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The first crocuses are blooming! I just had to take pictures when I spotted them this morning. Yesterday they were just buds.
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
The first crocuses are blooming! I just had to take pictures when I spotted them this morning. Yesterday they were just buds.
( Walk with me ... )
( Walk with me ... )
Specifically: I find myself in possession of both a superking duvet cover and a deep fitted double sheet that are mostly Genuinely Nice Cotton... and have both got holes worn through them in one specific place.
I have accepted about myself that I am not a person who will tolerate sleeping on patched bedsheets (because Textures). I am loathe to just hand them over to rag recycling. I am scared of trying to sew anything out of them, but might manage it with some encouragement.
I would greatly appreciate people Being Opinionated on this topic.
What I read
Finished Imperial Palace, v good, by 1930 Enoch Arnold had got into the groove of being able to maintain dramatic narrative drive without having to throw in millionaires and European royalty and sinister plots, but just the business of running a hotel and the interpersonal things going on.
Then took a break with Agatha Christie, Dumb Witness (Hercule Poirot, #17) (1937) - I slightly mark it down for having dreary old Hastings as narrator, but points for the murderer not being the Greek doctor.
Finished Grand Babylon Hotel, batshit to the last.
Discovered - since they are only on Kindle and although I occasionally get emails telling me about all the things that surely I will like to read available on Kindle, did they tell me about these, any more than the latest David Wishart? did they hell - that there are been two further DB Borton Cat Caliban mysteries and one more which published yesterday. So I can read these on the tablet and so far have read Ten Clues to Murder (2025) involving a suspect hit and run death of a member of a writers' group - the plot ahem ahem thickens.... Was a bit took aback by the gloves in the archives at the local history museum, but for all I know they still pursue this benighted practice.
Have also read, prep for next meeting of the reading group, Dorothy Richardson, Backwater (Pilgrimage, #2) (1916).
On the go
Recently posted on Project Gutenberg, three of Ann Bannon's classic works of lesbian pulp, so I downloaded these, and started I Am a Woman (1957) which is rather slow with a lot of brooding and yearning - our protag Laura has hardly met any women yet on moving to New York except her work colleagues and her room-mate so she is crushing on the latter, who is still bonking her ex-husband. But has now at least acquired a gay BF, even if he is mostly drunk.
Have just started DB Borton, Eleven Hours to Murder (2025).
Have also at least dipped into book for review and intro suggests person is not terribly well-acquainted with the field in general and the existing literature, because ahem ahem I actually have a chapter in big fat book which points out exactly those two contradictory strands - control vs individual liberation.
Up next
Well, I suspect the very recent Borton that arrived this week will be quite high priority!
Last night Julio was curled up in Perfect Cat Position so I just captured him.
My foot was much better yesterday. A little off but not like Monday. And today is about the same. Monday felt like it was not only cramped to the max but with the add on of stabbing pain. Today it feels like it could cramp up in any minute but it's not cramping now. So grateful.
I tested out some new goggle in the pool this morning. FAIL. The ones I have been using are, in fact, the reflective ones Google says should work. At least they don't bore holes into my eye sockets like the others. Amazon return. Otherwise my swim was good.
And I remembered, coming home, that I'd forgot to send the Food and Beverage Committee paperwork for duplication to reception. Yikes. Did that and, hopefully, as long as they printer isn't broken, they will have it in time for the 1:30 meeting. Whew.
So meeting at 1:30 and then fixing up the minutes while it's fresh on my mind plus, Harriet needs them for a meeting tomorrow. And that's it for my day.
Friday is my foot doctor appointment BUT ALSO the first baseball game of the year. It's a Spring Training game. I remember years when I was counting the days until this game. One year I was on jury duty and could only listen on breaks. This year, I'm interested but if something else comes along, it won't kill me to miss it.
My CPA should have my taxes done any day now. It will be nice to get them out of the way but I am not the least bit stressed about them. I'm sure, if I owe anything, it's not much. And, I don't even expect his bill to be that much - but whatever it is, it is totally worth it to me.
Whew my copies are ready at reception.
Better go get 'em before someone else does. No one is going to but I do need the steps.
My sister and I went out with family friends last week* to catch a band at one of the local pubs, the slightly unusual element being that it was at the local biker bar (Satan's Slaves, County Durham Chapter). I did wonder if the band ('One-oh-One, I think) would be any good, but they opened with All The Small Things, then segued into London Calling, followed by No More Heroes, and I'd basically found my ideal playlist - I did think at one point 'All this needs to be perfect is Swords of a Thousand Men', and it cropped up shortly afterwards.
There's something slightly incongruous about having a bunch of bikers in denim and leathers warning you as you leave to "Be careful on these steps now, they're really slippy. Hope you had a good time, this rainy weather's horrible, isn't it?'
My sister was also out the day before at a Lourdes fundraiser at a church-hall over in Darlington - pie, peas, and 'Bongo-Bingo'. Proper Bongo-Bingo is apparently a raucous franchise version of bingo with lots of party games, silly prizes and dancing on tables, but this was the Catholic version, so they missed out the dancing on tables. The compere/bingo caller, sitting next to a life-sized cut-out of Pope Leo, was moonlighting from his day-job as Head of RE at the local Catholic comprehensive, and pointed out any complaints should go to the Dean (senior priest, sitting on my sister's table).
Sample bingo call: 'Thirty-Three - Nailed to a Tree' (OMG, you can't say that!)
"We have bingo dabbers for sale if you need them - a pound to Catholics, four pounds to Protestants"!
"Hands up if you're a teacher?", followed by disappointed look + <*Teacherly voice /*> "It's your own time you're wasting".
Trying to jolly everyone up "This is about as lively as the Lourdes fund-raiser at St Johns!"**
First prize dished out was a Virgin Mary fancy dress costume, other prizes included the life-sized cut-out of Pope Leo.
* I wrote this the next day, but accidentally lost the complete post just short of posting and didn't have the energy to re-write it, but it restored itself when I accidentally went into message creation just now.
** The next Catholic comprehensive over, the one I went to.(![[syndicated profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/feed.png)
cakewrecks_feed Feb. 18th, 2026 02:00 pm)
cakewrecks_feed Feb. 18th, 2026 02:00 pm)♫ Bulbous-nosed witches who probably eat kittens
Messages piped out that should be rewritten
(Supposed to read "Congratulations Wojtek From Thunder Road")
Cakes decorated with smeared silly string
Bakers make some of the wreckiest things!
Is that a tongue sticking out of that poodle?
Were they attempting to make ersatz noodles?
"Congradulations" with Doritos rings
Bakers make some of the wreckiest things!
Plumber's jeans that don't quite cover their "assets"
Creepy-faced smiley with too-thick eyelashes
Harry and Gollum and wands holding rings
Bakers make some of the wreckiest things!
Though these dogs might
Be all frosting
Though these cakes are bad!
I simply remember these wreckiest things
And then I just can't
Feel sad! ♪
BIG thanks to Katie G., Victoria L., J.R., Vanessa M., Lisa H., Pete Z., Andrea G., Darla H., Becca T., Rachel L., and J.C. You know you're my favorites, right?
*****
P.S. If you're going to wear an Easter tee this year, THIS IS THE WAY:
Star Wars Grogu Easter T-Shirt
This one's the child's size, but it also comes in adult sizes and tons more colors.
*****
And from my other blog, Epbot:
My anger was defined as a monster
The only reason it knew it wasn't human
Was because people told it so
My anger was classified as a monster
It had black eyes that could turn red
And a large mouth that could scream loud
And gobble you up (if that was allowed)
My anger should have worn a cape
It always showed up right when it was needed
But capes were reserved for humans and superhumans
I don't think my anger can be satiated
If it was allowed to gobble you up
It would still sit and scowl at your bones until they disintegrated
Maybe that's why they decided it was a monster
The monsters on TV rampage and devour entire populations
And my anger is capable of eating humanity itself
The only reason it knew it wasn't human
Was because people told it so
My anger was classified as a monster
It had black eyes that could turn red
And a large mouth that could scream loud
And gobble you up (if that was allowed)
My anger should have worn a cape
It always showed up right when it was needed
But capes were reserved for humans and superhumans
I don't think my anger can be satiated
If it was allowed to gobble you up
It would still sit and scowl at your bones until they disintegrated
Maybe that's why they decided it was a monster
The monsters on TV rampage and devour entire populations
And my anger is capable of eating humanity itself
tags:
The sun came out and everyone was enjoying it so much after more than a week of clouds and snowfall. This crow was taking a very energetic bath - look how far the water droplets are flying all around him!
tags:
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