Finally, I can tell you about the holiday surprises! [food, projects]
Dec. 28th, 2025 10:07 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rebeccmeisterAt some point after I met scrottie, he showed me his potato ricer and the special rolling pin he has for making lefse, that Norwegian specialty food. I'd heard a bit about lefse from another friend of mine with Norwegian heritage, but really didn't know much more than all that. Fast forward, and just about every year there's a period of eager anticipation for the arrival of a special package from his mother and sister, containing lefse.
Describing lefse is tricky.
( blah blah blah lefse lefse lefse )
scrottie, he showed me his potato ricer and the special rolling pin he has for making lefse, that Norwegian specialty food. I'd heard a bit about lefse from another friend of mine with Norwegian heritage, but really didn't know much more than all that. Fast forward, and just about every year there's a period of eager anticipation for the arrival of a special package from his mother and sister, containing lefse.Describing lefse is tricky.
( blah blah blah lefse lefse lefse )
(no subject)
Dec. 28th, 2025 10:17 amravena_kadeYesterday I took a quiet day. I thought they would be moving Dad and doing more tests. Sitting in a hospital room for hours is NOT productive, but needed or else Dad is alone with garbage tv...by garbage I mean nothing modern or good and with all those long long insurance preying on old people 20 commercials. Sigh.
I wanted to see if I could find an HDMI outlet on the TV to hook up a laptop, but they dont let you do that.
I didn't accomplish much... I'm just too overwhelmed in thinking...tackling one item is negated by another. Let's just say that while money can't buy happiness it does help with many problems.
I wanted to see if I could find an HDMI outlet on the TV to hook up a laptop, but they dont let you do that.
I didn't accomplish much... I'm just too overwhelmed in thinking...tackling one item is negated by another. Let's just say that while money can't buy happiness it does help with many problems.
Storygraph challenge
Dec. 28th, 2025 11:14 pmfred_mouseA fortnight or so ago, james_davis_nicoll posted 200 Significant Science Fiction Books by Women, 1984–2001, by David G. Hartwell. I had an interesting time skimming it, and then decided that I own a lot of those books and either haven't read them, or read them long enough ago that I don't remember enough of them.
So! I decided to try and read as many of them as possible. And because I like to make life easier for Future Me, I turned it into a StoryGraph Challenge. This challenge has no time limits, and welcomes all comers. I'd dearly like to have other people join the challenge, and read a stack of fascinating books, some by authors who should be better remembered than they are (Bujold, for one, is actually well remembered. Tess Williams, on the other hand, isn't).
in between
Dec. 28th, 2025 09:24 ammellowtiggerMinneapolis seems to be in the lull before a storm. Our weather prediction includes, "WINTER STORM WARNING REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM NOON TODAY TO 9 AM CST MONDAY" (emphasis in the original, scroll down to bottom). I see snow falling outside my bedroom window right now. That's good. The forecast was rain first, followed by snow, which would cause terrible ice conditions on sidewalks and roads for everyone. Only-snow is much better for everyone. It's still 2.5 hours until that noon arrival time.
I'm currently in between shifts of work today. Most people at the university have 1.5 weeks away from work. I, however, work on an "essential" team, so we have a skeleton crew during that time. We were actually and truly closed only on Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day. I volunteered for shifts on Friday, Saturday, and today. If nobody volunteers, then somebody gets told to work, which is unpleasant stuff for the holidays, so... I volunteered on several shifts that were still empty.
I'm supposed to do an annual review of my Bingo 2025 card. I planned on it. I'm not sure that's going to happen. The thing about this job, where I'm constantly asked questions for which I don't know answers but have to find them on short notice, is that I don't have mental bandwidth to spare for other stuff after the work day has ended. I haven't done my annual tax review in a few years, for instance. It requires more thinking that my tired brain wants to avoid in favor of not-thinking to recover stamina.
I'll still do a Bingo 2026 card, though. I find it very useful to avoid stressful topics for a year. I'll continue that practice. Maybe I'll write more on that idea tomorrow.
[10 out of 20] BTS: gen
Dec. 28th, 2025 10:12 amstonepicnicking_okapi posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
sweetandshortTitle: Kisses
Rating: Gen
Fandom: BTS
Pairing: RM/Jin
Length: 300
Notes: Coffee shop AU, meet-cute
Prompt: Grinch
Summary: A handsome stranger comes back to the cafe.
( Read more... )
Rating: Gen
Fandom: BTS
Pairing: RM/Jin
Length: 300
Notes: Coffee shop AU, meet-cute
Prompt: Grinch
Summary: A handsome stranger comes back to the cafe.
( Read more... )
Yuletide
Dec. 28th, 2025 02:33 pmthisbluespiritI've been having a lovely yuletide, in the right sort of place to do reading through it, if not much else! So much so, there should be a recs post to follow soon. But first of all, of course, my lovely gift!
It was for Enigma, which I was excited enough about just for that, but it is also excellent - a really well-done layered look at Tom & Hester running into Wigram a few years post-canon. Plus, my recip turned up to leave a comment on my assignment, so Yuletide 2025 is a win! \o/ (Even more so, as that other Enigma ficlet I mentioned? The author replied to my comment to say that they'd watched the film because of my promo post, so double yay and bonus outside-of-Yule ficlets!)
After the End (1472 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Enigma (2001)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Tom Jericho, Hester Wallace, Wigram (Enigma 2001)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon
Summary: Summer 1949. An encounter in a Parisian park.
yuletide, in the right sort of place to do reading through it, if not much else! So much so, there should be a recs post to follow soon. But first of all, of course, my lovely gift!It was for Enigma, which I was excited enough about just for that, but it is also excellent - a really well-done layered look at Tom & Hester running into Wigram a few years post-canon. Plus, my recip turned up to leave a comment on my assignment, so Yuletide 2025 is a win! \o/ (Even more so, as that other Enigma ficlet I mentioned? The author replied to my comment to say that they'd watched the film because of my promo post, so double yay and bonus outside-of-Yule ficlets!)
After the End (1472 words) by Anonymous
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Enigma (2001)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Tom Jericho, Hester Wallace, Wigram (Enigma 2001)
Additional Tags: Post-Canon
Summary: Summer 1949. An encounter in a Parisian park.
Weekly (ish) check in
Dec. 28th, 2025 10:23 pmfred_mouse posting in unclutterHow goes the decluttering? Have you shifted anything out of the house? Found something to sort through? Had thoughts on things you can let go of?
Comments open to locals, lurkers, drive by sticky beaks, and anyone I've forgotten to mention.
Congratulations to everyone who has found and/or disposed on any clutter in the last week! I haven't had the oomph to come and post replies to celebrate you, but I cheer each comment notification when I read it.
ps: would anyone like a lowkey challenge for January? I have some ideas...
One Wonderous Sunset, One Final Blaze of Glory
Dec. 28th, 2025 01:04 pmglindaIt's the end of the year, and I’ve got time for one last album for this challenge.
In a year when it felt like everyone in my age bracket was obsessed with Oasis going back on tour, the equivalent band for me, Pulp, released a new album and went out on tour. (I was 11 going on 12 when I first heard Disco 2000, it was on a funny shaped sample CD that my dad got as a freebie somewhere, he brought it home, handed it to me and said ‘you’re going to love that one’ and I was hugely annoyed he was right. Different Class was the album that defined my teen years - it rewired something in my brain.) I’m mostly glad I didn’t try and get tickets after all, the surprisingly large number of clips of their Glasgow gig, were up in the gods of the Hydro which is realistically where I’d have ended up and overall if I couldn’t have been down on the floor, I was just as well just watching their ‘surprise’ Glastonbury gig. (It was the 30th anniversary of their classic Glasto performance when they were at the height of their fame.) I really loved both the singles they released from it - I was doing a lot of driving for work, and despite how much 6Music over played them both, I never got sick of either track - and the new bits I heard on the Glasto set so I fully intended to pick up a copy of the album - More. I just never got round to it, until the end of November when I was looking for a pick me up in HMV and spotted a ‘colour’ vinyl edition in the twofer deal - I got Air’s Moon Safari an album I’ve loved for years, but only ever had it ripped from an friend’s copy - and knew that was exactly what I needed.
(And because Pulp absolutely know their audience, particularly for the vinyl edition, there's an insert with both production details and all the lyrics - seriously bands underestimate how much added value having the lyrics provides. Also I got the 'green' vinyl addition and it's just a gorgeous shade of bottle green which makes a gorgeous contrast with the orange on the central label. Just nice simple design. When Jarvis and Candida from the band were interviewed by Jo Whiley after the Glastonbury gig, Candida noted that when they’d all got together to rehearse they’d felt excited to make music together again for the first time in ages and I think you can tell, it really feels like an album made by a band enjoying making music together. I mean they’ve been a band together for longer than my entire life, when they released their breakout album His and Hers in 1994 they’d been going for like 16 years! It’s nice to think they just get back together every so often because it’s still fun to make music together.)
It was a great choice. Got to Have Love and Spike Island are still clearly the stand out tracks - classic Pulp tracks - but listening to it on vinyl, just letting it play while I was doing other things was a great way to let the rest of the album soak into my brain. Tracks I’d probably have skipped over in digital format, or even just on CD for being a bit blah, have settled into my brain and become favourites. It’s such a middle-aged album and I love it, just listening to Jarvis’ wry dead-pan commentary on life and love, that mixture of cynicism and hopefulness that is their trademark, is soothing to me. The stripped back beauty of some tracks versus the lush production of tracks like The Hymn of the North an album that reminds me why I still love this band so much. I was going to pick out my favourite tracks to talk about - Grown ups and Background Noise - but the more I listen to the album the more I fall in love with it all the tracks. It’s not often that one of your favourite bands from your teens gets back together and makes one of their best albums - I’ve been lucky Skunk Anansie came back with a banger in the form of Black Traffic but that was 2013, I think, it doesn’t happen a lot - and I’m so glad they did.
In a year when it felt like everyone in my age bracket was obsessed with Oasis going back on tour, the equivalent band for me, Pulp, released a new album and went out on tour. (I was 11 going on 12 when I first heard Disco 2000, it was on a funny shaped sample CD that my dad got as a freebie somewhere, he brought it home, handed it to me and said ‘you’re going to love that one’ and I was hugely annoyed he was right. Different Class was the album that defined my teen years - it rewired something in my brain.) I’m mostly glad I didn’t try and get tickets after all, the surprisingly large number of clips of their Glasgow gig, were up in the gods of the Hydro which is realistically where I’d have ended up and overall if I couldn’t have been down on the floor, I was just as well just watching their ‘surprise’ Glastonbury gig. (It was the 30th anniversary of their classic Glasto performance when they were at the height of their fame.) I really loved both the singles they released from it - I was doing a lot of driving for work, and despite how much 6Music over played them both, I never got sick of either track - and the new bits I heard on the Glasto set so I fully intended to pick up a copy of the album - More. I just never got round to it, until the end of November when I was looking for a pick me up in HMV and spotted a ‘colour’ vinyl edition in the twofer deal - I got Air’s Moon Safari an album I’ve loved for years, but only ever had it ripped from an friend’s copy - and knew that was exactly what I needed.
(And because Pulp absolutely know their audience, particularly for the vinyl edition, there's an insert with both production details and all the lyrics - seriously bands underestimate how much added value having the lyrics provides. Also I got the 'green' vinyl addition and it's just a gorgeous shade of bottle green which makes a gorgeous contrast with the orange on the central label. Just nice simple design. When Jarvis and Candida from the band were interviewed by Jo Whiley after the Glastonbury gig, Candida noted that when they’d all got together to rehearse they’d felt excited to make music together again for the first time in ages and I think you can tell, it really feels like an album made by a band enjoying making music together. I mean they’ve been a band together for longer than my entire life, when they released their breakout album His and Hers in 1994 they’d been going for like 16 years! It’s nice to think they just get back together every so often because it’s still fun to make music together.)
It was a great choice. Got to Have Love and Spike Island are still clearly the stand out tracks - classic Pulp tracks - but listening to it on vinyl, just letting it play while I was doing other things was a great way to let the rest of the album soak into my brain. Tracks I’d probably have skipped over in digital format, or even just on CD for being a bit blah, have settled into my brain and become favourites. It’s such a middle-aged album and I love it, just listening to Jarvis’ wry dead-pan commentary on life and love, that mixture of cynicism and hopefulness that is their trademark, is soothing to me. The stripped back beauty of some tracks versus the lush production of tracks like The Hymn of the North an album that reminds me why I still love this band so much. I was going to pick out my favourite tracks to talk about - Grown ups and Background Noise - but the more I listen to the album the more I fall in love with it all the tracks. It’s not often that one of your favourite bands from your teens gets back together and makes one of their best albums - I’ve been lucky Skunk Anansie came back with a banger in the form of Black Traffic but that was 2013, I think, it doesn’t happen a lot - and I’m so glad they did.
Just one thing: 28 December 2025
Dec. 28th, 2025 07:48 amjazzyjj posting in awesomeersIt's challenge time!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!
Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
Comment with Just One Thing you've accomplished in the last 24 hours or so. It doesn't have to be a hard thing, or even a thing that you think is particularly awesome. Just a thing that you did.
Feel free to share more than one thing if you're feeling particularly accomplished!
Extra credit: find someone in the comments and give them props for what they achieved!
Nothing is too big, too small, too strange or too cryptic. And in case you'd rather do this in private, anonymous comments are screened. I will only unscreen if you ask me to.
Go!
Voice Team Mystery Box - Goals
Dec. 28th, 2025 10:52 ampeasinaThe discord has now opened for this year's voiceteam Mystery Box (VTMB), the winter mini-round of an event that’s kind of like battleship but for podfic. This year I’m on team ‘Over The Top’, named for a team full of members who like to make lots of things! ^^
Earlier this year, I posted a list of personal goals for my participation in Battleship 2025, and it really helped guide me whenever I felt overwhelmed by the fast pace and variety of choices/challenges. So, I’m doing it again for VTMB! Here are my top ten wishes for this year’s event.
ONE: Record at least 5 femslash pods
Apparently, December 2025 has been the month of me getting into new femslash pairings, so I’d like to extend that to making podfic about them!
TWO: Repod one of my older pods
I got a comment from the author on a pod I made in Nov' 2020 recently, which was a lovely surprise. However, it reminded me that I’d always wanted to repod that one, as now that I have more experience, I believe could do it better. I’d like to give it a try and hope there’s a repod challenge this year 🤞 (I’ll still try to do it, even if there isn’t.)
THREE: Record at least three podfics that are over an hour in length
I’m aiming for 2026 to be my year of long pods, so it would be a good way to get started selecting longer things to record. With my pacing, a 1-hour podfic will be of a story around the 8,500 – 9,500 mark.
FOUR: Record gift pods for three specific people who aren’t playing VTMB
I’m combining my potential giftees into this one wish in the hopes I can manage all three. For now, I'll call them M, E, and W.
FIVE: Podfic my Night at the Museum fic ‘On Every Horizon’
I’ve wanted to podfic this one since I wrote it, as it’s probably the all-time fic I’m most proud of. I’ve always been intimidated to do so though (mostly because the character voices are so important for Jed and Octavius and I’m not so good at those) but if I can manage it, I’ll be so happy. It's also 15k so 😅
SIX: Record at least three Pokémon podfics
Just because it’s fun ^^
SEVEN: Record a gift for a member of my team I didn’t know before the event
Who knows who it will be and what they’ll be into! I hope I can deliver 💪
EIGHT: Make something physical for a challenge (crafts, baked goods, cosplay, etc.)
I’ve done this in prior rounds, making zines, wax melts, and cocktails. It’s soooo fun tosteal use my podfic-related inspiration to make something tangible, so I hope to do it again this year.
NINE: Write something
I don’t care what it is! It could be a drabble, a tutorial, a rec post, but if it’s words, and let’s say… over 300 of them, then it counts. I’d prefer fic, but my writing mojo has been all over the place this year, so my goal can be a little all over the place too :P
TEN: Make new friends!
Voiceteam is great for this 🤞🤞🤞
voiceteam Mystery Box (VTMB), the winter mini-round of an event that’s kind of like battleship but for podfic. This year I’m on team ‘Over The Top’, named for a team full of members who like to make lots of things! ^^Earlier this year, I posted a list of personal goals for my participation in Battleship 2025, and it really helped guide me whenever I felt overwhelmed by the fast pace and variety of choices/challenges. So, I’m doing it again for VTMB! Here are my top ten wishes for this year’s event.
ONE: Record at least 5 femslash pods
Apparently, December 2025 has been the month of me getting into new femslash pairings, so I’d like to extend that to making podfic about them!
TWO: Repod one of my older pods
I got a comment from the author on a pod I made in Nov' 2020 recently, which was a lovely surprise. However, it reminded me that I’d always wanted to repod that one, as now that I have more experience, I believe could do it better. I’d like to give it a try and hope there’s a repod challenge this year 🤞 (I’ll still try to do it, even if there isn’t.)
THREE: Record at least three podfics that are over an hour in length
I’m aiming for 2026 to be my year of long pods, so it would be a good way to get started selecting longer things to record. With my pacing, a 1-hour podfic will be of a story around the 8,500 – 9,500 mark.
FOUR: Record gift pods for three specific people who aren’t playing VTMB
I’m combining my potential giftees into this one wish in the hopes I can manage all three. For now, I'll call them M, E, and W.
FIVE: Podfic my Night at the Museum fic ‘On Every Horizon’
I’ve wanted to podfic this one since I wrote it, as it’s probably the all-time fic I’m most proud of. I’ve always been intimidated to do so though (mostly because the character voices are so important for Jed and Octavius and I’m not so good at those) but if I can manage it, I’ll be so happy. It's also 15k so 😅
SIX: Record at least three Pokémon podfics
Just because it’s fun ^^
SEVEN: Record a gift for a member of my team I didn’t know before the event
Who knows who it will be and what they’ll be into! I hope I can deliver 💪
EIGHT: Make something physical for a challenge (crafts, baked goods, cosplay, etc.)
I’ve done this in prior rounds, making zines, wax melts, and cocktails. It’s soooo fun to
NINE: Write something
I don’t care what it is! It could be a drabble, a tutorial, a rec post, but if it’s words, and let’s say… over 300 of them, then it counts. I’d prefer fic, but my writing mojo has been all over the place this year, so my goal can be a little all over the place too :P
TEN: Make new friends!
Voiceteam is great for this 🤞🤞🤞
The Day in Spikedluv (Saturday, Dec 27)
Dec. 28th, 2025 08:23 amspikedluvI did not go downtown today. Instead I was out shoveling the sidewalk by about 7am. (At least the snow was over so I only had to go out and shovel once.) Pip, sick as he is, was blowing snow (the driveway and walking trails). And then he went up to the garage to plow that out.
I did two loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, ran a load in the dishwasher, swept and mopped the dining room and hallway, went for a walk with the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered. We had more of the chicken noodle soup for supper.
I read fanfic and watched some HGTV programs. Dr. Pol was my evening background tv. Today I tried the pomegranate tea. It was good, though I was familiar with the flavor because I've had pomegranate tea before when I went to the local coffee shop (that is no longer there). It came in a tin, I think Harney & Sons, or something like that? I looked it up, their Pomegranate Oolong.
Pip had cold sweats this morning and wasn’t able to keep his breakfast down, but he seemed to do better as the day progressed.
Temps started out at 17.4(F) (a whopping 10 degrees warmer than yesterday morning!). According to the ruler I stuck in the snow in different areas, we got about 8" of snow overnight. Thankfully it was not wet and heavy, but even light snow is a pain when you’ve got go shovel 8" of it! Temps reached 25.3.
Mom Update:
Mom sounded pretty good when I talked to her. She’s actually eating more! More being relative. She had some protein drink for breakfast, and some mashed potatoes and peas for lunch. Eating anything solid like that has been a real trial. She was thinking about what to have for supper when I called. One of her friends visited and Sister A called her so she did have some social time.
I did two loads of laundry, hand-washed dishes, ran a load in the dishwasher, swept and mopped the dining room and hallway, went for a walk with the dogs, cut up chicken for the dogs' meals, scooped kitty litter, and showered. We had more of the chicken noodle soup for supper.
I read fanfic and watched some HGTV programs. Dr. Pol was my evening background tv. Today I tried the pomegranate tea. It was good, though I was familiar with the flavor because I've had pomegranate tea before when I went to the local coffee shop (that is no longer there). It came in a tin, I think Harney & Sons, or something like that? I looked it up, their Pomegranate Oolong.
Pip had cold sweats this morning and wasn’t able to keep his breakfast down, but he seemed to do better as the day progressed.
Temps started out at 17.4(F) (a whopping 10 degrees warmer than yesterday morning!). According to the ruler I stuck in the snow in different areas, we got about 8" of snow overnight. Thankfully it was not wet and heavy, but even light snow is a pain when you’ve got go shovel 8" of it! Temps reached 25.3.
Mom Update:
Mom sounded pretty good when I talked to her. She’s actually eating more! More being relative. She had some protein drink for breakfast, and some mashed potatoes and peas for lunch. Eating anything solid like that has been a real trial. She was thinking about what to have for supper when I called. One of her friends visited and Sister A called her so she did have some social time.
Thank you!
Dec. 28th, 2025 02:05 pmcatnessThanks so much to whoever gifted me a paid account for another year! I didn't get any notification or email... just when I went to the shop, suddenly noticed that my acc is extended for another year, and I have no idea how it happened and whom to thank for it ;)
I haven't been using DW a lot lately, but I'd hate to lose my icons and images, and I'll try to get back into the habit of semi-public journaling...
I haven't been using DW a lot lately, but I'd hate to lose my icons and images, and I'll try to get back into the habit of semi-public journaling...
Friday Five : traveling
Dec. 28th, 2025 01:49 pmcatnessFrom thefridayfive.
1. You have the summer and plenty of money to travel abroad. Where all would you go?
I'll go to Japan, and spend my time traveling around the country in a relaxed way, not running around trying to catch everything like the last time ;)
2. What foods would you be sure you got to eat?
All local food I can survive ;) Ramen, tempura, gyoza, miso soup, okonomyaki, etc etc. Also, if I stay in an apartment for a while, I'd try to buy semi-cooked stuff in local supermarkets (it's so nicely packaged!) and eat at home. Last time I stayed in capsule hotels, I loved it but it could be cool to try also a traditional inn (ryokan) and a regular apartment.
3. What landmarks would you be sure you got to see?
I'll spend a few days in different cities, not just Tokyo, e.g. Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima, Kamakura, Nikko, maybe some villages. Might try to climb Mt. Fuji. As for the whole list of museums, temples and parks... it's just depressing to plan it only theoretically like that...
On the other hand, it could be cool to sign up for one of Japanese courses for foreigners, but that would require me to stay in one city, and wouldn't leave a lot of time for traveling.
4. What airline would you use?
Whatever will work! preferably a direct flight.
5. Would your knowledge of other languages influence where you went? (i.e., would you be more likely to go to France if you spoke French)
I'll definitely try to practice my Japanese, but it's the other way round - I'm learning Japanese because I'm interested in Japan culture, not going to Japan because I happen to be learning Japanese.
thefridayfive.1. You have the summer and plenty of money to travel abroad. Where all would you go?
I'll go to Japan, and spend my time traveling around the country in a relaxed way, not running around trying to catch everything like the last time ;)
2. What foods would you be sure you got to eat?
All local food I can survive ;) Ramen, tempura, gyoza, miso soup, okonomyaki, etc etc. Also, if I stay in an apartment for a while, I'd try to buy semi-cooked stuff in local supermarkets (it's so nicely packaged!) and eat at home. Last time I stayed in capsule hotels, I loved it but it could be cool to try also a traditional inn (ryokan) and a regular apartment.
3. What landmarks would you be sure you got to see?
I'll spend a few days in different cities, not just Tokyo, e.g. Kyoto, Osaka, Nara, Hiroshima, Kamakura, Nikko, maybe some villages. Might try to climb Mt. Fuji. As for the whole list of museums, temples and parks... it's just depressing to plan it only theoretically like that...
On the other hand, it could be cool to sign up for one of Japanese courses for foreigners, but that would require me to stay in one city, and wouldn't leave a lot of time for traveling.
4. What airline would you use?
Whatever will work! preferably a direct flight.
5. Would your knowledge of other languages influence where you went? (i.e., would you be more likely to go to France if you spoke French)
I'll definitely try to practice my Japanese, but it's the other way round - I'm learning Japanese because I'm interested in Japan culture, not going to Japan because I happen to be learning Japanese.
Fleas...
Dec. 27th, 2025 11:56 pmeve_primeWell, the vet’s idea of treating all three cats with this oral flea medicine isn’t working. They gave GinGin her dose yesterday, and today I was to separate the cats and give the two boys the medicine, ground up and stirred into wet food. Neither of them ate it. Then I saw the fine print on the insert in the packaging – it says that about ¼ of cats will just eat the pill, ¼ will eat it mixed with food, and ½ need to have it put into their mouth in a way that makes them swallow. I can do that fine with Ajani, but there’s little chance of it working with Jean-Luc, and Geordi is right out. Back to the drawing board.
This evening I finally got to go see the Christmas lights near S’s mom’s house – there’s a house over there that is quite extravagant with them. So that was fun.
This evening I finally got to go see the Christmas lights near S’s mom’s house – there’s a house over there that is quite extravagant with them. So that was fun.
WIP Challenge Check-in, Day 28 -- Sunday
Dec. 28th, 2025 04:56 amlinaewen posting in writethisfanfic Hello on Sunday! What kind of a writing day has it been so far today -- or if today hasn't gotten going yet, how did you fare yesterday?
- I thought about my fic once or twice
- I wrote
- I did some planning and/or outlining
- I did research and/or canon review
- I edited
- I've sent my fic off to my beta
- I posted today!
- I'm taking a break
- I did something else that I'll talk about in a comment
Sunday Discussion: It's a new writing week, and the last week of the current month (and the current year!). How are you doing so far with meeting writing goals for the month?
Bridge over Troubled Water by Simon and Garfunkadelt [music]
Dec. 28th, 2025 05:45 amsiderea2025 Nov 14: Jonasquin on YT: "Bridge over Troubled Water but it's a Renaissance Madrigal | Feat. Tabea Bös":
There's more where that came from:
• Let It Be (a Renaissance Madrigal) | Feat. Anna Petrtylová
• 'Enjoy The Silence' by Depeche Mode in the style of a madrigal by Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (1566 - 1613).
• Bach Chorale "Last Christmas" "From the Last Christmas Oratorio, BWV (Bach Wham Verzeichnis) 1984"
• If Stayin' Alive Had Been Written in 16th Century "From the BG Manuscript, ca. 1570"
• One Night in Bangkok but it's a 16th century chanson "If Clément Janequin (ca. 1485 - 1558) was the songwriter for Murray Head..."
• If 'A Whole New World' (Aladdin) had been composed in 16th century "From The First Booke of Songs or Airs by Ala(ddi)n Menken"
There's more where that came from:
• Let It Be (a Renaissance Madrigal) | Feat. Anna Petrtylová
• 'Enjoy The Silence' by Depeche Mode in the style of a madrigal by Carlo Gesualdo da Venosa (1566 - 1613).
• Bach Chorale "Last Christmas" "From the Last Christmas Oratorio, BWV (Bach Wham Verzeichnis) 1984"
• If Stayin' Alive Had Been Written in 16th Century "From the BG Manuscript, ca. 1570"
• One Night in Bangkok but it's a 16th century chanson "If Clément Janequin (ca. 1485 - 1558) was the songwriter for Murray Head..."
• If 'A Whole New World' (Aladdin) had been composed in 16th century "From The First Booke of Songs or Airs by Ala(ddi)n Menken"