First #spinning project in months. This is Targhee dyed by Fish Bones Fiber. I’m delighted that I bought a double hank of it (8 ounces instead of the usual 4).

Operating a spinning wheel while holding a cat is quite a thing.

At what point do we get to declare that this government is unsalvageable and just form a new one?

This timeline is absurd, me in a flyover state watching a NYC mayor-elect's victory speech and crying, what IS that?

“Licking my wounds, burrowing down In a house in the woods on the edge of town" Amen, Florence.

Maybe I will just put FtM's Everybody Scream on repeat until the end of the world.

My spouse went to the store for lemon sandwich cookies for my birthday because of a cake failure, I think I should keep him.

Finally got the chicken saag exactly right. Color still bright green, texture puréed but not too smooth, all spices present but not overwhelming. Glad we made a double batch.

I am grateful for the birthday wishes. I am also sad for some I didn't get this year. My mom used to call me every year and remind me that I was a breech birth. And then there is the friend from old Twitter who has always emailed, until this year.

I never got around to lighting anything on fire for my birthday, but I am enjoying a bit of a lovely smoky single malt. (It's Ardbeg Corryvreckan.)

Considering celebrating my birthday by setting something on fire.

I forgot to skim the foam at the beginning, so the stock ended up cloudy. That's ok, I wasn't aiming for competitive consommé. I have eight cups of homemade chicken stock and it smells great in here.

First fall pot of chicken stock is simmering on the stove. We had quite a lot of bones saved up, in part from the rotisserie chickens we bought during the kitchen construction.

Almond Job

Change one letter, ruin a candy Milky Wax

I had to admit to my therapist this morning that the current state of the country exceeds my ability to contingency plan, and that feels like a core failure of my sense of self.

PSA: Whole spices generally stay good much, much longer than pre-ground ones. I have some green cardamom pods that are over 20 years old and the seeds inside are still flavorful. I have a small grinder, but a mortar and pestle and elbow grease will do in a pinch for most spices (not annato!).

I have real trouble socializing in groups any more because of intrusive thoughts like "wonder how many of these people couldn't be bothered to call 911 if they saw me bleeding in the street, because they were running late for a hair appointment."

It's the simplest shawl I've ever made, but dammit, I made something. It's an asymmetric triangle of (US) half double crochet. Start at a point, increase at one end of the rows, decrease half as fast at the other.

I crocheted a shawl that only has two yarn ends to weave in, and yet I can't seem to weave them in. Sigh.

I am completely seized up on the movie question, but I have ordered a burger with a glazed yeast donut on it.

I turned off autocorrect a while ago and I'm finding that I have to make fewer manual corrections now than I did when it was on.

I picked the remaining green cherry tomatoes. There were about a pound and a half of them. So I am oven roasting them for soup. Will update with results.

with alt-text.

Gus just had his three-month ear recheck and both ears look absolutely perfect! Unfortunately, his allergic skin symptoms didn't clear up with the food trial. They're so mild though that the doc and I agreed not to risk upsetting his touchy GI system with a daily oral allergy med.

Just found out that the inpatient hospice unit where my mother died is closing. The hospital serves a large rural area and is hard hit by the Medicaid cuts. I have Big Feelings of the 'urge to throw things' variety.

Call your local airport and ask them not to play it. Tell them you don't want to be subjected to political propaganda. You can even tell them that if they do play it, any flights you book will be out of a different airport, if that seems reasonable to you.

A different neighbor is being an asshole today. They're a quarter mile away and their music is so loud I can sing along.

I know it looks like routine spaghetti in marinara, but it’s not. This is pasta all’ amatriciana, one of the classic Roman sauces with the traditional bucatini (thick hollow spaghetti-shaped pasta). We used San Marzano tomatoes and guanciale (cured pork jowl). There are very few ingredients, so +

@vangrog.bsky.social Would it be ok if I DM you about spinning wheels?

It’s going to suck, but it looks like it’s time to start preparing to cancel my VISA card.

Ok where is the crochet pattern for the Antifa Frog? I need it right now

As if I needed another reason not to fly. Add 'Being subjected to propaganda video while in the security line' to the list.

See that fluffy cat face in my profile pic? That's Pan. He was in a kill center in Utah. Social media alerted me to his situation. Social media peeps from a different platform drove a relay across multiple states to get him to me in Indiana.

We had a frost advisory last night, so I cut all the basils. Tomatoes and peppers still seem ok this morning, but it won't be long. I sure am going to miss having a snack bar in the backyard this winter.

Well darn, I accidentally bought pomegranate concentrate instead of pomegranate molasses. So now I have to simmer it with sugar for approximately forever.

The world is on fire, I’m a marshmallow, and everything’s a stick

Blessings on Past Me for doing this.

The cat food bin was empty.

Aussie meat pies for dinner! The season of puff pastry has arrived. I forgot to get a photo of the inside of the pie because I was busy stuffing it into my face.

Ha! I believe I have figured out the alternate guitar tuning used on the original studio recording of The Best Ever Death Metal Band in Denton. I’m still a terrible guitar player, but I’m not a bad guitar thinker.

If Frog is in Portland, where is Toad? Chicago?

If you need someone to be righteously indignant on your behalf, a couple of slots just opened up in my schedule.

I am done being polite to spam callers. DONE. I understand "they're just doing their job" and "it's hard to get a job in this economy." But that doesn't give someone a free pass to do harm to others. And yes, stealing someone's peace in order to hawk a product is harm. So fuck off.

Him: Do you have any plans for the day, since you'll have the house to yourself for a change? Me (deadpan, not missing a beat) Just hookers and blow.

Oh great, now I have "...the hero of Portland, the frog they call Jayne" stuck in my head.

If there is some super secret internet hangout for forest hermits, somebody please please send me an invite.

I do not want to run a server I do not want to run a server I do not want to run a server

Well swell, I just dropped a loop of my working yarn into my coffee cup.

I will forever refer to the current Sec of Defense as Secretary Owmyballs.