I suppose that it says something about my mindset and history that when I’m shopping at Home Depot and see a sign that says fencing, my first thought is swords.

I tried to call my Senators (Schiff, Padilla) to urge them to hold the line on the shutdown. Padilla's line is not accepting VM and Schiff's is full. I believe they will not cave -- but I've been wrong before, and they need to know that their voters are watching. HOLD THE LINE.

@schiff.senate.gov @padilla.senate.gov do not cave on the shutdown. Do not let your colleagues cave. I emailed you because voice mail boxes are full. Just adding this to make sure you're paying attention to what your constituents want.

Well Good.

I have reassembled the 4-frame floor loom I wove on when I was a kid (other people had piano lessons; I had weaving lessons. My family was proudly singular). Now I just need to find it a home.

Had bananas in danger of going south. Result: banana doughnuts with brown butter icing. Let the small humans seek individually wrapped candies: we’re keeping these for ourselves.

To own a glass kettle means that you can spend a couple of minutes watching as the molecules in your tea water get more and more excited. It’s a little like watching a high school dance: at first there are only a couple of tiny dancing bubbles, but soon there is a frenzy of excitation.

Found in Oakland: my philosophy (or one of them).

Today I learned: -silicone muffin tins do not bake as evenly as metal muffin tins -making buttermilk substitute when you run short takes a minute, works fine. -making a cake flour substitute takes 5 minutes, works fine. -my favorite yellow cake recipe makes far more cupcakes than expected.

Can you help Laura Anne help Castiel?

It’s pub day for the new editions of the first three Regency-noir Sarah Tolerance Mysteries: Point of Honour, Petty Treason, and The Sleeping Partner—available in print or ebook! And Coming in October, The Doxies Penalty! And yes, I’m delighted!

“Blue states are finally learning what red states have known all along: you don’t need federal permission to govern.” 🇺🇸 You are about to feel much better 🇺🇸

Spot on. This is the clearest explanation I’ve seen. It ‘s relatable, and humanizes the issue in a way everyone can understand.

💕🏳️‍⚧️✌️

Showing up to march: A start to stopping this coup. Find more ways to act. #zentao

Just because I call someone Poopsicle” doesn’t mean that’s his real name. Same applies to international waters.

Heya, popping in briefly today to reshare an announcement. @writingtheother.com is offering an "Are You My Ally?" webinar in March. The webinar is available to attend live or to download as a recording. Can you please share or RT? writingtheother.com/are-you-my-a...

It’s a small irritation in this dumpster fire world, but my 11:10 flight now won’t leave until 3:10. My laptop is out of juice and my charger is in my checked bag. I have a notebook and pen, so I guess I’ll write a book…but still.

If you're not anxious, you're not paying attention. It's really that bad. #zentao

THIS!!! MORE. OF. THIS. www.mlive.com/news/grand-r...

Ordering the CDC to stop all public communications in the middle of a bird flu epidemic is definitely a choice. www.nytimes.com/2025/01/22/h...

Bravo. And Coughenour is a Reagan appointee, no less.

The little fire (well, 45 acres worth) has been stopped from progressing and the level 2 evacuation has been lifted. My daughter and I (and my aunt) had evacuated just in case, and are now heading back. Note to universe: Enough already with the interesting times.

Oh hell. Fire literally up the street from my aunt’s house where I’m staying. Prepped and ready to go, but…ain’t we got fun.

Late night thoughts: take time to consider what you can change for the better, and what is not under your control. It might seem like there is little you can do but doing seemingly small things over time can have a profound effect. You will feel better for doing something - really.

Oh, fun. The Hughes Fire now has evacuation zones on both sides of I-5. We are quite sensibly detouring toward the coast. Will take longer, but O Well.

Washington folk! If you see ICE agents or marked vehicles, please report it immediately to Washington Immigrant Solidarity Network at 1-844-724-3737. If you or someone you know needs legal assistance, call the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project at 1-800-445-5771 or visit www.nwirp.org.

Wow

So we’re driving on I-5 to La. Ahead of us in the sky is what looks like a jet trail that (at this point) seems weirdly static. We discuss what it might be, and I think “It looks like someone put their nail through the fabric of the universe.” 1/2

Oooh! I’m almost home with my sweetie, and I have a brand new dressing gown to wear for New Year’s Eve! The only thing that could make it better is having a snoring dog glaring when fireworks go off nearby.

Finding connections among improbable things: My purpose in life. #zentao

Just jumping in to point out that the post office was, in fact, profitable before they were forced to guarantee pension funding 75 years into the future.

“The Post Office loses money” yeah so does the Fire Department, shut the fuck up

The future is ours. Within the laws of nature, we can make it good. #zentao

This is the truest thing ever said about AI.

The old ways won’t work. Time for a paradigm shift. Find some new answers. #zentao

Obviously the holiday baking is well under way. To all and sundry, near and far…Happy Xmas. Or Hanukkah. Or Wednesday.

I know we all have very good reasons to hate health insurers, but it is reprehensible that @propublica.org has completely ignored Autistic people asking them to issue a correction to this piece noting that the therapy in question is widely considered abusive within the Autistic community.

Joyous Feast of the Sun’s Return.

Words spoken by me for the first time ever this morning: “I have to go wax my cheese.” Not a euphemism. Behold my first wheel of home-made cheddar. It goes down for a three month nap to age, and I write the kit manufacturer with suggestions to improve their documentation.

Network of events all affecting each other: How the world evolves. #zentao h/t Carlo Rovelli

“Well what did people do in the days before modern medicine then???” They died. Died. DIED. EARLY. PAINFULLY. THEY GOT GOT BY SINGLE-CELLED ORGANISMS. (EMBARRASSING.) THEY DIED OVER SHIT LIKE STREP THROAT.

This is such a fantastic series of books, and I long for a day when it won't be terribly relevant.

Mmmph. Tornado warning at 5:57 am. Naturally I could not get back to sleep and so of course I started reading up on the history of San Francisco tornados. TLDR there have been tornados in SF in the past, but this was the first ever Tornado warning. Happily, we had no actual tornado today.

Can't stress this enough: a random story you write on a lark may end up being the one that gets you the most recognition while the one you really love may get few reads and/or your worst reviews. Don't overthink it. Publishing is a gamble. You'll win some; you'll lose some.

Every time we see this, we should repost it. Let's make it the anti-fascist version of the "Tom Holland Lip lip syncing to Umbrella in a corset" video: everyone must reshare every time, and no one gets annoyed.

So there I am, going to bed like a good girl and reading my book then turning out my light at 11:30… and shortly after midnight someone starts HAMMERING outside our house. This goes on for 20 minutes before I investigate: there are two cherry pickers right outside, at 12:17 am.

Never, ever put off buying book one of something because book two isn't out. That's a good way to ensure book two is dropped by the publisher. Sure, a couple of big noisy boys have let you down. Most of us can, do, and are burning to in fact finish what we started, given half a chance.