (60), and funfetti (doubled to make 80) cupcakes - there could have been more funfetti, but not enough to fill a whole pan, so I didn't bother. I added cinnamon bits from King Arthur to the apple cider ones and dipped them in maple cinnamon sugar, which is a change, one that hopefully people will like.
I also discovered that the cupcake carriers I've had sitting in a box under a chair in my living room for a few months are the wrong size (they are for standard-sized cupcakes) so I only have 10 mini ones and I need 13, so I will use the some foil lasagna pans for my brother and sister and one of the kids - they'll get a few more cupcakes out of it, since the carriers hold 2 dozen but the 9 x 13" tray fits about 30. *hands* I'm just glad I still have a pack of them left to use; otherwise, I'd have been up a creek.
Tomorrow is Pipe-a-palooza 7: The Pipening! (yeah, it's kind of shocking to me I've been doing cupcakes for 7 years now - I started in 2019 - but I like it more than the chocolates [and it's also less time-consuming than the chocolates were] and I can't do ice creams anymore due to logistics, though they remain my all-time favorite of the homemade Christmas gifts I've done over the years.) Wish me luck! It's always the hardest part for me. Hopefully I will remember to take pictures to share afterwards.
Whoops, I started this entry an hour ago and got distracted by stuff like packing my overnight bag and refilling my water bottle etc. so I'm just gonna hit post now and work up the energy to go wash my hair.
***
( 6-day plan, day 5 )
***