emaciatedwords | Network

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You have lain perfectly still, because the slightest motion would dissipate the fragments of your slumber. Now, being irrevocably awake, you peep through the half drawn window curtain, and observe that the glass is ornamented with fanciful devices in frost work, and that each pane presents something like a frozen dream. There will be time enough to trace out the analogy. You may almost distinguish the figures on the clock that has just told the hour. Such a frosty sky, and the snow covered roofs, and the long vista of the frozen street, all white, and the distant water hardened into rock, might make you shiver, even under four blankets and a woolen comforter. Yet look at that one glorious star; its beams are distinguishable from all the rest, and actually cast the shadow of the casement on the bed, with a radiance of deeper hue than moonlight, though not so accurate an outline.

In the depths of every heart, there is a tomb and a dungeon, though the lights, the music, and revelry above may cause us to forget their existence, and the buried ones, or prisoners whom they hide. But sometimes, and oftenest at midnight, those dark receptacles are flung wide open. In an hour like this, when the mind has a passive sensibility, but no active strength; when the imagination is a mirror, imparting vividness to all ideas, without the power of selecting or controlling them. There is your earliest sorrow, sadly beautiful.

anais_pf posting in

thefridayfive

When did you last . . .

1. Scrounge for change (couch, ashtray, etc.) to make a purchase?

2. Visit a dentist?

3. Make a needed change to your life?

4. Decide on a complete menu well in advance of the evening meal?

5. Spend part of the day (other than daily hygiene) totally/mostly naked?

Copy and paste to your own journal, then reply to this post with a link to your answers. If your journal is private or friends-only, you can post your full answers in the comments below.

If you'd like to suggest questions for a future Friday Five, then do so on DreamWidth or LiveJournal. Old sets that were used have been deleted, so we encourage you to suggest some more!

yourlibrarian posting in

fandom_on_dw

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turlough posting in

common_nature

We've had a very persistent winter here this year and this has happily meant that I've had lots of visitors at my bird feeders. Today I had the opportunity to photograph this adorable little Long-Tailed Tit (Aegithalos caudatus caudatus) while it was hunting for seeds on the bike-shed roof just outside my window.

Click to enlarge:

small black and white bird with very long tail feathers

( one more photo... )

Current Mood: okay

maju

I think I'm addicted to using my rebounder. I did enjoy the couple of walks I was able to do earlier in the week, but the weather has been grey and damp since then so I've stuck to indoor exercise on the rebounder. One very good thing I've noticed is that since I've been using it my balance has improved. My balance wasn't horrible, but there are some movements on the rebounder that can be done as kicks or as just steps, and when I first started rebounding I couldn't do kicks because I felt like I was going to overbalance. Now, almost two months of regular use later, I've discovered that I can do kicking movements without any fear of falling. This is motivation, as if I needed any extra, to continue using the rebounder.

I started out sleeping well last night but I woke up before 3:30 am and didn't really get back to sleep again, so now I'm tired. I had a headache around breakfast time and didn't feel much like exerting myself, but I did 30 minutes on the rebounder and the headache went away.

Everything went smoothly for my son in law getting the girls off to school this morning. Aria came down to see me in the basement at 6:30 am and protested slightly when her father called her to come upstairs for breakfast, but there was no huge tantrum about eating as there sometimes is.

susandennis

When we got to the pool this morning, we discovered a major miracle. The shades were down!!!! The shades that haven't been down in months, were down!! And now they can go up and down on command. The issue, apparently, was a dead battery. Which, of course, had anyone known, could have easily been fixed months ago. BUT, no matter. It's all fixed now and whew.

Today I break into my first refill of Wegovy. Since I plan on doing this for the rest of my life, these milestones have less significance but I still kind of think about them.

There is nothing else on the calendar today. I picked up the Timer Ridge Timeses on the way back from volleyball and delivered them. I took Martha's bowl back to her with a thank you note. She left us a bowl of tangerines on the credenza in the elbow with a Happy Chinese New Year note and a little placard explaining oranges and new years. It was cute of her and the bowl was very Chinese. (She and Richard both are Chinese. Richard used to be the representative for the whole of the 3rd floor. They live in the other wing. They still come to Saturday Elbow Coffee and still kind of feel like they 'belong' to us.)

I do have an Amazon return but I think I'll just drop it off tomorrow after the foot doctor.

I have discovered one issue with my Lenovo Yoga Tab Plus. It is VERY picky about how it charges. If it does not get a cable and charger it likes, it shows that it's charging but actually, it is just tickling. Yesterday, I took it off the charger to use for taking notes at the committee meeting and didn't notice the battery was so low and very nearly ran out of juice. Just now I hooked it up to a proper charger with a Google cable and the thing has added 15% charge since I started typing this paragraph. Ok. Lesson learned.

I'm still loving the tofu litter so much. It's so much fresher and cleaner and easier to manage. But, it is also so much louder. Biggie is in the little box right now and it sounds like he's digging to China. Of course, I did just scoop it out so he has to fix it back right but still.

Ok, time to quit fiddle farting around and get this day going.

ashelterofpages

So, in a couple hours I'm going in for my first tattoo consolation! I'm So Nervous, folks. Like, also excited, and I know nothing is going to happen, but still. I have pictures of both work the artist has done in the past that i like/makes me think of what I want, as well as other images for reference of the things I'm actually looking to get done, but still. Vrrrr.

After that, I'm headed to S's house for the weekend/some of next week for house-sitting. I'll be all alone for the weekend that's going to be great. I'm going to try and get some writing done, but also I have some beta work I need to get through for a friend.

Oh, speaking of writing, I did get through all those stories I mentioned last weekend. I already got a rejection on one, but that's fine. I wasn't entirely sure on it, even though I really did like what I'd come up with. I wasn't sure it hit what they were looking for as well as I'd hoped it would.

I need to do some more zine work soon too. I have all the text worked out, but I want to go through some public domain image sites and get a few to mix into the zine itself. My plan is to go through the text I have, then make a list of things that I can search for and see what I can find/maybe do minor edits on. If I were a better artist, I'd try and draw stuff myself, but I'm a much better writier than I am anything else.

taz_39

**Disclaimer** The views and opinions expressed in this post are my own, and do not reflect the views or opinions of my employer. DO NOT RESHARE ANY PART OF THIS POST WITHOUT PERMISSION. Thank you.

This post covers Tuesday.

--- --- --- --- --- ---

TUESDAY

Not surprisingly, tossed and turned, and every time I woke up I was halfway through part of my presentation haha. Got up reluctantly with my alarm. Coffee, and decided to eat breakfast on the road so packed it along with some snacks and water.

Around 7am I walked to get the rental car. It was easy and I was finished around 7:30...which I was banking on, because Sprouts down the street opened at 7! This meant I had time to pop in there and poke around. They always have interesting foods that I don't find elsewhere. I found two more flavors of Drizzilicious, Very Berry and French Toast, and picked those up to go in my trunk. I can try them in upcoming cities. Also picked up some hand lotion, fruit, and a new flavor of Mezcla bar which happens to be strawberry, like the new Koia shake flavor that came out a few days ago.

I'm sure this flurry of strawberry-flavored products were released intentionally close to Valentine's Day, but unlike Koia, Mezcla didn't at all advertise that there would be a new flavor, which I find odd.

--- --- --- --- --- ---

The Masterclass

Anyway, from there I drove 90 minutes to Delaware State University. A straight shot down I-95, eating my overnight oats and yogurt.

Arrived well on time and happened upon the organizer, who had just pulled up with catering trays of cold cut sandwiches and cookies. He wouldn't let me help carry anything but I held a few doors and followed him to the green room. He set up the food and got me comfortable. I ate a snack and listened to the presenter before me, who was giving a jazz clinic. It sounded great! There were several high schools visiting for the event, and some students got up to take solos with the presenter.

As they were finishing up, a tech helped me to get my laptop and PowerPoint set up backstage. We chatted and I felt nervous until it was time for me to go on.

There were maybe 40-50 students in the crowd, plus their teachers. The presentation went exactly as I'd practiced it in my hotel room. I only tripped over my tongue once or twice, and sometimes while gesturing I'd hit the lavalier mic because I'm not used to wearing one (but it was better than a handheld.) The PowerPoint went flawlessly which was a huge surprise. I wrapped up in plenty of time for the next presenter to set up while I was doing the Q&A. As far as whether the students got anything out of it...I'm honestly not sure :/ Several were making eye contact and nodding, or laughing at my little interspersed jokes. But others looked bored, or were clearly looking at their phones, and a few looked like they were half asleep. Most were high school students so this didn't bother me...kinda typical, you know?

I did see several students taking pictures of some of my slides that contained detailed information about application processes and contact info. And afterward pretty much all of the teachers/faculty made a point to tell me they'd enjoyed the presentation and found it informative...in fact, the teachers had more questions during Q&A than the students! I hope this doesn't mean my presentation wasn't a good fit for this audience...I hadn't been aware that high schools would be attending too. A lot of those kids haven't decided on careers yet.

Afterward I thanked the presenter, packed up my gear, wolfed down a catered sandwich and cookie, and hit the road. Whether anyone learned anything, I don't know, but at minimum it's good for me to get more practice doing these. Hopefully I'll get feedback from the presenter in a few days.

Drove all the way back, returned the rental car, and had just enough time to get dressed for the show and put away my Sprouts goodies before heading back out to meet Jonah and his fiancee's family for dinner.

--- --- --- --- --- ---

The Family Visit

They had chosen an Italian place near the theater. It was very small, but warm and inviting and the portions were HUGE. Danielle (his fiance) and I got gnocchi, hers was sweet potato with alfredo sauce and mine was regular with a 12-hour beef ragout. It was real homemade gnocchi and was AMAZING, pillowy and fresh. The ragout was incredibly flavorful and had chunks of tender beef. Everyone else’s food looked amazing as well (no pics because I didn’t want to be rude.)

This was my first time meeting Jonah’s soon-to-be in-laws. They seem completely pleasant; Danielle’s dad in particular was chock full of agonizingly awful dad jokes :p We talked a LOT, and of course they all wanted to know all about touring and the shows and whatnot. But I made sure to ask everyone at the table about their work, or wedding prep, or basic facts in the case of Danielle’s parents since they’re New Family.

This is maybe an odd thing to say, but as Jonah doesn’t really have parents—his dad/our stepdad is an absentee drug addict, and our mom has passed away—aside from my Aunt, I'm kind of the oldest family representative he's got. As such, I was a bit nervous to give a good impression. I certainly got a good impression of all of them!

After our lovely meal it was still a bit early, so we killed time at a nearby bar (I didn't drink.) When it was time I walked over and they followed to get their tickets.

--- --- --- --- --- ---

The Show

Backstage, we had a lovely surprise from Disney Theatrical Group and the venue for Lunar New Year:

(photo courtesy Darrel, ensemble)

The pretty envelope is called hongbao, and they are traditionally filled with money and given as gifts during the New Year to wish good fortune, blessings, etc on friends and family. These had New Years wishes in several Asian languages, and a chocolate gold coin :) There were also cupcakes backstage which I was too full to eat but took one for later.

The show went just fine. I am not shaking any more...it went away on it's own. And I was exhausted, having spent all of my adrenaline on that masterclass. Jonah & Co. enjoyed the show very much, but we didn't meet up afterward because everyone had to work early tomorrow. It was great to see my little brother and spend time with him and his soon-to-be wife and in-laws!

Additionally, housekeeping DID service my room today, yay!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Wednesday: Two shows so no plans.

Thursday: Meeting an online friend for lunch at a cafe, possibly visiting the African American History Museum, and an evening show.

luminousdaze posting in

fandom_icons

95 movie and TV show icons (icons include many variations).

( Fandoms... )

( four more previews... )

View here at

spectral_color

ysabetwordsmith posting in

common_nature

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 ... )

Current Mood: accomplished

axlraimi posting in

addme

Name:Morgan :)

Age: 23

I mostly post about: The media I consume and my opinions on it, daily life occurences and complaints, thoughts about the internet and modern life

My hobbies are: Playing videogames, watching movies and tv shows, drawing digitally, roleplaying in discord, coding

My fandoms are: Game of thrones books, whatever actor I might be obssesed with ATM (currently daniel ings and david dastmalchian), dcu, doctor who, death stranding, fallout new vegas, cyberpunk 2077, kingdom come deliverance

I'm looking to meet people who: are interested in interacting in eachothers posts even in small ways, like liking. creating and building an active community. people who read entire journal entries and anyone with interests similar to mine, also lgbt and neurodivergent people.

My posting schedule tends to be:It's sporadic, although I try to hit a daily pace

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: I have no deal breakers... for now? I just have fun with it

Before adding me, you should know: I'm a huuuuge leftist. I don't want right wing people interacting with me, ever. Also I complain alot, I swear like a sailor... if you're sensitive to swearing don't add me. Yay

Current Mood: giddy

greghousesgf

Decided to stay home today because yesterday wore me out so damn much. Also too much damn rain.

Current Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-Iwio2YH1I&list=RDI-Iwio2YH1I&start_radio=1

gremdark posting in

addme

Name: Em

Age: Mid-20s

I mostly post about: Lately, I've mostly used Dreamwidth for life updates related to my quest to get a teaching certification in my area. I also use it for fandom exchanges and general writing community.

My hobbies are: Writing is the big one. I write poetry and original short fiction. In fandom spaces, I tend to write a lot of short form erotica.

My fandoms are: Many and varied. Some of the favorites at the moment are BBC Merlin, October Daye, the Young Justice cartoon, and Wooden Overcoats.

I'm looking to meet people who: I like sharing this space with a wide variety of people. Some of my favorite members of my circle post recipes, media reviews, or meaty fandom meta, but other favorites are just sharing links to interesting news articles or talking about life.

My posting schedule tends to be: It's been sporadic in the past, but I've been trying to get in the habit of posting a few times a week. It's been grounding.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are: Don't be a Trump supporter, anti-LGBTQ, or a climate change denier.

Before adding me, you should know: I'm polyamorous and live in a tight-knit community that includes many platonic and romantic life partners. Sometimes I post about US politics, but that's going to be fairly rare. I am quite left-wing, because my government's right-wing social policies negatively impact my community and my family. If you show up on my reading page and ask a question in your post, I'll probably answer it in the comments.

Current Mood: peaceful
Current Music: My washing machine's rinse cycle

witchpoetdreamer posting in

addme

Name: You can call me Lina!

Age:35

I mostly post about: Journal entries about writing, social medias/the internet and anything creative, witchcraft, what I'm reading/what I've read, etc. Anything that I'm wanting to write about really.

My hobbies are: Reading, writing, making arts and crafts, drawing, anything that tickles my creative brain. And also watching junk TV because I contain multitude.

My fandoms are Mo Dao Zu Shi and Scum Villain (anything MXTX but I haven't finished Heaven Officials Blessings yet). I've also dipped my toes in Stardew Valley and Bridgerton as a fandom, although I haven't written anything for those yet. I'm Deadfandomswriter on AO3 if you wanna take a look.

I'm looking to meet people who: Are open minded and care about building a sense of community through active participation in their spaces. Are creative and love to see magic in their every day lives (I consider birdwatching to be its own kind of magic for the sense of wonder it brings, for example).

My posting schedule tends to be: So far a couple times a week, but I don't really schedule those.

When I add people, my dealbreakers are:Bigots, small minded people

Before adding me, you should know: Other than everything else above, I'm queer, and that probably will colour what I write about more than once in a while. I also do not speak to my family anymore (although my family-in-law have welcomed me warmly), and that also can come up, so if it's something that is uncomfortable for you, you might want to avoid my blog. Oh! And my first language is French!

Current Mood: relaxed

maju

An interesting set of questions I've seen in a couple of different places.

Adults responsible for your care actively helped facilitate your early learning. (Reading at bedtime, playing educational games, going to child-friendly museums...) My mother read to us and there were plenty of books in our home. We even had a three-volume set of encyclopaedias which we referred to for some school projects. We didn't go to museums because there weren't any where we lived. We played board games but nothing specifically educational. (I'm not sure whether such a thing even existed when I was growing up in the 1950s.)

You had a library card. Yes, and I made good use of it.

Adults in your life involved you in tasks that involved mathematic skills. My father had my sisters and me work on farm-related maths problems, mainly adding and subtracting.

If you started falling behind in school, you received help from a private tutor. I never fell behind in school until I was in my second last year of high school when I struggled with maths, and at that time I did not receive any tutoring.

You went to a well-funded school. I have no idea. I went to public schools in Australia, and I believe they were better funded in the 1950s and 60s than they are now.

You typically attended school adequately clothed and fed. I was always adequately fed and almost always adequately clothed, but there was one year when my sisters and I had to go to school barefoot. This was really only shocking because we were girls; it was fairly common at that time and in that place for boys to go to school barefooted.

Adults responsible for your care were able to help you make decisions when it came time to pursue higher education. No, they were completely out of their depth because my father had to leave school when he was about 12 and my mother when she was about 14.

If you were disabled and/or neurodivergent, you were classified by your school and received support through the education system. Not applicable to me, but as far as I'm aware, such resources weren't available in my town at that time.

You generally felt physically and emotionally safe at school. Yes, much more so than I did at home in fact.

You were in relatively good physical and mental health. Yes.

For the most part, you were able to study and complete assignments without any struggle. Yes, all the way through primary school and the first three years of high school. Living away from home to finish the final two years of high school, I struggled, especially with maths. English was never a problem.
Test-taking came easily to you. Yes.

You seldom faced difficulty understanding assignments. True.

You read at grade level or above. I think I was reading a couple of grades ahead all through primary school. The teacher used to give me advanced reading materials to read when I had finished my work ahead of most of the rest of the class.

Your mathematics skills were at grade level or above. I don't think so, but I certainly wasn't behind.

Adults responsible for your care supported your academic journey for the better and for the worse. Not really. My mother encouraged us to get further education after primary and secondary school, but our father was against it.

maju

A couple of days ago I borrowed a book from the library and started reading it, and no sooner had I got into it than two books on my holds list became available. I hate that because now I feel pressured to get them all read within three weeks, before they "magically" disappear. I know I can easily read three books within three weeks, but I still feel pressured. (They're all e-books.)

Yesterday I was working on a crochet square while watching a show, and after I'd finished the square and sewn in the ends of yarn I discovered not one but two mistakes. I had to fix one because I had messed up a corner and it was very obvious, but I left the other one because it was even further back than the botched corner and not as obvious. (I'd done three double crochet in a space where I should have done four.)

My daughter has gone to a conference in NYC and won't be back until Sunday. Last time I was here when she was away the girls were little angels getting ready for school in the mornings, so I hope that will be the case this time as well.

bill_schubert

I never did receive two of my 1099s but one of them I know the amount and the other is only $35 or so and I can just fake it.

Ended up I paid the last of the quarterly payments a month or so late and an extra $8 and we're all even. No penalty, no interest, everyone is happy. My tax rate is 5.79%. All adjusted for being old and such. ChatGPT says the IRS treated us 'gently' this year.

Another reason to not make any changes. I'm not sure I can improve on our tax rate or property tax rate or anything else. Being a senior does have some benefits.

Played PB today and my wrist was OK. Which is good since I'm scheduled to play again tomorrow. Mixed doubles group. After which I elected to do taxes. I really need to take a shower and get ice on the wrist and do nothing else for the rest of the day.

Headed there now.

And in the time it took me to write this entry, the IRS has accepted our return. How things have changed.

susandennis

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.

adore

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

bookscorpion posting in

common_nature

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!

pilottttt posting in

common_nature

Only after disaster can we be resurrected.

Network

Custom Text

The Friday Five for 20 February 2026

March Meta Matters Challenge 2026 Returning!

tiny long-tailed tit

(no subject)

Shot Number 5

(no subject)

Philadelphia, PA 2026 Week 2 part 1.2, Tuesday: Masterclass and Family Visit 1 of 3

icons of multiple fandoms

Photos: Flowerbeds

Hello everynyan

(no subject)

Posting here now that I'm more active again!

Hello! About time I share something here I think XD

(no subject)

(no subject)

All done

Wednesday

(no subject)

Crow Bath

And another Istanbul cat.