There’s some excellent books in this bundle, y’all!

1/ New year, new reading journal, so I cleaned most of my stub nib fountain pens over the last couple of days. Then I picked out coordinating pen and ink combinations and logged them on the first page of my reading journal.

1. I’m almost finished with my 2025 wrap-up in my old reading journal. I’m excited to setup my new reading journal! 2. I won an EBay auction on a limited edition Stipula Toccoferro Rainbow PVD Fountain Pen. 3. Due to an unexpected windfall, I was able to help a friend in need.

I did an ADHD thing and ordered three new dot grid journals a couple of days ago. Why? I don’t know. It’s not like the new journals are going to fix me. So, as penance today, I unpacked 3 totes. 1 held my blank journals, and the other 2 contained my stickers and paper for junk journaling.

With 2025 officially over, it’s time to look at a snapshot of my year in reading. My goal was 75 books read - I hit 85. I also finished 3 reading challenges logged in StoryGraph: The 52 Book Club 2025 Reading Challenge An A-Z Reading Challenge Non-fiction Exploration Only 4 books DNF’d.

I’m listening to some podcasts (I’m months behind) while I eat dinner, and I so WAS NOT prepared to hear Nexplanon ads featuring faux shifter smut excerpts.

1/ Next up for today, I’m really, truly finishing updating my reading journal. I’ve read 11 books since I last wrote about what I read, and I want to be caught up before 12/31/2025, so that I can start on my year end wrap-up.

1/ @vriess.bsky.social wandered into our local Goodwill a few weeks ago and spotted this Remington Precision Deluxe sewing machine, with it’s sewing table, for just $3.99. He sent me a photo and asked if I wanted it. My answer was instantly, “Yes!!

This post popped up on the #QuiltSky feed, and it made me realize that quilting is what really taught me the value of the word “no.” The number of people who would ask me to make them a t-shirt quilt, like one could just get thrown together, and with no realistic offer of paying me for my time… 😑

UPDATE! URGENT! We just need to sell three more blind boxes or digital art bundles!! That's right just THREE more and we are good this month!! Thank you everyone again for all the help!!

@morganmoreauwrites.bsky.social and I went to the Humane Society this afternoon, with the intention of adopting a senior cat, Katie, who’d been there for four months. However, Katie was placed in a foster home today. So, instead we brought home a tiny, two month old kitten. We named her Harlow.

Movie you’ve watched more than six times with a gif. Hard mode: no Stars (Wars nor Trek), LOTR, or Marvel, Disney Animated or Pixar.

1/ It doesn’t look like much, but I made Ina Garten’s Brownie Pudding Recipe tonight and am blown away. A crunchy, typically brownie crust on top and a decadent, fluffy pudding underneath… It was heavenly served warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.

1/ Carpal tunnel is a bitch. My CTS symptoms ramped up in August, and I dealt with them as best I could until I was able to see my new primary care provider. When I did see them, I was prescribed Gabapentin and I’ve been taking it. It has done absolutely nothing for the pain, but it HAS been…

For cross stitch, I find it very helpful to stitch a working grid (usually 10 X 10) squares on the fabric, so it's easier to count and match placement of stitches.

I must be crazy. I’m over here trying to figure out how to fill up the last 60 or so pages in my reading journal, so that 2026 isn’t straddling two journals. 😩

#QuiltSky - Someone posted relatively recently about needing men’s cotton shirts for scrap quilting. I just sorted my wardrobe and culled all the shirts that no longer fit. I’m happy to send them along, as long as shipping is in the Cont US. If this was you, please reach out ☺️

A little after 10, and I’ve: 1. Gotten the teenager up, showered and dressed. 2. Gotten the teenager out the door w/ lunch packed and meds on board. 3. Stripped my bed and taken ALL the laundry downstairs. 4. Dried and folded all the quilts 5. Thrown the towels washed last night into the dryer.

All ten quilts brought over from the old place, freshly washed and folded. Eight were made by me, and two were gifted in the wake of being displaced by a house fire. I made many more quilts than these 8. These are just the ones that still live with me. Most were gifts.

Finally brought my quilts over from the apartment that I'm vacating. They're all getting washed before I start using them again. There is nothing like a freshly washed and dried quilt...

It is here. December will be a busy month for swatching fountain pen inks.

1/ Woke up early for a Saturday, because my body is just trained to be up by 7 AM now. Since everyone else - including the dog and cats - were still sleeping, I set myself to start the day with coffee and my Kobo. Curled up under a blanket, I finished The Puzzle Master, by Danielle Trussoni.

It is here. Now to exhibit some self-control and NOT open this until December. I’m looking forward to doing daily swatches of this and the Diamine Inkvent Calendar. Yes, I will be adding a whole bunch of little bottles of fountain pen ink to my hoard over the holiday month. No regrets.

Eeee! Thank you to @octopusgallery.bsky.social for this awesome Goat Feed Tote!

1/ It's been a hot minute since I posted about what I've read, the last time being in July when I talked about the Testaments. I'm *so* close to being done with #the52bookclub primary prompts, so I thought I'd share about the five books I've read for this challenge since July.

As a moderator #quiltsky, I really, really wish people knew how to spell “guilty.”

1/ Our feline visitor was still in the basement this morning. I put a litter box and more food down there to ensure he was okay, but the next time I went down, he’d disappeared again. Landlord stopped by to figure out where he got in about 1.5 hours ago. As landlord was showing me the entry point,

So, there is a cat in the basement, and he does not belong to us…

Okay, timeline cleanse 🐈‍⬛ Everyone who sees this post, quote post 5 things that make you happy. For me: Fountain pens and inks Good paper Tea Cooking/Baking Writing Honorable mentions to cross stitching and quilting, though moving and carpal tunnel have made *doing* these things impossible.

Today’s to-do list: 1. Mow the lawn. 2. Move desk and work setup to the office. 3. Make zucchini bread. 4. Make rhubarb streusel muffins. 5. Make stuffed acorn squash for dinner/leftovers. 6. Make a soup for lunches/freezing. 7. Hang pictures.

Help me move? gofund.me/723c458b

I went looking for the fountain pen that is inked with Edelstein Onyx, so I can finish journaling about the last three books I read… I found ten fountain pens that I wrote dry… It is now pen cleaning day

The Framed Women of Ardemore House was one of my favorite books for 2925! I highly encourage reading it, as well as pre-ordering The Dead Come to Stay.

Two days left in the month of July… Can I finish one more book? I’ve managed nine so far this month, and I feel like time to read will be very sparse in August.

1/ Volunteering at the Convention and Visitors Bureau booth at my local 4H Fair today, and it was a very, very slow start to the day thanks to rain. Thankfully, I brought my Kindle, a notebook and fountain pens. After finishing half a book, I went through my solo RPGs to find one I could start on.

Working on this cross-stitch and I *loathe* this bamboo hoop. This is precisely why I switched to Q-snaps and then scroll frames. Tension? Who needs tension? This is what I get for trying to avoid placing an Amazon order.

1/ The apartment has been a shambles for weeks, while we wait for contractors to finish updates to the building. I’ve been trying to maintain sanity, but I miss crafting. Tonight, I broke down and started a new cross stitch pattern because I have no idea what boxes my current projects are in.

Mistakes were made and I took my sleep meds the night before. Still managed to slide into the workshop only 15 minutes late. My deepest apologies @workshopswithwren.bsky.social!! Still, I enjoyed the workshop very much and look forward to the next (and I won't take the sleep meds😅)!!

1/ I managed to screw up my sleep schedule again, so I read through the rest of The Testaments by Margaret Atwood once it became apparent that sleep wasn't happening. The Testaments sheds more light on the inner workings of Gilead, specifically from the POV of Aunt Lydia. Yes, *that* Aunt Lydia.

At PopCon Indy two weeks ago, I attended every authors panel available, and took notes. Time to transcribe them into a notebook to keep.

I signed up for a couple of workshops! Looking forward to the experience!

1/ I meant to get back to the books I currently have in progress, but then I asked in the Cozy Stationery Friends Club discord for recommendations to fill reading prompts that had me stuck. I got some great recommendations, which led to me adding several books to my TBR.

1/ Well, I planned to clean my bathroom today, but then I woke up late (for me) and started reading. And now it's almost 6:30 PM, and I haven't taken my meds or done my orthodontic scan. I should also really start thinking about dinner. Dinner is important. 🤦

1/ Finally done with catching up on my book journal, so I figured I'd post about the book that made me go, "Yeah, that's too many books to write up now. Best get it done!" Earlier today, I finished reading Pan's Labyrinth by Guillermo del Toro and Cornelia Funke.

Just two more books to write up in my book journal, and I’ll be caught up. At least until I finish listening to If Chins Could Kill by Bruce Campbell tomorrow…

While I don’t have Kindle Unlimited, I have purchased and read several of @jennyschwartz.bsky.social’s books. I started with the Uncertain Sanctuary trilogy, and very much enjoyed every word.

Y’all, my nerdiness knows no bounds… I discovered Vazir Fountain Pens on eBay, and was curious enough to look them up. (www.vazirfountainpens.com) Silly, silly me, because I couldn’t resist a hand-engraved nib, and their Pi pen in plum.

Every time I mention that people ought to be kinder in any capacity, someone will come out swinging with “or you could leave people alone and you do you.” Sorry, dude. You do you is how we got here. We’re practicing aggressive kindness now. Get on board or get out of the way.

1/ My new customized Writewell from Good Made Better (goodmadebetter.com/products/wri...) arrived this morning, and I’m so thrilled! I discovered Good Made Better at the 2025 Chicago Pen Show, and was instantly tempted. However, I wanted to really think about the options I wanted.

1/ Catch up time now that I'm home! I've finished four books in the time since I last posted about my reading... I'm still on my quest to work my way through all The 52 Book Club prompts - the main 52. I haven't touched the mini challenges. 📚💙, #the52bookclub, #readingchallenge, #the52bookclub2025