Kid update: so, this did not work out. Mental health crisis deepened. The invisible person appears to be named Adrian. Host mom - for whom I have a lot of sympathy, although she hasn’t handled this well - is in deep denial and went back on the deal within 48 hours and tried to make kid hang

I want Argentina to win because kid is in Argentina and it’s been an utter disaster and I would like the mood there to be good. These reasons are somewhat idiosyncratic.

#breadsky 🍜🍽️ This week’s sourdough. 1/4 whole wheat. Hi @goodport.bsky.social !

Goddammit.

#cooksky 🍜🍽️ Rooiboos-rose friands.

This is a very useful thread.

Tfw you realize you need a pet cam to figure out how this keeps happening.

#booksky 📚💙 Working through specific parts of my TBR this summer and made it to @dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social ‘s gorgeous Everything Will Swallow You. I will describe the genre as, very broadly, English rural magic realism, but I’m not sure that’s right. It’s infused with the fantastical but not

Kid seems semi-stable: I took far too much medicinal chocolate internally and now feel slightly sick. What a week. Onward.

AHHH, BLUESKY! DON'T YOU DARE BE SOUR! CLAP FOR YOUR FAVORITE BLUESKY AUTHORS! AND FEEL THE POWER!!! It's BUY A BOOK FRIDAY, yes it is! The rules are simple, you see a book by myself or one my Bluesky's talented artists, YOU BUY THAT BOOK! Help support us and enrich yourself! 🧵 BELOW, LET'S GO!!!

We’re looking to appoint two lecturers in School of English @universityofleeds.bsky.social: 1) Lecturer in Creative Writing: jobs.leeds.ac.uk/AHCEN1086 2) Lecturer in English Language (with expertise in DH): jobs.leeds.ac.uk/AHCEN1087 Happy to provide more info if you're interested

PSA: if you are living in an area affected by wildfire smoke, this is your reminder to go downstairs and change the air filter. It just takes a few minutes, dramatically improves your indoor air quality, and should be done more frequently when there are hazardous air conditions.

Kid update: a little wobbly, but managing: family with whom kid was placed has an adult daughter living at home. Adult daughter appears to be having a mental health crisis and is yelling at people who are not there. Kid is doing a great job of advocating for themself. Kid will be isolated from

I am once again begging Hollywood to stop using the Greek alphabet for an Ancient World movie, if they can't afford to even throw a couple of quid at anyone with an inkling of the language. Unless they really think audiences are dying to see THS THDPSSSSPS

So the brand name you need to be wary of until the recall is complete is Taylor Farms.

On a cooler day, on a remote Scottish island, Valentine Warner uses a Netherton Foundry giant chapa and massive 12" stockpot to rustle up a warming pot of mussel soup with fennel cream for Kitchen In the Wild guests. www.netherton-foundry.co.uk/iron-saucepa...

Look! Book launch party cake!

Penelope: home after 20 years on your ship Odysseus: well, a lot of time on the ship for sure Penelope: right? It’s not like you spent several years on a paradise island with a goddess as a lover or anything Odysseus:

N.B. in the UK, however, Sayers’s work will enter the public domain on 1 January 2028; none of it is currently out of copyright.

Oh hey, for any other Dorothy Sayers fans who didn't know this already - I just discovered that several of her novels (and a story collection) are now in the public domain and free (and legal) to download at the Gutenberg project: www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/autho... #booksky

Just over two weeks left to submit a paper/panel proposal for our Second World War conference in Feb 2027, hosted by UNSW Canberra. Details below.

Kid2 (a teen) is watching breaking bad, which is evidently a very different experience from an adult watching it (mute this if you haven’t seen it: spoilers ahead):

@joxvox.bsky.social #cooksky 🍜🍽️ Rhubarb ice cream. The recipe has you make a rhubarb puree and put half in the custard and half as a swirl. I didn’t have enough rhubarb so I used cherries for the custard and kept the slurry for the swirl. It was magnificent. Next I will try it in vanilla.

Kid reports that everyone they’re with in Argentina views this as revenge for the Falklands. I wanted them both to lose.

These are fun reads, and Ben deserves a blanket!

Ben Time!

@fernmonkey.bsky.social @morselya.bsky.social Next cool-ish day I’m going to make stroop! For my ontbijtkoek!

@joxvox.bsky.social FYI:

On off chance I have an intersection with bird Bluesky: 10 year old would like a decent pair of binoculars to watch some birds. Unlikely to happen at dawn or at dusk. He'd like a reasonable close up faculty, he's wearing eye glasses he absolutely needs and my budget is 100 euros max. Anything good?

There we go. A schiacciata.

Friends! I need to do background reading in some unfamiliar territory, looking for readings on artist's books and collage. Would appreciate reading lists, or individual suggestions. Thank you!

Signal Boost!

This book is a delight and true to the spirit of the poem.

#Skystorians, #earlymodern & others!🗃️ Are there archives at Yale's Beinecke Library that you could use for your current research? See @mazarine.bsky.social's 🧵below! I've just returned & the Beinecke Short-term Fellowships are amazing, plus we have zoom seminars thru-out the year. Deadline *8/15.*

Kid update: after a week of touring Buenos Aires (have metro card, will explore), on Sunday kid was placed with a new family in a town that’s a few hours from Buenos Aires. Fingers crossed/cautious optimism. Last night was the first time kid didn’t want to talk for an hour. This is good.

Who doesn't love a bit of gossip?

OK, any UK-based tree and plant enthusiasts in my followers? I'm looking for a Pacific Yew tree (taxus brevifolia), sometimes known as a California Yew. It's not the same as our indigenous yew trees. I'm seeking an example I can photograph in the UK, accessible via public transport

CALL FOR AUTHORS! I am putting together a Bookstore Romance Day virtual panel event focusing on Historical Romance Beyond the Regency. If you are or if you know someone who writes Historical Romance that is *not* set in Regency England, reply or DM if interested in joining us.

My hand knitted Chicken hat will be clucking its way to its new home tomorrow 🐔💜 #bsnm #Chicken #chickens #knitted #knitwear #farmlife #farming #knitting #knit

Because brains are weird, last night I dreamed that the pistachio-cream-themed cafe that was trying to frame me for a crime was foiled when I hopped on a small appliance (some kind of mini-iron) and sped off as though on a landspeeder. Take that! Also the eclairs were squashy. Why are brains?

Rhubarb-plum jam, splash of Campari, 2 lemons. #cooksky 🍽️🍜

#cooksky 🍽️🍜 Scored rhubarb, making jam.

#breadsky 🍽️🍜 Simple overnight bread that is happy and sesame-y. Hi @nethertonfoundry.bsky.social ! Your cloche in action!

I love adolescent birds so much. This one was on a rooftop near a recent hotel.

Also, you should read the books. They’re very good.

Once again, I am comfortable that as beautiful as the meditation may be, meditation 17 can be false, and I don’t believe myself to be in the least bit diminished. IYKYK

I just called to say I love you. Shut up, I’m a cynic.

Very cool thread.