(no subject)

Oct. 22nd, 2025 07:54 pm
dustbunny105: (Default)
[personal profile] dustbunny105
Well, today was not at all what I wanted it to be.

I woke up with drainage, which is not unusual for this time of year and which cleared up within a couple hours of being up and about. But I also woke up with a headache-- also not unusual for this time of year but this one was a little more stubborn. For the hat trick, I'm on my period and the lethargy hit me today, all day. None of these issues were too bad on their own, of course, but they made one heck of a team.

Anyhow, got hardly any cleaning done. Did not feel up to the DMV but I did get my bank statement taken care of and went ahead and filled out the application online. No appointments were still available by the time I decided I'd take the test tomorrow instead, go figure, but I was already looking at not having an appointment. My sister might be able to drop me off or pick me up from there tomorrow, she just can't commit to both because of her own appointments. We'll see. I ended up not going to my brother's since the party he's attending got rescheduled and there's not as much of a time crunch on his costume. I will be going some time tomorrow but I took advantage today to instead nap off the last of my headache.

Tbh, I could've scheduled this whole week better, today especially. No point worrying over what I could've done, though. Tomorrow's gonna be kinda stuffed, since it's the last day before my trip. Driver's knowledge test, costume stuff, cleaning. I also need to pack and go get my flu and covid boosters at some point. I don't usually have much of a reaction to vaccines beyond a sore arm, so at least I don't have to worry about that bogging me down, lol.

Word: Cattarh

Oct. 22nd, 2025 12:22 pm
stonepicnicking_okapi: letters (letters)
[personal profile] stonepicnicking_okapi
Wednesday's word is from MR James' short story "The Ash Tree":

cattarh

1. inflammation of a mucous membrane, especiallyone chronically affecting the human nose and air passages

origin
Middle English catarre, from Middle French or Late Latin; Middle French catarrhe, from Late Latin catarrhus, from Greek katarrhous, from katarrhein to flow down, from kata- + rhein to flow

---

Here's the line: If that stands for the ash tree, he may be assured I shall not neglect it. Such a nest of cattarhs and agues was never seen

The character saying this is Sir Richard who, like his grandfather, died in his bed under Mysterious Circumstances. He says he's going to cut the ash tree down, but he wasn't quick enough about it!

(no subject)

Oct. 21st, 2025 08:38 pm
dustbunny105: (Default)
[personal profile] dustbunny105
So, first day of costume-making with my brother did not go well. In fact, it was basically a waste of a few hours. I feel badly enough about it that I'm almost sorry I greed to help at all, ngl. Ah, well. We're better prepared now and ready to give it a second shot tomorrow. I'm actually looking forward to the tedium of the sewing for my own costume now-- at least it'll be better than dealing with All That Nonsense, lol.

What I'm not as ready for is my driver's license application and knowledge test, alas. Turned out there were no appointments available for tomorrow and so I'm not sure how long it's going to take. I have to go and get a bank statement for proof of residency as it is. If not for needing to make that extra stop, I'd tell my sister never mind and order a ride for Thursday instead, since there are appointments slots open then. I don't want to have to pay to go that far out of my way, though. Bleh. I guess the thing to do is just to get out of the house early. I don't expect to be going over to my brother's place again until about three anyway and we'll probably only put in three to four hours of work. My bank opens at nine and the DMV will be open before then, so that gives me plenty of time to get done there and still do some cleaning at home as planned.

Views and News

Oct. 21st, 2025 03:20 pm
stonepicnicking_okapi: ChopSuey (chopsuey)
[personal profile] stonepicnicking_okapi
1. So I accepted a one-off shift yesterday for a new client, and I can't say I enjoyed it. Some of her topics of conversation made me very uncomfortable. But an extra 5 hours when I haven't gotten a replacement for my second regular will be welcome come payday. It makes me grateful for my jazz man.

2. I wrote up my review of the Miles Davis autobiography for [community profile] booknook. Tomorrow is my day to post.

3. I finished my Carmilla fill for Spook Me. It is much shorter than I expected, but that's life. I am trying to get moving on the Ice Road truckers AU. And my poem. The deadline is Sunday.

4. I went to 5 different gas stations looking for a vacuum that worked and finally found one and vacuumed the new(er) car. The boys' father took the old car to the shop to ask about a rattling noise and certain dashboard lights coming on, which are not an immediate threat and will cost thousands $$$ to fix, so we are just going to endure the rattling.

5. I have worked at the agency 90 days so now I can contribute to retirement. That's a good thing, yes? I have something to retire FROM!

6. Yesterday was Diwali. Lots of fireworks around the apartment building. And the boys had off school.

7. Pot roast in the crock pot tonight!

8. Vertigo persists. It's a weird sensation. I don't have a doctor. I haven't been to a doctor in 10 years. I am not going to urgent care for it. No advice, please. Perversely, I am wondering if I will actually fall down or I just feel like I'm going to. If it happens at home, on the carpet, I might experiment.

9. Lovely Halloween card from [personal profile] cornerofmadness

10. I am so, so behind on Kinktober and Whumptober but I keep tell myself 'IT'S OKAY! IT'S OKAY! JUST KEEP GOING!'

11. My favorite Youtube channel is this amazing Frenchman serenading animals. Here he is with an okapi.

(no subject)

Oct. 20th, 2025 08:48 pm
dustbunny105: (Default)
[personal profile] dustbunny105
Got a bit later of a start today than I'd hoped but it was a good enough start that I can't be too miffed. Not having to worry about work meant I could do my Monday workout when I got out of bed and that plus a nice shower went a good way towards waking me up. I spent some time reading, then got to cleaning the kitchen. I had planned to do the dining room, too, but got caught up with some smaller detail work and then my sister came over. I can deal with the dining room when I move onto the living room tomorrow, though, no problem. Then I'll be good to hit the guestroom and main bathroom on Wednesday and my bedroom and bathroom on Thursday. The new tank stand should be here on that morning, so that works out well.

The leaves I ordered for my costume arrived and, gotta say, they're a lot smaller than I realized. I'll see what I can do with them but I'll almost certainly need more. I'm going to crochet the net skirt I'll be sewing them to in between cleaning tomorrow. Or maybe I'll do it while I'm at my brother's place to help with his costume, Idk.

Speaking of crochet... I don't think I like my (still sleeveless) sweater. It doesn't look bad but it's not quite scratching the itch. I think it'll probably look more like what I wanted once I've got the ribbing on the bottom but I don't really want to go through the trouble of adding ribbing if I'm not sure I'll like it, y'know what I mean? I can't decide if I should trust the process and chug along or if I should back up a dozen rounds or so to start my decreases sooner. I'm leaning towards the latter but the thought is not a pleasant one.
stonepicnicking_okapi: record player (recordplayer)
[personal profile] stonepicnicking_okapi
This one is not related to Halloween or autumn. It was recommended by Minisculus.

(no subject)

Oct. 19th, 2025 07:01 pm
dustbunny105: (Default)
[personal profile] dustbunny105
My sister's fiancé got the day off and so she was able to get out of the house for a little bit sans children. We decided to celebrate with auspicious occasion by going to a movie. Our choice for the day was The Black Phone 2.

We didn't know what to expect since neither of us had seen any actual promo and The Black Phone didn't really seem like it needed a sequel. I know, I know, what else is new. Still, we both loved the first movie and were curious to see how they'd expand on it. The sequel turned out to be... disappointing. I'm not sure I'd even say it was bad but it fell far short of the standard set by the original.

The cinematography was almost as good, at least, and there were some strong performances. Aaand some not so strong performances. I've gotta be honest, though, I think it was more to do with the script than the actors. A lot of the dialogue came off clunky and the pacing was inconsistent. A lot of the movie moved along fine and there were some really well-done scenes but then other scenes felt like they went on too long. The best I can figure is that these instances were an attempt to build tension but they didn't really feel tense so much as just unwieldy.

As for the plot, it had some very interesting concepts at its core. Unfortunately, the most interesting of these felt out of place with what we saw in the first movie. So much so that I was half expecting some kind of twist that never came. The inconsistencies even stretched to some of the character writing, in particular the main kids' interactions with their father and the way they talk about their late mother. Add in the weird turn partway through into Nightmare on Elm Street territory, which I can only assume was an attempt to one-up the supernatural aspects of the first movie, and it ended up feeling like a lot more style than substance. Don't even get me started on the completely unnecessary and underdeveloped love interest, who is also the never-before-seen sibling of an important character from The Black Phone.

I'm making this sound worse than it is, lol, but the sad fact is that the film's failures simply have more to them than its successes.

(no subject)

Oct. 18th, 2025 08:52 pm
dustbunny105: (Default)
[personal profile] dustbunny105
So, my brother and his girlfriend and I ended up not getting to the thrift stores as planned but they both found what they needed at the fabric and hardware stores we checked. I, however, did not find anything I needed. Not even at Walmart! I swear I see those packages of fake fall leaf decor all over the place every year at this time... but not this year. Go figure!

Anyway, I went ahead and just ordered a package of them online. They should be here early next week, so I'll be able to get to work on my skirt. I still need to crochet the net framework for it but I want to wait until I can actually see how the leaves look when layered, since that'll determine how I need to do the net. As for the bodice part, I'm going to see if I can find some fabric with a wood pattern online and if not, I'll go with Plan B; use foam to make fake tree bark over a shirt and leggings.

I think I'm going over to their place tomorrow to start helping with my brother's costume. I decided to treat this weekend as just a weekend and then I can get started with my housecleaning Monday. A few hours a day should do it and I can work that around whatever schedule we decide on to work on costumes. I also finally ordered a stand for Travis-- a proper stand, not a table or cabinet like I was thinking. I got to thinking about weight capacities and realized a lot of the pieces I most liked the looks of were just too dodgy to risk it. I can just stack some storage cubbies in the lower tier of the stand.

(no subject)

Oct. 17th, 2025 06:57 pm
dustbunny105: (Default)
[personal profile] dustbunny105
I've been home for a few hours now but it's only just hitting me that my vacation has technically started. I have nine days that I don't have to be at work. True, almost half of those are just the weekends, which I wouldn't have been working anyway, but still. They're all in a row! And I have so much freedom within those days! No serious travel concerns for my trip this time either, since it'll be by car instead of by plane.

This is not new information, of course, but it's one thing to be looking forward to something and another to be in it. And, yeah, okay, this is also a new experience but I think this feeling just goes to show much much it was needed, lol.
stonepicnicking_okapi: Miss Marple (marple)
[personal profile] stonepicnicking_okapi
This series of entries is commentary on my lifelong quest to read all of Agatha Christie's works in UK publication order. It was begun in January 2021.

So I am in the home stretch, there are only 7 more novels after By the Pricking of my Thumbs [1968]. I am surprised but this is a Tommy and Tuppence novel and I liked it! Maybe I was in the mood for it. It is (according to The Guardian blurb on the back) 'a thriller, not a detective story," and I enjoyed it. There is a slight sinister/spooky feel to it, so it feels seasonal, too.

It starts with Tommy and Tuppence visiting Tommy's elderly aunt in a nursing home, and another resident of the home saying something odd to Tuppence and the chain of event which that sets off.

There are also some interesting philosophical points, such as this one by an artist's wife:

You mustn't put a house that was meant for one thing to the wrong use.

I don't care or know enough about houses to agree or disagree, but it seems interesting. There's all the tropes: amnesia, a desk with a secret drawer and a painting with a past. And Tommy and Tuppence have aged. They have grown children. I listened to it on audiobook CD in the car, and it was very enjoyable.

Next up: Hallowe'en Party. I have requested it from the library but I am not confident I will get it by the 31st. It's one I did a fic on so I know it very well.

(no subject)

Oct. 16th, 2025 08:59 pm
dustbunny105: (Default)
[personal profile] dustbunny105
Our main case numbers at work got up to one hundred thousand today and I succeeded at being the one to generate it!! Is this important in any way, shape or form? No. Does it make me happy anyway? Absolutely. Especially because I wasn't sure we were gonna get there this week and if we hadn't, it definitely would've happened next week when I wouldn't have had a chance to even try.

In less pleasing news I'm worried about the amount of work I'm going to be leaving behind tomorrow. I got a lot today and ended up with a significant amount to do in the morning-- aaand I'm expecting even more slides tomorrow than I got today. More slides doesn't necessarily mean more cases, of course, but it can. And even if I get the exact same number of cases, that would still be on top of what I had to leave tonight.

Ah, well. Nothing to do but my best.

Wales - Fishguard and Whitesands Bay

Oct. 16th, 2025 04:09 pm
smallhobbit: (dragon)
[personal profile] smallhobbit
Although we were based in St David's, we also visited Fishguard, where we went to the Lower Town, which is the sight of the old harbour and many older cottages.

stonepicnicking_okapi: snoopy typing (snoopy)
[personal profile] stonepicnicking_okapi
The Old Guard, Nicky/Joe, Italian Sonnet: My body is my map

my body is my map. it lives, persisting
despite insult after insult, what remains
are landmarks under shifting sands, these terrains,
these valleys, these highlands, these crags, existing
and still existing, reclaiming, resisting
the blows inflicted by an hourglass which drains
in spite of conquering defeats and lost pains,
while signs and signages decay, insisting

that nothing ever lasts, but I disagree,
and your body is my proof, my testament,
healing as it heals, mapping my every shore
and limit, spirit and flesh, cartography
until I’m brought to my knees by blessing sent,
not the map but the love that draws it once more

Inception, Xenolith, Arthur/Eames, Puzzle

nothing but smoke and mirrors, your psychology
your lists would dull a fever dream
pure conjecture bordering on crank augury
as predictable as a trouser seam
your chameleon charm, debased debauchery
which shouldn’t tempt or raise a brow
or dare a crease, though God knows how,
which ought to put paid to this pettifoggery
and yet, it doesn’t; yet, it does
for every why, there’s a because,
a half-mad puzzle, whose truth lies in forgery
a prudish itch which won’t be scratched,
a sauntering swaggering oaf who doggedly
will count chickens only when hatched—
why won’t you condescend to leave my reverie?

Sherlock Holmes ACD, English sonnet, precision

precision lies in aggregates. the lone
wolf is an enigma, the pack is not,
and, thus, the certainty of one is shown
in means of many, percentages wrought

precise is the lens which suffers no crack,
the instrument kept free from grit, untouched
by flaws, incursions which disturb, which hack
to ribbons judgement, leave answers unclutched

precisely on the page, the letters firm,
the strokes clean, in missive and note, the hand
reflects the mind, in mechanics, in term,
as nature, logic, and reason demand

precise the device, precision the tool,
precisely resolved the truth from misrule

---

All written for this event.


stonepicnicking_okapi: moon (moon)
[personal profile] stonepicnicking_okapi
All Hallows by Louise Glück

Even now this landscape is assembling.
The hills darken. The oxen
sleep in their blue yoke,
the fields having been
picked clean, the sheaves
bound evenly and piled at the roadside
among cinquefoil, as the toothed moon rises:

This is the barrenness
of harvest or pestilence.
And the wife leaning out the window
with her hand extended, as in payment,
and the seeds
distinct, gold, calling
Come here
Come here, little one


And the soul creeps out of the tree.

(no subject)

Oct. 15th, 2025 08:59 pm
dustbunny105: (Default)
[personal profile] dustbunny105
Well, I went ahead and switched my PTO from the Monday following TFcon to Monday next week. I'll miss having that day after to settle back into being home but I already feel better about this schedule. The closer I came to having to work one day out of the midst of nine, the more I hated the idea, lol.

In any case, I'm very much looking forward to next week. In the days leading up to leaving for the trip, I want to do some deep cleaning at home. My sister actually does have a vehicle again, can't remember if I told you guys that, and so I might actually get a cheaper stand for Travis off Marketplace after all. It'll just depend on whether there are any available. If I can't find one I can pick up this weekend, I'll go ahead and order one so that I can have him set before I go. I'd like to get his old tank cleaned up and listed on Marketplace as well. I also need to schedule my written driver's test-- or, well, I don't really need to but having an appointment will make a quick in and out at the DMV more likely. Don't wanna waste too much of a day there. I'll also be taking some time to work on my costume during the week, in between cleaning. I can't say I'm looking forward to all that hand-sewing but I am looking forward to the finished product, so I'm trying to focus on that, lol. Should be mindless enough work that I can absorb an audiobook or two while I get it done, at least.

Word: Dropsies

Oct. 15th, 2025 04:23 pm
stonepicnicking_okapi: letters (letters)
[personal profile] stonepicnicking_okapi
This Wednesday's word is one of my own making....

...dropsies.

As in "Today I have the dropsies."

Meaning, I am extra clumsy and/or unlucky with dropping, spilling, or breaking things.

1. I had extra time so I finished the monthly cleaning. Moving the coffeemaker to wipe the counter, the glass coffee pot slid to the floor and got smashed to pieces.

2. I halted abruptly in SPROUTS, causing the bottles in my cart to tip over, and I didn't realize one of the lids was bent (AND LEAKING!) until I got to the checkout.

3. I got my foot caught by the door hauling stuff in the apartment building and chopped my Achilles bad enough to bleed.

Wales - St David's

Oct. 15th, 2025 08:37 pm
smallhobbit: (dragon)
[personal profile] smallhobbit
We had our holiday destination planned, but due to problems with the trains, we changed our plans at the last minute (less than 24 hours before planned departure) and went to south west Wales instead of north Wales.  We spent three full days in St David's, somewhere we'd not been before, but had wanted to visit.

(no subject)

Oct. 14th, 2025 08:58 pm
dustbunny105: (Default)
[personal profile] dustbunny105
I hate automatic updates so much. I don't know what's going on with Phil exactly but I had to delete a bunch of messages to be able to get a text. Then, after getting two texts back, I got the same message and had to delete a bunch more. Haven't had any more trouble so far but...

Anyway, finally went ahead and ordered that SD card.
stonepicnicking_okapi: leaves (leaves)
[personal profile] stonepicnicking_okapi
New stuff in Bold

Day 1: Whumptober - Lamb to Slaughter & [profile] vocab_drabble: bombast - Miss Marple - Gen: https://vocab-drabbles.dreamwidth.org/177570.html
Kinktober: Incest - Sherlock Holmes (ACD) Sherlock/Mycroft vampire Greek Interpreter AU - Explicit: https://archiveofourown.org/works/71896116
Masturbation: BTS - Sope - Rating: Teen: https://sweetandshort.dreamwidth.org/277746.html

Day 2: Kinktober - Coming Untouched - BTS - Rating: Teen: Vampire AU called This Moon, That Moon, Chapter 1: https://archiveofourown.org/works/72297901/chapters/188239031.

Kinktober - Ageplay - Yoonjinmin Omegaverse AU: Date Night: Explicit: https://archiveofourown.org/works/65825563/chapters/188223446


Day 3: Kinktober - Threesome - BTS - Yoonminseok: Explicit https://sweetandshort.dreamwidth.org/278050.html

Whumptober - Candlelight & Found Family: BTS - Rating: Teen: Vampire AU called This Moon, That Moon, Chapter 2: https://archiveofourown.org/works/72297901/chapters/188239031

Day 4: Kinktober - voyeurism - Inception - Arthur/Eames - Rating: Teen: https://100words.dreamwidth.org/781625.html

Day 5: Kinktober: waxplay: Carmilla: Gen: https://100words.dreamwidth.org/781625.html

Day 7: Kinktober: Blindfolds: Inception - Arthur/Eames - Gen: https://100words.dreamwidth.org/783472.html

Day 8: Kinktober: webcam: BTS: SUGA/jhope: Explicit: https://archiveofourown.org/works/37632481/chapters/188391486

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Sherlock Holmes: 60 for 60

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