Merry Christmas to all, and a photo from my family photo archive from the early 1950s. This was in the house in Rye, NY, where my mother spent several years of her childhood. The room is amazing but I think Angelo the cat has picked the only comfy spot. (See alt text for a more detailed description)

I woke up during the night last night feeling annoyed because I couldn't remember what animal laid potatoes. My partner assures me that the animal that lays potatoes is the haggis, and whether a potato becomes a baby haggis or stays as a potato depends on whether it was fertilised or not.

One of my favorite things is getting to tell friends who are new to NYC that the subway "stand clear of the closing doors please" voice is a trans woman named Bernie Wagenblast and she's amazing.

This well-camouflaged beauty appeared on my walk today. They sniffed my fingers, made a flehmen face and backed off a little (presumably detected my own cats). Obviously cautious so I will try again for pets if I see them again. @thecatreviewer.bsky.social

Another in an occasional series from my family photo archive. Initially I only saw one kitten, then realised there are two. My grandmother is on the left, but I don't know who the other people are. Date? 1920s I'd estimate.

Given up on the concept of being "well-rounded". I'm more like a hexagon, and depending on what side I happen to accidently roll I get work, family, exercise, hobbies or a tidy house. None can co-exist.

He looks like he owns a railroad company 🧐🧐

A sight that pleased me greatly this weekend was a father (I assume) teaching his daughter (I assume), maybe around 8-10 years old and wearing a hat with a strawberry print, how to climb trees. Not something you see often in this safety-conscious era, especially not on a riverbank.

I think I might have peaked too early by posting one of the best cat photos in my collection on Saturday. More to come and this one is more typical. Meet Samson, photo taken in Rye, NY in 1953.

Taking this sign personally.

I'm a fan of @catsofyore.bsky.social and have family cat photos, so I might share a few. Many of them were taken by my grandmother, Elisabeth Phillips (nee Fritze) who was a professional photographer before she married in 1933. This is my mother, aged 12, in 1952 with Sylvester (taken in Rye, NY).

It's a Monday; whilst I came to terms with the fact I am completely useless on Mondays a long time ago, this is pretty much it every week.

10pm the other night was when these two decided it was a good time to do the photoshoot for their new album.

Woken up in the night by Dru rolling on my head. My partner thought this was amusing. It was not. Oh, cats!

Hello there fluffy pollinator! I just thought I'd let you know that you've got something on your face.

Every morning... These two, in my face, clambering all over me and providing a Crystal Maze level puzzle experience just getting out of bed. Get one leg out of bed, nope, there's now a cat sitting on the other leg, and on my chest. (Of course the photo is blurry with this level of intimacy).

A short thread of highlights from today. I discovered a T-shirt in my camera bag. I sometimes carry an emergency T-shirt in case of sweatiness or sensory issue and figured this one must've been in there since last August (surprisingly unwrinkled due to being in the laptop pocket, also well-traveled)

I assume this scene in my local M&S is due to the aftermath of the cyber attack and not the locals getting absolutely hammered because the sun is out. This is worse than a couple of days ago when they'd spread a few bottles out to make those shelves look better stocked.

Last summer the weather was so awful I sat outside only once. It's good for my mental health so I am determined to make the most of the good weather. So, it seems, is Finn.

Megathread of pro-trans petitions on Parliament’s petition website. If Labour suddenly gets hit with debates for a bunch of pro-trans petitions, maybe they’ll realise this issue isn’t going away and they’ve fucked up. I’ll add more as I find them. petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...

Finn is confused about tariffs and the methodology used to calculate them.

Turns out Le Pen is not mightier than the fraud.

A glorious spring day for a good walk. I was amused by this fence post's mossy hat and the clichéd cherry blossom pic had to be done.

Whaddya mean it's not a word?

I enjoyed doing my second-favourite local walk today, which I haven't done for a while. This is an old pic from the same walk - it was lovely today, but hazy, this obscuring the mountains in the distance.

My paper is now published with Open Access in @Gender_Journal “Hands towards the right: UK gender critical feminism and right-wing coalitions” url6649.tandfonline.com/ls/click?upn...

Is there a national bean shortage, or is just my local branch of Tesco? No bananas either.

It was my birthday a couple of days ago and I'm very happy with the gifts from my partner. The Squishmallows have a practical purpose - to stop me giving myself sore wrists from sleeping with t-rex arms - seems to be working so far.

I never became a ham, but shortwave radio was a keen interest of mine when I was a teenager and I still have my second sw radio (Sony ICF-SW100), although it doesn't get used very often.

@markhamillofficial.bsky.social hi! Would you mind sharing my petition to decriminalise abortion so your U.K. followers see it? Trying to stop the MAGA poison from getting us too petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...

This is huge. My petition got approved. It challenges the UK government to the lift the Puberty Blocker ban on the grounds that it contradicts article 8 of The United Nations Convention On The Rights Of The Child. Please sign and Repost ✊️🏳️‍⚧️ petition.parliament.uk/petitions/70...

Had my first public meltdown in over 12 years a couple of weeks ago, went home, lay in silence for 2 hours, felt awful for 2-3 days. I remove myself from the environment if I feel a meltdown coming on but here I tried to push through an appointment to get it over with. Now it'll need re-booked 😞.

My partner almost got me "Butter" for Christmas but he wasn't sure because it had mixed reviews. I'd also considered it buuuut mixed reviews. Then I decided no, then yes, but not at £14.99, I'd look out for a secondhand copy. 50p on our local Tesco's charity bookcase was a no-brainer.

A most satisfying delivery last week. Reaktionbooks.bsky.social had a big sale at Christmas. I've been building my collection of their Animal series of books for ~20 years and this took my collection to 64. Over 100 in the series, so lots more to get eventually (shame a lot are out of print).

One of the farm cats I sometimes meet. Quite small (maybe still a kitten) and very forceful in demanding petting. Caution advised: may scratch when overexcited, and then begs for more petting. @thecatreviewer.bsky.social

One of two similar looking cats that live near the railway station. Both are friendly but this is the shyer of the two. Its housemate is known for following the pet shop owner to his shop and also begging commuters for treats inside the railway station waiting room. @thecatreviewer.bsky.social

A mild, dreich Sunday afternoon is perfect for working on this blanket I'm crocheting for a Christmas gift (I'm way behind), listening to carols on Radio 3 and drinking big mugs of tea. And being angered and disgusted by Gregg Wallace.

Thing I hadn't noticed had disappeared until I realised I hadn't seen one in a very long time: not white dog poo, but stripy 1980s workman tents. I saw a non-stripy one a few weeks ago and thought "ooh, haven't seen one of those for a while." No idea what I'm on about? This kind of thing:

In the summer I found my German grandmother's recipe book among family papers. It's mostly in German with some recipes in English (and at least one switches between languages). I was tempted to try making the strawberry shortcake but the note at the end makes me think it wasn't entirely successful.

Apparently Stirling has had heavy snow and has lying snow. Meanwhile, a few miles away we have disgusting slush with wind and sleet. It's definitely a day for staying in with big mugs of tea and a good book or two. The cats are also disgusted by the weather.

Reflecting on my mother out-law's gift choices. She sometimes sends us things like chocolate, tea towels, dish sponges and periodically a homemade cake. It's my partner's birthday today so his mother has sent him two baklava (from a multipack) and two penguin biscuits (also from a multipack).

I enjoy properly cold, crisp, frosty November days, but I'm disappointed we've had no snow. I'm in that warning-free bit of Scotland and we rarely get snow. Not more than a couple of inches at a time the last couple of winters and the last proper snow was March 2018.

We haven't had snow in central-ish Scotland yet but it's been chilly. I enjoyed the fluffed up birds at our feeder; coal and blue tits looking round and cute, starlings looking big and pigeons like little grey footballs. I have added pigeon-proof seed tray to my list for next time I buy bird food.

Nothing is sacred. I finished crocheting this corner to corner blanket just in time for the cold weather. OF COURSE Dru has to try it first and demand attention whilst doing so.

This sounds like things are worse than my experience 28 years ago. I was bullied in halls of residence, ignored and mocked by private school cliques. I left after three months, took time to work, volunteer and travel before restarting my degree at a different university.

An old photo but representative of both feline and human moods today. Chilly out this morning (about time seeing as it's November).

It's definitely a hugging a cat kind of day. Unfortunately neither of the cats we have just now are the hugging kind. One vanished behind the sofa when he saw me coming and to be honest I feel like joining him.