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Fannish 50 2026 #11: The X-Files
Feb. 25th, 2026 10:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
elaynaI watched The X-Files from the beginning, just on the basis that the trailer looked interesting, and enjoyed it very much the first 4-5 seasons. I was reasonably fannish, attending several conventions, but didn't get much into fanfic or interacting on whatever kind of internet forum it would have been then.
Seeing Chris Carter at a convention was one of the things that started burning me out. Because people were asking about the 'conspiracy' episodes and how they tied together, and looking at him, I thought: you don't have an overall plan and you're really entertained that fans are spending so much time believing you do and trying to figure it out.
I could have been completely maligning him, of course, but the more episodes that seemed to tie together but left viewers dangling, the more I burned out. I think I watched an episode of two after David Duchovny left but I didn't warm to the new characters and dropped it.
I watched the first season of the reboot and hated it, though I don't remember much now.
So I'm not looking for more X-Files but I've read that Ryan Coogler is producing the reboot, and okay. For him, I will give it a try. I thought Black Panther was an excellent movie and I trust that Coogler will have an interesting take. Supernatural stories can be fun.
Seeing Chris Carter at a convention was one of the things that started burning me out. Because people were asking about the 'conspiracy' episodes and how they tied together, and looking at him, I thought: you don't have an overall plan and you're really entertained that fans are spending so much time believing you do and trying to figure it out.
I could have been completely maligning him, of course, but the more episodes that seemed to tie together but left viewers dangling, the more I burned out. I think I watched an episode of two after David Duchovny left but I didn't warm to the new characters and dropped it.
I watched the first season of the reboot and hated it, though I don't remember much now.
So I'm not looking for more X-Files but I've read that Ryan Coogler is producing the reboot, and okay. For him, I will give it a try. I thought Black Panther was an excellent movie and I trust that Coogler will have an interesting take. Supernatural stories can be fun.
(no subject)
Feb. 25th, 2026 01:48 pmmelaganThis was Adulting day. I feel both accomplished and slightly annoyed.
I used to eat adulting with a spoon, but since I've retired I try to keep it away with a big stick.
On a completely different topic, I am looking forward to seeing the movie Project Hail Mary. I must have read the book three times since it came out, and the trailers look awesome.
I used to eat adulting with a spoon, but since I've retired I try to keep it away with a big stick.
On a completely different topic, I am looking forward to seeing the movie Project Hail Mary. I must have read the book three times since it came out, and the trailers look awesome.
Day 4
Feb. 23rd, 2026 10:03 pmsgatazmyYay, day 4 of posting!
My writing group went really well, I think? One of my friends from the sga discord came over along with a few of my local friends. We wrote for a bit and we played a game of "Five Why's". My entry:
Five Why's: The Deviled Egg
( My entry for Five Why's )
Anyone else want to try? It can be for any fandom or original.
I had no idea the painter for our garage would be here on the weekend so I was not ready for the house to smell of paint and the heat to have to be turned off for the event. My AO3 bff neighbor offered for us to use her house, but it worked out in the end. I hope to do another group next month. Maybe keep the momentum going. Maybe even try running an online one next term when I'm less busy (anyone interested? It would be more of a "live" writing group via zoom or something. I'm in enough asynchronous writing stuff but not enough synchronous ones)
In other news, I signed myself up for Fandom Trumps Hate again. I had so much fun last year and I'm really proud of the creations I managed. Last year, thanks to very generous fandom friends, I brought in $180 with my 3 works. I do not think anything close to that will happen this time, but I'm happy to take part. It's good motivation and it does something good.
Oh! I impulsively reserved a hotel for me to go to the scifi convention Shore Leave over in Lancaster, PA in July. Lots of amazing writers will be there as well David Hewlett and Rachel Luttrell. I think I will take my middle who was very upset she didn't get to meet DH last time. I'm hoping I'll know some people going. It's so much more fun to go with people. But either way, it should be fun.
My writing group went really well, I think? One of my friends from the sga discord came over along with a few of my local friends. We wrote for a bit and we played a game of "Five Why's". My entry:
Five Why's: The Deviled Egg
( My entry for Five Why's )
Anyone else want to try? It can be for any fandom or original.
I had no idea the painter for our garage would be here on the weekend so I was not ready for the house to smell of paint and the heat to have to be turned off for the event. My AO3 bff neighbor offered for us to use her house, but it worked out in the end. I hope to do another group next month. Maybe keep the momentum going. Maybe even try running an online one next term when I'm less busy (anyone interested? It would be more of a "live" writing group via zoom or something. I'm in enough asynchronous writing stuff but not enough synchronous ones)
In other news, I signed myself up for Fandom Trumps Hate again. I had so much fun last year and I'm really proud of the creations I managed. Last year, thanks to very generous fandom friends, I brought in $180 with my 3 works. I do not think anything close to that will happen this time, but I'm happy to take part. It's good motivation and it does something good.
Oh! I impulsively reserved a hotel for me to go to the scifi convention Shore Leave over in Lancaster, PA in July. Lots of amazing writers will be there as well David Hewlett and Rachel Luttrell. I think I will take my middle who was very upset she didn't get to meet DH last time. I'm hoping I'll know some people going. It's so much more fun to go with people. But either way, it should be fun.
Daily life
Feb. 23rd, 2026 10:45 ammelaganI just spent 10 minutes looking for a screw.
It was a tiny thing and the only one I had that fit an electric outlet plate. Yes. That kind of screw.
I had it taped to the plastic outlet plate. Taped to it so I wouldn't lose it.
While rummaging in my toolbox for pliers for...(that's another story), I came across the bare, naked, screwless plate. I did eventually find the screw, and this time plate and screw are in a ziplock bag.
Huh. I wonder if that has anything to do with the explicit- definitely got screwed - fic I just posted? Balance in the universe and all that.
As long as no minor is reading over your shoulder, you can read it here.
It was a tiny thing and the only one I had that fit an electric outlet plate. Yes. That kind of screw.
I had it taped to the plastic outlet plate. Taped to it so I wouldn't lose it.
While rummaging in my toolbox for pliers for...(that's another story), I came across the bare, naked, screwless plate. I did eventually find the screw, and this time plate and screw are in a ziplock bag.
Huh. I wonder if that has anything to do with the explicit- definitely got screwed - fic I just posted? Balance in the universe and all that.
As long as no minor is reading over your shoulder, you can read it here.
Weeks 5/52 to 8/52 - where did those weeks go?
Feb. 23rd, 2026 06:20 amruricSo much for doing a weekly round up! Whoops.
HOME: life got busy and my decluttering/#orjenising stalled.
HEALTH my sleep patterns are still FUBAR'd but otherwise good.
LIFE ADMIN: looking at European alternatives to Gmail and Dropbox - eyeing up Proton.
DIGITAL DECLUTTER: have kept email at mail at 11,000 but not managed to reduce it; staying on top of transferring To Keep items from tablet to dropbox, my phone images storage is a mess.
GARDENING/ALLOTMENTING: nope - too cold and/or wet and lacked motivation.
COOKING/EATING: a few too many coffee shop lunches but resisting the lure of takeaways.
READING/LISTENING: not the last few weeks.
WATCHING: Still not caught up on Stranger Things and have only managed one episode of Heated Rivalry. Keeping up with returning shows and trying to avoid picking up new ones! Did bing Marple and Miss Marple in Wales.
CREATING/LEARNING: dealing with sewing in ends on Halloween blanket then need to block it and the granny square blanket. Hecicardi 75% finished but need to frog a bit and redo. While in Wales did 24 granny squares for small project bags and 13 for large bag. Just need to decide if I want more to make bags larger. Have plenty of wool - then must stitch together, line and finish.
CATS: all good.
VOLUNTEERING: still have one outstanding task.
SOCIALISING: nope - not even phone calls. Proper hermitting other than crochet club and class.
WORK: a bit meh for the last few weeks and have unfortunately scheduled 3 consecutive weeks of weekend working.
Plan for this coming week - work long office days Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, TOIL Wednesday, off Friday and Sunday, working Saturday.
HOME: life got busy and my decluttering/#orjenising stalled.
HEALTH my sleep patterns are still FUBAR'd but otherwise good.
LIFE ADMIN: looking at European alternatives to Gmail and Dropbox - eyeing up Proton.
DIGITAL DECLUTTER: have kept email at mail at 11,000 but not managed to reduce it; staying on top of transferring To Keep items from tablet to dropbox, my phone images storage is a mess.
GARDENING/ALLOTMENTING: nope - too cold and/or wet and lacked motivation.
COOKING/EATING: a few too many coffee shop lunches but resisting the lure of takeaways.
READING/LISTENING: not the last few weeks.
WATCHING: Still not caught up on Stranger Things and have only managed one episode of Heated Rivalry. Keeping up with returning shows and trying to avoid picking up new ones! Did bing Marple and Miss Marple in Wales.
CREATING/LEARNING: dealing with sewing in ends on Halloween blanket then need to block it and the granny square blanket. Hecicardi 75% finished but need to frog a bit and redo. While in Wales did 24 granny squares for small project bags and 13 for large bag. Just need to decide if I want more to make bags larger. Have plenty of wool - then must stitch together, line and finish.
CATS: all good.
VOLUNTEERING: still have one outstanding task.
SOCIALISING: nope - not even phone calls. Proper hermitting other than crochet club and class.
WORK: a bit meh for the last few weeks and have unfortunately scheduled 3 consecutive weeks of weekend working.
Plan for this coming week - work long office days Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, TOIL Wednesday, off Friday and Sunday, working Saturday.
Bits and pieces, catching up
Feb. 23rd, 2026 04:53 pmmificI've been busy lately with several things on the go - doing HR art for the ICE OUT donations challenge, recording a long SGA podfic for the Podfic Big Bang (And Hope by Sihaya Black), and trying to fit in recording a couple of shorter ones for Romancing McShep and Romancing SGA, as well. Oof. Plus a lot of HR fic reading. I've accepted that it's impossible to keep up in any meaningful sense, and just surf along reading stuff I see reccd or authors I know I like a lot, and the few WIPs I'm following. Eventually I guess I'll catch up with numerous gems in the fandom that I missed in this avalanche of new fics, many of them extremely good.
In terms of reading very good authors, I had an exceptionally obsessive episode today where I started a story by one of my fave HR writers and couldn't read it. Because (unlike in ALL their other fics) they'd chosen to do all the Ilya POV narration in Ilya-speak, with most of the articles dropped. Russian doesn't have separate articles, I gather, because the distinction between "a ball" & "the ball" is done with word order - which is why in English, Russians often drop their articles. An example:
1. Девушка читает книгу. (The girl is reading a book)
2. Книгу читает девушка. (The girl is reading the book)
In both sentences, the meaning is nearly the same. However, in Sentence 2, the placement of “книгу” (book) at the beginning, before “девушка” (girl), highlights the importance of the book and implies a specific book.
The parts of the fic where it was Ilya's dialogue were fine because that portrays his actual speech, but the narrative (for me) is his thoughts (internal narration) in tight 3rd POV and there's NO WAY he'd be dropping "articles" in his thinking in Russian. It made him seem stupid, which he very much isn't, and I couldn't bear to read it. So I just now copied it into Word and betaed it, adding back in all the articles from his narrative POV parts. If you recognise the fic, hit me up in a DM and I'll share the edited version. It's a bloody good fic otherwise, 9000 words.
Life's been quiet apart from reccing, writing, arting and podficcing, and I'm looking forward to a dinner out with friends this Wednesday. Also enjoying sweet corn, and the start of the stone fruit season, with gorgeous nectarines. My garden is blowsy and straggly now, in late summer, and I need to take some time (ha!) to trim it back a bit. It's still warm here, about 22-24 degC highs, usually, and drier of late so I'm still watering the entire garden by hand every 3 days.
One bloody annoying thing that happened was that my credit card was hacked back at the end of January (picked up via notifications coming up on my phone from my banking app asking me to approve a bunch of things I hadn't bought). Luckily all smallish purchases (kids? An unambitious thief, anyway) and I think the bank will refund them. But that meant cancelling that card and them mailing me another (a process I last went through several months ago). And then the mailed card never arrived (presumed stolen from my letterbox) and I got another couple of false transactions on the new card that I hadn't even seen yet! So yet another card cancellation and this time I got it mailed to my bank. I was very glad that after the last debacle several months ago I'd arranged a second credit card via my other bank (I have accounts at 2 banks for reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture).
Anyway, in terms of recs:
- I'm reading all Evilharlowe's HR works on AO3 - they really are a fantastic writer.
- Happened on a great short edit that sets Shane and Ilya's tuna melt hiatus to a Chappel Roan song (The Subway - amazing song) - heartrending edit, very well done, but man, I wish it were a full-sized fanvid.
- Bringing to your attention this workout video by Hudson Williams. Leg day and his skincare routine are really paying off! (CN for casual mentions of eating extreme diets or 'not eating' to make his body fit acting roles. Which is worrying but probably routine for actors.)
- there's a LOT of HR podfic by now and every day there are 1 or 2 new ones. It's a great way to revisit fics I read and loved while I do art. For example,cathexys podficced Magneticwave's Clear to a Hedgehog. This link gets you HR podfic on AO3.
Enough for now. Waving at you all - hope things are going as well as they can.! 💗
In terms of reading very good authors, I had an exceptionally obsessive episode today where I started a story by one of my fave HR writers and couldn't read it. Because (unlike in ALL their other fics) they'd chosen to do all the Ilya POV narration in Ilya-speak, with most of the articles dropped. Russian doesn't have separate articles, I gather, because the distinction between "a ball" & "the ball" is done with word order - which is why in English, Russians often drop their articles. An example:
1. Девушка читает книгу. (The girl is reading a book)
2. Книгу читает девушка. (The girl is reading the book)
In both sentences, the meaning is nearly the same. However, in Sentence 2, the placement of “книгу” (book) at the beginning, before “девушка” (girl), highlights the importance of the book and implies a specific book.
The parts of the fic where it was Ilya's dialogue were fine because that portrays his actual speech, but the narrative (for me) is his thoughts (internal narration) in tight 3rd POV and there's NO WAY he'd be dropping "articles" in his thinking in Russian. It made him seem stupid, which he very much isn't, and I couldn't bear to read it. So I just now copied it into Word and betaed it, adding back in all the articles from his narrative POV parts. If you recognise the fic, hit me up in a DM and I'll share the edited version. It's a bloody good fic otherwise, 9000 words.
Life's been quiet apart from reccing, writing, arting and podficcing, and I'm looking forward to a dinner out with friends this Wednesday. Also enjoying sweet corn, and the start of the stone fruit season, with gorgeous nectarines. My garden is blowsy and straggly now, in late summer, and I need to take some time (ha!) to trim it back a bit. It's still warm here, about 22-24 degC highs, usually, and drier of late so I'm still watering the entire garden by hand every 3 days.
One bloody annoying thing that happened was that my credit card was hacked back at the end of January (picked up via notifications coming up on my phone from my banking app asking me to approve a bunch of things I hadn't bought). Luckily all smallish purchases (kids? An unambitious thief, anyway) and I think the bank will refund them. But that meant cancelling that card and them mailing me another (a process I last went through several months ago). And then the mailed card never arrived (presumed stolen from my letterbox) and I got another couple of false transactions on the new card that I hadn't even seen yet! So yet another card cancellation and this time I got it mailed to my bank. I was very glad that after the last debacle several months ago I'd arranged a second credit card via my other bank (I have accounts at 2 banks for reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture).
Anyway, in terms of recs:
- I'm reading all Evilharlowe's HR works on AO3 - they really are a fantastic writer.
- Happened on a great short edit that sets Shane and Ilya's tuna melt hiatus to a Chappel Roan song (The Subway - amazing song) - heartrending edit, very well done, but man, I wish it were a full-sized fanvid.
- Bringing to your attention this workout video by Hudson Williams. Leg day and his skincare routine are really paying off! (CN for casual mentions of eating extreme diets or 'not eating' to make his body fit acting roles. Which is worrying but probably routine for actors.)
- there's a LOT of HR podfic by now and every day there are 1 or 2 new ones. It's a great way to revisit fics I read and loved while I do art. For example,
cathexys podficced Magneticwave's Clear to a Hedgehog. This link gets you HR podfic on AO3.Enough for now. Waving at you all - hope things are going as well as they can.! 💗
Before I take a hammer to my iPhone...
Feb. 21st, 2026 12:25 pmstarwatcherI'm trying to email a photo from my iPhone to my computer. I know the theory --
1. Select photo.
2. Tap 'share'.
3. Select email.
4. Type addy and subject line.
5. Hit send.
But THEN --
I get a popup that says, "This message is 1.7 MB. You can reduce message size by scaling the image to one of the sizes below."
<shrug> I don't need such a large file, so I tap the next larger 487KB size. And then... NOTHING HAPPENS. The message disappears, but there's no option to hit the "send" arrow again, and there's no "swoosh" sound effect to tell me the mail is on its way.
I've initiated a "send picture" 5 or 6 times over the last 30 minutes. It hasn't shown up in my inbox, nor in my spam.
Any ideas? I've successfully sent pics to myself from my iPad, so I know it should work. But it's not, which frustrates the hell out of me. If I'm doing something wrong, I'm always ready to correct myself. But when the machine doesn't work as it should, I get pissed. This phone is only a year or so old; it's not hammer time yet, but grrr...
Day 3
Feb. 21st, 2026 08:23 amsgatazmyI forgot to post yesterday! Eeek. So that's only 2 days in a row. Maybe, instead, I should just count how many I manage in a week?
I haven't read or written much. SGA fanfic lately has mostly not caught my attention, despite being what I crave. I went back and reread my own because I guess I write stories to be able to read what I can't find. This one was A Good Enough Timeline.
( Babbling about my own fic )
I may be reading in order to avoid writing. But tonight is my writing group! I'm excited and hopeful I can finally manage another chapter of my story.
Let's see what else?
I gotta clean the house. Eeeeeek. This will not be easy.
On the reading front, I think a lot of reasons I'm struggling to read the current fics coming out, is a lot of them are using a passive voice. I want to offer some of them to be a beta, but I don't think that would come off well. I think in the past that I didn't care as much, but now it's just so hard to read past that. I also struggle to read most works shorter than 1k words because I just can't get into the scene enough to be there. At least I am getting to beta a fantastic story right now. In fact...I think I'll go do that right now.
I haven't read or written much. SGA fanfic lately has mostly not caught my attention, despite being what I crave. I went back and reread my own because I guess I write stories to be able to read what I can't find. This one was A Good Enough Timeline.
( Babbling about my own fic )
I may be reading in order to avoid writing. But tonight is my writing group! I'm excited and hopeful I can finally manage another chapter of my story.
Let's see what else?
I gotta clean the house. Eeeeeek. This will not be easy.
On the reading front, I think a lot of reasons I'm struggling to read the current fics coming out, is a lot of them are using a passive voice. I want to offer some of them to be a beta, but I don't think that would come off well. I think in the past that I didn't care as much, but now it's just so hard to read past that. I also struggle to read most works shorter than 1k words because I just can't get into the scene enough to be there. At least I am getting to beta a fantastic story right now. In fact...I think I'll go do that right now.
(no subject)
Feb. 21st, 2026 08:36 ammelaganOver the last few days, I had fangirls come to visit! wyndwalker stayed with me, and goddess47 popped over every day to encourage us to stay out of trouble or possibly to create trouble. I get those two confused.
Much popcorn was eaten and much figure skating was watched (along with other Olympic sports. Double Luge anyone?
We had some great fandom conversations over cake and coffee. These are the kind of conversations my family members couldn't care less about, but are bread and butter to me.
We held each other up over the shock ofspikedluv's passing, along with other fandom peeps lost through the years.
We wrote, read fanfic, ate a lot and when asked what quirky thing I'd watched lately...(I'm always watching stuff off the beaten path) I could recommend Jules.
wyndwalker stayed with me, and goddess47 popped over every day to encourage us to stay out of trouble or possibly to create trouble. I get those two confused.Much popcorn was eaten and much figure skating was watched (along with other Olympic sports. Double Luge anyone?
We had some great fandom conversations over cake and coffee. These are the kind of conversations my family members couldn't care less about, but are bread and butter to me.
We held each other up over the shock of
spikedluv's passing, along with other fandom peeps lost through the years. We wrote, read fanfic, ate a lot and when asked what quirky thing I'd watched lately...(I'm always watching stuff off the beaten path) I could recommend Jules.
Romancing McShep Happy-ending Fest 2026
Feb. 20th, 2026 01:17 pmmelaganThe fest is open until the end of the month. If McShep is your jam be sure to check out the
Romancing McShep 2026 collection
I'm still working on my story. Yes, I thought I'd be done and have it posted by now. The story thought differently *shrug*
I'll just be making another cup of coffee and staring at the bloody thing until the words form into something comprehensible.
Or type something. That's probably a better plan. :)
Romancing McShep 2026 collection
I'm still working on my story. Yes, I thought I'd be done and have it posted by now. The story thought differently *shrug*
I'll just be making another cup of coffee and staring at the bloody thing until the words form into something comprehensible.
Or type something. That's probably a better plan. :)
Day 2
Feb. 19th, 2026 09:56 pmsgatazmy Day two! I'm writing here again. Yay. I remembered. See Dreamwidth is really hard for me to remember. It's not like Discord that gives me reminders it exists. Dreamwidth is in the drawer I only remember to open when I realize it's been forever since I've opened that drawer.
So what am I up to?
I'm betaing an amazing story and so excited to get to beta it.
I'm still working on Deep Down Below and I think I finally have the next chapter in my mind worked out. It is so not at all like the original chapter...whoops.
I keep meaning to remember to read books. Like actual books that aren't fanfiction. I mostly forget books exist. I have several books I really want to read and I start them, but then I forget they exist. I am enjoying reading to my youngest. We are reading The Vanderbeekers of 41st Street. It's a kids novel about a family getting evicted and the kids trying to convince the grumpy landlord to let them stay. Neither of my older kids would read the book with me, so I'm excited to read it now.
My eldest is reading Murderbot. She's fairly far into the series and I just now finished book two. At first she didn't like it, but the whole series has grown on her.
So anyway, I did it. I wrote. I'm here! Yay.
So what am I up to?
I'm betaing an amazing story and so excited to get to beta it.
I'm still working on Deep Down Below and I think I finally have the next chapter in my mind worked out. It is so not at all like the original chapter...whoops.
I keep meaning to remember to read books. Like actual books that aren't fanfiction. I mostly forget books exist. I have several books I really want to read and I start them, but then I forget they exist. I am enjoying reading to my youngest. We are reading The Vanderbeekers of 41st Street. It's a kids novel about a family getting evicted and the kids trying to convince the grumpy landlord to let them stay. Neither of my older kids would read the book with me, so I'm excited to read it now.
My eldest is reading Murderbot. She's fairly far into the series and I just now finished book two. At first she didn't like it, but the whole series has grown on her.
So anyway, I did it. I wrote. I'm here! Yay.
The Oh Noes and the Hell Yes's!
Feb. 19th, 2026 09:57 pmruricI realise it's only mid month but February has been a MONTH.
( The Oh Noes cut for those who'd rather avoid them- not personal ones cos I'm OK )
7. It has been grey and wet here in London for ever - at least from the start of the year with maybe 2 days of blue skies and sunshine and it's taking a toll.
8. Went to Wales last week and only took one of the two cats. The other hid and so stayed home with a pile of food. Athena - the usually quiet reserved cat - came with me and we had some bonding time without her sister getting in the way. Artemis, the little fiend who stayed home, has been making up for the fact that she was cruelly abandoned - in a warm flat with plenty of food and water and oodles of toys - ever since!
9. Relatedly having spent the week in the cosy, tidy cottage I'm even more determined to subdue and sort out the utter chaos of my living situation in London where I have tried to effectively cram the. Contents of a 3 bed house into what is essentially a two room flat.
10. I've not been able to get to the allotment or do any gardening because WET. Not amused.
The Hell Yes's
1. I spent last week working remotely from the cottage which also included a lot of naps, TV, good food and a ridiculous amount of crocheting. And though it took me 2 days to get the cottage warm - it was Wales and the mountains looked fancy with a good dusting of snow. I beached myself on the couch and barely moved from Monday to Saturday (it was grey, wet and cold there too). Of course coming home on Saturday the weather did change and for a few precious hours there were blue skies and sunshine.
2. I gave myself a pass this week and lived on ready meals while trying to bring some order to 3 work related email inboxes and 2 personal ones. I'm getting there.
3. Work has at least been productive if not enjoyable. But tomorrow I'm going to a Park colleague's community planting day for a couple of hours, next week I'm spending a day handing out free trees and the week after we are having our borough wide seed swap - all of which should be fun things.
4. Crocheting has been super productive - at the beginning of the month I finished a blanket I started the week before Xmas, I've got about half a hexi cardigan finished (even though I have to frog some back), I've almost finished the granny squares for two project bags (just need to stitch them together, line them and make handles), and I'm just over halfway through some Wednesday evening classes to crochet an Easter/Spring wreath. Crochet club every Friday from 1 to 2:30pm is the non-negotiable in my diary. Time to be creative, learn new stuff, have a chat and hang out with 5-7 other fun women.
5. The ex is at the cottage this week which means I get to use his washing machine tomorrow before and after work (2-3 loads of washing) and do some more if needed early Saturday morning.
6. On that note I'm taking myself off to bed with a giant mug of Horlicks and a couple of eps of Starfleet Academy!
( The Oh Noes cut for those who'd rather avoid them- not personal ones cos I'm OK )
7. It has been grey and wet here in London for ever - at least from the start of the year with maybe 2 days of blue skies and sunshine and it's taking a toll.
8. Went to Wales last week and only took one of the two cats. The other hid and so stayed home with a pile of food. Athena - the usually quiet reserved cat - came with me and we had some bonding time without her sister getting in the way. Artemis, the little fiend who stayed home, has been making up for the fact that she was cruelly abandoned - in a warm flat with plenty of food and water and oodles of toys - ever since!
9. Relatedly having spent the week in the cosy, tidy cottage I'm even more determined to subdue and sort out the utter chaos of my living situation in London where I have tried to effectively cram the. Contents of a 3 bed house into what is essentially a two room flat.
10. I've not been able to get to the allotment or do any gardening because WET. Not amused.
The Hell Yes's
1. I spent last week working remotely from the cottage which also included a lot of naps, TV, good food and a ridiculous amount of crocheting. And though it took me 2 days to get the cottage warm - it was Wales and the mountains looked fancy with a good dusting of snow. I beached myself on the couch and barely moved from Monday to Saturday (it was grey, wet and cold there too). Of course coming home on Saturday the weather did change and for a few precious hours there were blue skies and sunshine.
2. I gave myself a pass this week and lived on ready meals while trying to bring some order to 3 work related email inboxes and 2 personal ones. I'm getting there.
3. Work has at least been productive if not enjoyable. But tomorrow I'm going to a Park colleague's community planting day for a couple of hours, next week I'm spending a day handing out free trees and the week after we are having our borough wide seed swap - all of which should be fun things.
4. Crocheting has been super productive - at the beginning of the month I finished a blanket I started the week before Xmas, I've got about half a hexi cardigan finished (even though I have to frog some back), I've almost finished the granny squares for two project bags (just need to stitch them together, line them and make handles), and I'm just over halfway through some Wednesday evening classes to crochet an Easter/Spring wreath. Crochet club every Friday from 1 to 2:30pm is the non-negotiable in my diary. Time to be creative, learn new stuff, have a chat and hang out with 5-7 other fun women.
5. The ex is at the cottage this week which means I get to use his washing machine tomorrow before and after work (2-3 loads of washing) and do some more if needed early Saturday morning.
6. On that note I'm taking myself off to bed with a giant mug of Horlicks and a couple of eps of Starfleet Academy!