pukku | Network

I went downtown like ‘usual’ and hit CVS (I needed one item that I have gotten there in the past and they didn’t have it!), Price Chopper (for a couple of veggie items to go with meals), and the Bakery (for Pip’s deli meat). I also got in a walk around the park and stopped at the veterinarian on the way home for Ti's special dog food.

After unloading the car and putting everything away, I got to mom’s ~10am and stayed until ~3pm. Today’s chores, before and after I went to mom’s, included: two loads of laundry (both washed AND dried, one folded), hand-washed dishes, hard-boiled eggs, grilled steak for Pip's supper, scooped kitty litter, and shaved.

I started and finished the next two Inn at Holiday Bay cozies and watched the current ep of Murderbot.

Temps started out at 65.7(F) and reached 93.7. It was hot. Thankfully I didn't need to spend much time outside.

Mom Update:

Mom had just finished cleaning the bathroom when I arrived! ( more back here )

dine

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spikedluv

Good season finale! ( spoilers )

As it says on the tin: Good news, stupid humans: Murderbot has been renewed (avclub.com) [The big question is, who is going to play ART?!!]

james

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spikedluv

I might have asked this before, but I don't recall. Is there anyway to create folders in the Library?

I would like to separate books I've purchased from those I'm reading for free and will need to/be able to return. I'd also like to separate books I've read from books I haven't read, because going through the entire library every time I want to pick a book to read is a pain in the butt.

Thanks in advance for any help you can give me!

spikedluv

Mom suggested I not get to her house super early so I can get some stuff done, and we agreed that I’d stop in after my visit to my aunt. I returned home after I dropped Grant off at the garage and did two loads of laundry (even got one dried and folded!), hand-washed dishes, baked chicken for the dogs’ meals, vacuumed the bedroom rug, and changed kitty litter. Whew! That’s a full days worth of work for me!

I visited my aunt (she was awake! I showed her some pics of Midnight and Baby A – who is not a baby anymore! She starts pre-K this fall!) and hit the Price Chopper down there because the one I went to yesterday had zero bananas and none of the red grapes I like. I have them now. I got to mom’s about 10:15am and left at 3pm.

I stopped at the library on the way home to return a book (and talked to the librarian about it and the other series she recommended) and hit the bank drive-thru. I baked salmon for Pip’s supper, dried and folded the second load of laundry, hand-washed more dishes, and showered.

I finished the Duncan Kincaid book and read the next Inn at Holiday Bay cozy. (They’re very easy reads and kind of short.)

Temps started out at 62.6(F) and reached 86.4. It was warm out, but not as horrible as when the temps hit the 90s. We were originally supposed to have scattered thunderstorms but they never materialized.

Mom Update:

Mom was sitting on the porch for the second time when I got there. ( more back here )

dine

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runpunkrun

Once upon a time, I watched the first five seasons of Dexter and then stopped for whatever reason. Recently I saw it was on Netflix and thought I should finally finish the series and I might as well start at the beginning so as to maximize the amount of time I could spend not having to think about anything else in the world except for what a selfish asshole Dexter is and how much I love Deb.

Previously on Dexter...

( Spoilers for the series )

silveradept

Third

sunshine_revival prompt has appeared. Let's see what's going on.

Yknow? Food was one of the things I associated most with summer fun. From the cotton-candy from the carnival to the carrotcake my mom would make. I'm sure others have their own snacks or drinks they like to relax with, so We're curious about yours!

Challenge #3:

Journaling prompt: What are your favorite summer-associated foods?

Creative prompt: Draw art of or make graphics of summer foods, or post your favorite summer recipes.

Summer foods for me tend to be associated with either fairs or specific road trips.

( Elephant Ears, Funnel Cakes, and Doctor Pepper )

Current Mood: hungry
Current Music: Ninja Sex Party - Welcome to My Parents' House

silveradept

sunshine_revival has posted their second prompt. Let's see what they're up to.

The sun is just starting to disappear behind the horizon and crickets can almost be heard over the music and the laughter echoing through the carnival night. You can't see any stars yet, but the twinkling lights of an amusement ride are highlighting the graceful curves of a swan boat and the high arching hearts of the entrance. Grab the hand of a sweetheart or a sweet friend and embark on a journey through the…

Challenge #2:

Tunnel of Love

Journaling: The romance of summer! What do you love? Write about anything you feel sentimental about or that gets your heart pumping.

Creative: Write a love poem to anyone or anything you like.

Sentiment and love are…weird for me. Heart pumping is much easier, but that's usually related to fear and anxiety than happiness.

( Happiness and neurodivergence do not always get along with each other. )

Current Mood: accomplished
Current Music: Carly Rae Jepsen - I Really Like You

silveradept

It looks like I missed seeing that some people were interested in reviving the (Northern Hemisphere) summer counterpart to the

snowflake_challenge at

sunshine_revival, and since it was only by happenstance link that I was informed about this, I'm technically behind in my posting, ha. So, let's dive in with the first prompt presented:

It's time to bring some light to your journal! Now you can do this in two ways, though you can twist the light in whatever way helps you along ^_^ I know to some it can be intimidating to shine a light on yourself. But know somebody will appreciate you for it!

Challenge #1:

Journaling Prompt: Light up your journal with activity this month. Talk about your goals for July or for the second half of 2025.

Creative Prompt: Shine a light on your own creativity. Create anything you want (an image, an icon, a story, a poem, or a craft) and share it with your community.

I appreciate the two different approaches, as I have in the other versions of the sunshine variety.

( Shall we talk about goals, then? )

Current Mood: happy
Current Music: Alestorm - Banana

spikedluv

Murderbot: Good ep! ( spoilers )

Resident Alien: Good ep! ( spoilers )

spikedluv

I had a chiropractic appointment this morning, so I didn’t get to mom’s until 9:20am. I took advantage of the fact that I needed to go downtown for that appointment to do some shopping; I got in Walmart and Price Chopper before my appointment, and the Pharmacy after. I also got in a walk around the park before my appointment.

I then had to go home and unload the car and put away groceries. I was home in time to make supper (Pip requested grilled cheese). I also hand-wash dishes, scooped kitty litter, and placed an online order.

I started the next Duncan Kincaid book and watched the current ep of Resident Alien and an HGTV program.

Temps started out at 65.5(F) and reached 84.2.

Mom Update:

Mom was sitting on her porch when I got there this morning. ( more back here )

glinda

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dine

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runpunkrun

In paperback, this makes a thick graphic novel worthy of the name. The greyscale art is simple but expressive, and you quickly get a feel for Mags and her Abuela and their small desert town near Joshua Tree. Mag's childhood friend is back in town with her cowboy boots and pinhole camera and stirring up feelings that Mags can't let herself have because she's tied to her home and the secret in the basement that's bleeding her dry.

A tender story about learning to love yourself so you can accept the love others have for you. The art's limited use of color highlights childhood memories and photographs, but comes out in full force for the happy ending.

Contains: butch/transfem romance; death of a grandparent; and, separate from the romance: infidelity, stalking, emotional manipulation, threats of suicide, gun violence.

spikedluv

I was at mom’s by 6:30am. Before I headed to mom’s, I did a load of laundry, hand-washed some dishes, scooped kitty litter, and dropped Grant off at the garage.

I stayed until 3pm (again, giving mom a couple of hours by herself before my sister arrived). I stopped at the library on the way home to drop off a book and found a surprise book waiting for me, as I hadn’t yet received the notification. I also stopped at Stewart’s (for gas and milk).

I grilled Italian sausage for Pip’s supper (I’m not a fan), hand-washed more dishes, hung up Pip’s uniforms (last night’s load of laundry), dried the dog sheets (this morning’s load), emptied the dishwasher, and took a shower.

I finished the Clare Fergusson book and read two cozies, the next two in the Inn at Holiday Bay series, on my Kindle app.

Temps started out at 73.2(F) and reached 81.4. It was overcast all day even though we weren’t forecasted to get any rain. I hate not having sun, but it would’ve been much hotter if we had.

Mom Update:

Mom was tired today. ( more back here )

spikedluv

What I Just Finished Reading: Since last Wednesday I have read/finished reading: Silence in the Library (A Lily Adler Mystery) by Katharine Schellman, The Falcon at the Portal (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) by Elizabeth Peters, I Shall Not Want (Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries) by Julia Spencer-Fleming, and Portent in the Pages & Poison in the Pudding (The Inn at Holiday Bay) by Kathi Daley.

What I am Currently Reading: I just finished reading the last book last evening, but today I’m going to start Necessary as Blood (A Duncan Kincaid and Gemma James Mystery) by Deborah Crombie.

What I Plan to Read Next: Heir, Apparently by Kara McDowell, unless something else comes in at the library that eclipses it.

Book 53 of 2025: Silence in the Library (A Lily Adler Mystery) (Katharine Schellman)

I enjoyed this book! ( spoilers )

This was a good book and I've already requested the next in the series. I'm giving this one five hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥

Book 54 of 2025: The Falcon at the Portal (An Amelia Peabody Mystery) (Elizabeth Peters)

Good book! ( spoilers )

I enjoyed this book and have requested the next in the series. I'm giving this book five hearts, despite my one disappointment.

♥♥♥♥♥

Book 55 of 2025: I Shall Not Want (Clare Fergusson/Russ Van Alstyne Mysteries) (Julia Spencer-Fleming)

Good book! ( spoilers )

I enjoyed this book and have already requested the next. I'm giving this book five hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥

Book 56 of 2025: Portent in the Pages (The Inn at Holiday Bay) (Kathi Daley)

It’s been a while since I’ve read anything in this series, but I was looking for something easy to read after I finished the last book, so I looked through my Kindle library and chose this one. (Technically, I chose a different one that I DNF’d before I got more than a dozen pages into it, so this was my second choice.) This is the sixteenth in the series, to my surprise!

I enjoyed this book. It was a quick comfort read. I was happy to be reintroduced to the characters again. ( spoilers )

There wasn't a whole lot of suspense or concern for the characters, but it did what I wanted it to, which was help me kill a couple hours in an enjoyable fashion. I’m giving it four hearts, and I might even go on and read the next in the series.

♥♥♥♥

Book 57 of 2025: Poison in the Pudding (The Inn at Holiday Bay) (Kathi Daley)

After reading the other book, I decided to keep on with the series. This one was an enjoyable story, but a predictable mystery. Thankfully I read this series more for the characters and location than I do the mysteries. ( spoilers )

I'm giving this book four hearts.

♥♥♥♥♥

dine

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china_shop

Previous poll review
In the Crowd-sourcing randomness poll, heads got 19.4%, tails got 22.2%, edge got 25%, and zero-g (the coin never falls) got 38.9%. Either a) the laws of probability have ceased to function in a localised manner, b) Dreamwidth is surprisingly popular in space, c) we've stepped into an alternate dimension, or d) these results are not statistically robust.

In ticky-boxes, hugs came first with 75%, followed by surviving AO3 outages (69.4%), and grumbly cats in search of treats (66.7%). Thank you for your votes!

Reading
Two chapters to go in The Book of Three by Lloyd Alexander. It hasn't hugely grabbed me, maybe because of my stop-start reading habits, but I am very much enjoying mentally casting Grover from Sesame Street as Gurgi. I have an omnibus of the Chronicles, so I may continue on to The Black Cauldron.

Martyr! by Kaveh Akbar, read by Arian Moayed -- ahh, this is so good! It's about a young death-obsessed recovering-alcoholic gay Iranian American who's writing a book about martyrs. It reminds me a bit of Love in the Big City, but it's more experimental and lyrical. I'm ~~halfway through~~ nearly done. Surprising, funny, sad, beautifully written. Warnings for drug use, alcohol addiction, suicidal ideation, and politics.

Also Guardian by priest, and I currently have on loan from the library: No Rules Tonight by Hyun Sook Kim and Freya Marske's Swordcrossed in audio.

Kdramas
My Dearest Nemesis -- I am enjoying this so much. The leading man, as well as being a closet fanboy, is adorably ridiculous and so love-starved. I want to give him a puppy. (In fact, I think he should just have a dog for a couple of years, and one or two more friends, and then he can get a girlfriend.)

Other TV
Ghosted on Apple TV+, a spy/romcom with Chris Evans and Ana de Armas. The reviews are terrible, and it was indeed very very silly, but we watched it on its own terms and enjoyed it tremendously. Some laugh-out-loud moments. A+ popcorn movie! (The trailer is VERY spoilery, ftr.)

Murderbot, Poker Face, Fringe, Étoile (omg, someone please give these people media training!! Also, I'm sad I looked at that one gifset, because I'm very spoiled for the plot thread I'm most invested in, which is undercutting the tension), and Turning Point: The Vietnam War (so disturbing and thoughtful and informative).

Guardian/Fandom
Partying on. <3 <3 <3

Audio entertainment
Not much; my listening time is being eaten by Martyr!

Writing/making things
I'm currently working on a handful of different shortish things in a desultory "what shall I pick up today?" fashion. This is not how I finish things or even get a satisfying sense of progress! (Yesterday's was another CSZ/SW/ZYL fic -- many deliciously difficult feelings; today's was a gen drabble sequence for FFW.) Just pick a WIP and finish it, china!

I now have 238 Guardian fanworks on AO3. Ten more will make it my most-created-for fandom. # writing goals

Online life
I keep getting as far as checkout on shop websites and then drifting off. The fear of buyer's remorse is very real. Yet another reason I have so many tabs open.

Link dump
Screenwriter's Secret to Mindblowing Plot Twists by

heyjameshurst |

mergatrude's e/R playlist (Youtube) | Music: Mon Rovîa - Rust. (Live) (Youtube, via

teaotter) | US politics: 5 calls | Newsblur RSS reader | ‘I wanted to be a teacher not a cop’: the reality of teaching in the world of AI (The Spinoff, local indie newsite) | Hieronymus Bosch butt music (tumblr link, via

mific) | Underrated Apple TV+ show recs? (

tv_talk post) | Thai Coconut Chicken Soup recipe (via

autodach) | Poetic fic meme (via

extrapenguin). There, I've closed a dozen or so tabs. # progress

Good things
New shampoo making my hair soft. Guardian. Warm buttery toast. My sister coming over this evening. Kdramas and books. Yesterday's sunshine, and walking through the trees along a shared mountain-bike trail. Sushi on the waterfront. Writing. Clean sheets.

Poll #33341 Companions

Open to: Registered Users, detailed results viewable to: All, participants: 56

View Respondents

What talking animal would you take on an adventure?

View Answers

emotionally unavailable alley cat
23 (41.1%)

naive gecko
9 (16.1%)

sad wolf
12 (21.4%)

stoic capybara
20 (35.7%)

trivia-obsessed fennec fox
23 (41.1%)

upbeat skunk
10 (17.9%)

coffee-addicted giant panda
11 (19.6%)

other
7 (12.5%)

ticky-box of frittered-away time
22 (39.3%)

ticky-box full of infinite monkeys and... wait, who's providing all the typewriters?
21 (37.5%)

ticky-box full of liquid birdsong that tastes like vengeance
20 (35.7%)

ticky-box full of dancing, light as thistledown, to an orchestra of metronomes
20 (35.7%)

ticky-box full of hugs
37 (66.1%)

Profile

Ricky

April 2025

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Page Summary

spikedluv - The Day in Spikedluv (Friday, July 11)
dine - time is an illusion. lunchtime doubly so
spikedluv - TV Talk: Murderbot
james - Phones
spikedluv - Kindle App
spikedluv - The Day in Spikedluv (Thursday, July 10)
dine - no matter where you go, there you are
runpunkrun - Dexter (2006-2013)
silveradept - Sunshine Revival/Challenge 2025 #3: Food
silveradept - Sunshine Revival/Challenge 2025 #2: Love
silveradept - Sunshine Revival/Challenge 2025 #1: Goals
spikedluv - TV Talk: Murderbot & Resident Alien
spikedluv - The Day in Spikedluv (Wednesday, July 9)
glinda - As Promised, I am Indeed Cackiling Quietly
dine - Truth! Justice! Freedom! Reasonably priced love! and a hard-boiled egg!
runpunkrun - The Deep Dark, by Molly Knox Ostertag
spikedluv - The Day in Spikedluv (Tuesday, July 8)
spikedluv - Wednesday Reading Meme & Books 53 - 57 of 2025
dine - is it better to out-monster the monster or to be quietly devoured?
china_shop - Me-and-media update

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Page generated Jul. 12th, 2025 07:30 pm

Musings

Welcome to my boring mind

Network

The Day in Spikedluv (Friday, July 11)

time is an illusion. lunchtime doubly so

TV Talk: Murderbot

Phones

Kindle App

The Day in Spikedluv (Thursday, July 10)

no matter where you go, there you are

Dexter (2006-2013)

Sunshine Revival/Challenge 2025 #3: Food

Sunshine Revival/Challenge 2025 #2: Love

Sunshine Revival/Challenge 2025 #1: Goals

TV Talk: Murderbot & Resident Alien

The Day in Spikedluv (Wednesday, July 9)

As Promised, I am Indeed Cackiling Quietly

Truth! Justice! Freedom! Reasonably priced love! and a hard-boiled egg!

The Deep Dark, by Molly Knox Ostertag

The Day in Spikedluv (Tuesday, July 8)

Wednesday Reading Meme & Books 53 - 57 of 2025

is it better to out-monster the monster or to be quietly devoured?

Me-and-media update

Profile

April 2025

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