Bread Science, meet Beard Science...

The redbuds spreading love on the sidewalk this morning

Happy Solstice! Here's the sunset last night at my friends' farm.

I just found out we have a kitty con here in central NC—this weekend at the fairgrounds! carolinakittycon.com

Hey friends of a certain age, menopause book recs from the folks at @smartbitches.bsky.social 👏 smartbitchestrashybooks.com/2026/06/book...

Coco shocked by sudden appearance of rain, struggles to remember if he's ever seen this strange phenomenon before

Taking a break to rest from all its chompin'

Caterpillar 1 tried some leaf and then decided it would rather eat the milkweed seed pod! Meanwhile, on the other side of the house, caterpillar 2 has finished its first leaf.

It's been 3 years since I planted a milkweed plant. I thought I would need a whole meadow before any monarchs were interested, but no! I have 3 tall plants and several short ones. Apparently the mom lays one egg at a time and spreads them out, and my patch was found acceptable. 💛🖤🤍

The Honda meets an aggressive insecure BMW

Scored big at the recycling center salvage shed today...

This week is already better than last week as I have come across a research paper showing that bumblebees will play with wooden balls: www.scientificamerican.com/article/ball... (includes video!)

Coco thinks I should stop being such a luddite who balances her checkbook every month

It took an hour last night but I finally got the iPhone Shortcuts GIF maker working again! None of the AI answers that my search generated worked, but someone on Reddit had posted a detailed, clear solution that I was able to implement.

I'm monitoring my first panel at ConCarolinas in 15 minutes. I'm sitting here imagining that no other panelists or audience members turn up 😬

Always a sad day when we say goodbye to an old friend, i.e., bathrobe I've been wearing 20+ years that's begun falling apart in the shoulders. This one will live on as potholder stuffing and possibly some sort of quilted mat for Coco.

Bob had been hitting the milkweed pretty hard, chugging nectar all afternoon. All he could do was hang on as the stem swayed beneath him. #bloomscrolling

Camouflage

After passing a few *scattered* cottages, they were back in the forest. Arley stayed silent. What he’d said in the cafe—he’d done things in the past that he wished he hadn’t, just like her. #fridayfling

Coco meets Looking Glass Coco

Coco and mockingbird

It's been this kind of week

Coco enticed to sleep in window and not on my computer with a pillow in the sun

Finally got to cat-sit for the friends who have HBO MAX! ⛸️🥅🏒

One bunch of tiny bananas amid the full-size bananas!

Thinking about balance issues, biked to appointment, opened iced tea...

Finally got to cat-sit for the friends who have HBO MAX! ⛸️🥅🏒

"Zero apologies to John Git’er Donne" 🤣🤣

Irises in love #bloomscrolling

Some moms like flowers or chocolates. My mom… #mothersday

I really love these little lavender daisies #bloomscrolling

No tabs allowed #caturday

This article is a good reminder that bicycles are legally supposed to be riding in the road and not on sidewalks. Every time a driver shouts at me to "get off the road" I wish I could have a conversation and explain this.

Raleigh-area romance readers: Oak & Ink is a group of authors that have been hosting events at local wineries and breweries. They asked me to share this reader survey: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1F...

Kind of a chunky text block today, but this is the moment when my ace heroine in The Magic Seeker considers her reaction to her brother jabbering on about sex... #fridayfling

This is like me after the AIDSRide from Raleigh to DC, only I struggled to lift my bike over my head 😂 but in my defense, I rode a chromoly mountain bike that weighed more than all the tiny road bikes

Somehow this one traffic light in Chapel Hill has managed to never be replaced so that it's still the kind of traffic light I grew up with

Behold the Death Egg. Able to obliterate an entire breakfast plate.

Thanks to the neighborhood cat's vendetta against my iris, I've been enjoying this nice yellow iris inside all week

I am back to work revising my next cozy romantasy, Sourdough and Sweethearts. I warmed up my brain by drawing a map and making a schedule for the bakery, so that as I revise, I can make sure my story makes sense.

Really nice vehicle spotted in Hillsborough this morning

Extra good poster art in downtown Hillsborough this morning

Today's #fridayfling of WHISPER from The Magic Seeker

Time to update the metadata—KDP has finally added cozy fantasy as a category! #cozyfantasy

More weird tomatoes at Weaver Street Market

Despite the early spring, there's still lots in bloom at the WRAL azalea garden #bloomscrolling

This morning at the farmers market: Me: Mom, you remember my friend Jodi? We went to an event together years ago. Mom: [looks confused] Jodi: Emily was wearing a banana suit. Mom: [laughing] Oh, yes, of course...

I potted seedlings today, and something larger than a worm was moving around in my potting soil. It turned out to be my gray tree frog, who hangs out on my porch railing in the summer! I left them in a pile of potting soil and under sweet pea vines and a pot.

I always enjoy scrolling through the new release list from @veronicascott.bsky.social to see if Coco has had any modeling work lately...

BookSirens is featuring The Magic Seeker in an April bundle of cozy romances! ARCs for all the books are available free here: booksirens.com/bundle/cozy-...