frenzy | Network

Hello to all members, passers-by, curious onlookers, and shy lurkers, and welcome to our regular daily check-in post. Just leave a comment below to let us know how your current projects are progressing, or even if they're not.

Checking in is NOT compulsory, check in as often or as seldom as you want, this community isn't about pressure it's about encouragement, motivation, and support. Crafting is meant to be fun, and what's more fun than sharing achievements and seeing the wonderful things everyone else is creating?

There may also occasionally be questions, but again you don't have to answer them, they're just a way of getting to know each other a bit better.

This Week's Question: What are your crafting goals for 2026?

If anyone has any questions of their own about the community, or suggestions for tags, questions to be asked on the check-in posts, or if anyone is interested in playing check-in host for a week here on the community, which would entail putting up the daily check-in posts and responding to comments, go to the Questions & Suggestions post and leave a comment.

I now declare this Check-In OPEN!

Current Mood: tired
Current Location: my desk

Sugar and Spite (Witch City Mystery, #15)

Sugar and Spite by Carol J. Perry

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

View all my reviews

I have today off, so I stayed up late to finish reading Sugar and Spite by Carol J Perry. It’s the 15th book in her “Witch City” mystery series featuring TV reporter, Lee Barrett Mondello.

With Halloween approaching, Lee is tasked with doing a series on local candy shops in Salem. Considering she’s eight months pregnant, she welcomes the easy nature of her assignment, although Lee sometimes finds herself missing the more serious investigative reporting she used to do. While touring Casa de Chocolatte, Lee stumbles upon the dead body of the owner’s ex-husband, Bernie Bingham. Shop owner Shirley Parker had divorced Bernie years ago, but she was still making palimony payments to him. The police naturally focus on Shirley. Lee, however, learns that Bernie had crossed plenty of shady characters in Salem. She tries to focus on her own assignments, but Lee keeps getting drawn back into the drama. She notices that both Shirley and her adult son, Hugh, seem to show up wherever she goes. Lee’s husband, Pete, becomes aggravated and even more protective, as does their cat, O’Ryan. Lee can’t wait for this case to be solved so she can concentrate on motherhood.

I enjoyed the first 70% of this story. Characters were real and relatable, the plot was fast-paced and exciting, and Bernie’s murder was truly confounding. Late in the book, however, things went completely off the rails. The author dropped her fudge, and the editor failed to clean it up.

( Spoilers and Bitching )

Since all of that ‘What-the-F*ckery’ happened late in the book, it gave the impression that the author had tired of it and was just trying to wrap things up quickly. It was sloppy. Even the resolution of the murder was just handed to them when one character came to the police to throw another under the bus, bringing the receipts along to prove it. It was disappointing. Another thing I found disappointing was the lack of the trademark paranormal element. Lee’s pregnancy seemed to have curtailed her ability to see visions in reflective surfaces. The author didn’t indicate this is the last book in the series, but with the way the final chapter ended, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Favorite lines:
♦ “The trailer says there’s a crazy cat lady in it.” We’re everywhere! Muahaha!
♦ “Cats are all kinds of magical, aren’t they?”

I truly enjoyed most of the book until it went tits up at the end. For that reason, it gets an average score of three, and I believe that’s being lenient.

Current Mood: annoyed
Current Music: "On Sacred Ground" ~ Yanni

H.R. 7013 (Greenland Sovereignty Protection Act) was introduced by Jimmy Gomez (D-CA) last week: https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/7013

It prohibits the use of Federal funding to facilitate the invasion, annexation, purchase, or other form of acquisition of Greenland.

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Current Mood: hopeful

Image: Laser-eyed loon flying away with the "Don't Tread on Me Snake" in her beak. The words "Don't Tread on US" appear in laser light trails around her head (by Cas Fern, local tattoo artist.)

I took a break on Sunday. The weather here in Minnesota has finally stepped up to join the resistance. Today we are expecting -20 F/ -29 C windchills and yesterday the windchills were around -11 F /-23 C. I won't lie. I let Mother Nature take my shift. There were things happening, including my singing group, but I spent the day baking hot cross buns and snuggling under blankets.

Rest is resistance, too.

If you are not from around here and/or would like to watch

naomikritzer talk about her experiences "commuting," and talk generally, along with Diana McCleery, about what things are like on the ground here in Minneapolis and St. Paul. My friend Cliff interviewed her on an SFF videocast:

Watch on YouTube

It's a good watch? I will say that the guy who opens and closes the video, Bob, is a bit of a character, but if you can get past that and some of the echo in Naomi's microphone, it's very informative. Naomi recently did a ride-along with the folks who are self-organizing to follow and harrass ICE vehicles and so it's fascinating to hear how it's being done.

I always feel that people don't quite talk enough about the mutual aid that folks are up to--but the truth is the quiet revolution just isn't splashy enough for the front page.

( Read more... )

I know this seems like a petty thing, in these parlous times, but I am having a hard time finding bookends. We are finally, finally getting all the books out of storage and sorted and on shelves and they might almost fit if we have enough bookends. (If you're going to do part of a shelf as 2 rows of paperbacks, that needs at least 1 bookend to keep the last ones from falling into the larger books that are going as single rows.)

Where can I find plain metal bookends, like the kind they use in libraries? I do NOT want to get them from Amazon, for political reasons. Neither do I want to get them from Target. Once, I might have tried Home Depot, but it turns out that they are cooperating with ICE in deeply distressing ways so I don't want to do business with them either. Etsy is generally recommended as an alternative to Amazon, but they just have decorative standalone bookends. Some of them are really pretty but they are too bulky for this purpose.

Public

US Treasury Secretary Bessent: It's a complete canard to think President Trump's action on Greenland is due to the Nobel Peace Prize.

Well sure, no evidence for that at all. Except of course the letter Trump wrote to the Norwegian PM saying "Considering your Country decided not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize for having stopped 8 Wars PLUS, I no longer feel an obligation to think purely of Peace".

Yes, I was surprised too. He can write?!

Oh, and also: he literally writes diplomatic messages like Truth Social posts.

Lesson for future constitutional scholars: all the checks and balances in the world are no bloody use if nobody will bloody well use them.

Current Mood: weird

* "America vs. the World:" https://archive.ph/GseDk

* "President ▅▅▅▅▅▅▅ in the news:" https://amaebi.dreamwidth.org/2750720.html

******

* "Drone's War in Ukraine:" https://paserbyp.dreamwidth.org/815984.html

******

* "Iran protests have eased after government's brutal crackdown, activist says:" https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/iran-protests-have-eased-after-governments-brutal-crackdown-activist-says

* "European leaders warn Trump's Greenland tariffs threaten 'dangerous downward spiral':" https://www.npr.org/2026/01/18/nx-s1-5681422/european-leaders-greenland-tariffs-downward-spiral

*** Immigration/I.C.E/Autocracy/Slow Motion Civil War/Violent Illegal Occupation of Blue Cities News (Sort likely a little rough)***

* "Abolish the senses:" https://www.bloodinthemachine.com/p/abolish-the-senses

* "Trump’s Moaning Border Czar Cooks Up Revenge Plot Against People Being Mean About ICE:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/donald-trumps-moaning-border-czar-tom-homan-cooks-up-revenge-plot-against-people-being-mean-about-ice/

* "Minnesota, Maine brace for feds after Trump’s Insurrection Act threat:" https://www.newsnationnow.com/us-news/immigration/border-coverage/minnesota-maine-ice-federal-troops-insurrection-act-trump/

* "Judge limits ICE’s crowd control tactics following Minneapolis shooting:" https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/16/ice-minneapolis-arrests-judge-protests-00735416

* "ICE Agents Detain Workers Who Had Just Served Them Lunch:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/ice-dhs-department-of-homeland-security-cretins-detain-mexican-migrant-workers-who-had-just-served-them-lunch/

* "Couple Says ICE Agents Gassed Them as They Drove With 6 Children:" https://www.nytimes.com/2026/01/15/us/minneapolis-couple-ice-tear-gas-6-children.html

Ice agents violently attacked them for the crime of being innocent black people just trying to drive home, endangering six children, one of them a baby who they could have killed.

They refuse to explain why they decided to tear gas a car full of kids to the point they were struggling to breathe and the baby was foaming at the mouth.

* "Woman dragged from car by ICE identified as U.S. citizen Aliya Rahman:" https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/aliya-rahman-citizen-ice-arrest-9.7047853

They dragged an innocent disabled US citizen from her car for the pleasure of keeping her from a doctor's appointment, illegally detaining her in the absence of any crime and denying her medical treatment until they passed out.

* "Trump's anti-immigrant overreach BACKFIRES; 'It looks bad,' says advisor:"

( Embed: )

* "Noem creates police state in Minnesota for Trump; Residents learn to adapt to threat:"

( Embed: )

* Here are some ways to help Immigrants and the anti-ICE Protesters:

"Support minnesotans defending their communities from ICE:" https://www.standwithminnesota.com/
"When the Feds Come to Your City: Standing Up to ICE :" https://crimethinc.com/2025/12/03/when-the-feds-come-to-your-city-standing-up-to-ice-a-guide-from-chicago-organizers
Immigrant Defenders: https://give.immdef.org/give/545119/#!/donation/checkout
The Bail Project: https://bailproject.org/
National Bail Fund Network: https://www.communityjusticeexchange.org/en/nbfn-directory
Amnesty International: protect asylum-seekers: https://donate.amnestyusa.org/page/113080/donate/1
The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights: https://www.theyoungcenter.org/
CHIRLA: https://www.chirla.org/
AL Otro Lado: https://alotrolado.networkforgood.com/projects/63833-al-otro-lado-fund
"Know Your Rights:" https://www.aclu.org/know-your-rights/protesters-rights
"Disappeared In America:" https://www.disappearedinamerica.us/

* "National Park Service will void passes with stickers over Trump's face:" https://www.npr.org/2026/01/09/nx-s1-5672341/national-park-updates-guidelines-stop-visitors-defacing-trump-picture-pass

* "Suspended Michigan autoworker who heckled Trump gets outpouring of donations:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/trump-suspended-michigan-autoworker

* "Ford worker who called Trump ‘pedophile protector’ has ‘no regrets whatsoever’:"

( Embed: )

* "Trump Says Civil Rights Led to White People Being ‘Very Badly Treated’:" https://archive.ph/LpehR

* "Trump regrets not seizing voting machines after 2020 election loss:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/12/trump-voting-machines-election-2020

* "what’s permuting itself around in my head, part two: the election:" https://solarbird.dreamwidth.org/2055440.html

Quality speculation on the likely game plan to overturn the election and how we should start organizing now to resist it.

* "Trump says he will temporarily cap credit card rates:" https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/09/trump-says-he-will-temporarily-cap-credit-card-rates-00721147

* "Trump threatens to cut off funds to 'sanctuary' cities and their states starting next month:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/trump-immigration-funds-sanctuary-cities-states-february-rcna253986

This is blatantly illegal with a lot of precedent behind it.

* "Trump’s first-year actions sparked a fiery legal war, and stunning rebukes from judges:" https://archive.ph/Gr3IO#selection-2467.78-2476.1

* "Judge blocks Trump’s $10B welfare fund freeze:" https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/09/judge-blocks-trumps-welfare-fund-freeze-00720936

* "‘Brace for impact’: Trump turns fraud into new weapon against blue states:" https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/12/brace-for-impact-trump-turns-fraud-into-new-weapon-against-blue-states-00719401?nid=0000018f-3124-de07-a98f-3be4d1400000&nname=politico-toplines&nrid=c6c334c5-29a0-4ae2-a156-370f4d70e9b6

* "A judge orders HHS to restore children's health funding as a lawsuit continues:" https://www.npr.org/2026/01/12/g-s1-105740/a-judge-orders-hhs-to-restore-childrens-health-funding-as-a-lawsuit-continues

* "Offshore wind developer prevails in U.S. court as Trump calls wind farms 'losers':" https://www.npr.org/2026/01/12/g-s1-105808/offshore-orsted-revolution-wind-trump-court-clean-energy

* "Court says Trump admin illegally blocked billions in clean energy grants to Democratic states:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-clean-energy-democrats-blue-state-hydrogen-9269a5a839122e1b3fd487787747d47e

* "Trump rebuked at every turn; Courts and Congress show new spine as Americans take to the streets:" https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow/watch/trump-rebuked-at-every-turn-courts-and-congress-show-new-spine-as-americans-take-to-the-streets-2481027651505

* "Pentagon will begin review of 'effectiveness' of women in ground combat positions:" https://www.npr.org/2026/01/06/nx-s1-5667583/pentagon-review-women-in-ground-combat-roles

* "Renaming Defense Department Could Cost Taxpayers $125 Million:" https://archive.ph/hXTvO

I think I just found more government waste.

* "Musk’s AI tool Grok will be integrated into Pentagon networks, Hegseth says :" https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2026/jan/13/elon-musk-grok-hegseth-military-pentagon

So adding nonsense and inaccuracy as well as increasing security risks beyond those caused by Pete Hegseth himself.

* "Two Staffers for Trump’s Labor Boss Put on Leave Amid Fling Probe:" https://www.thedailybeast.com/two-staffers-for-trumps-labor-boss-put-on-leave-amid-fling-probe/

* "Trump administration sends letter wiping out addiction, mental health grants:" https://www.npr.org/2026/01/14/nx-s1-5677104/trump-administration-letter-terminating-addiction-mental-health-grants

* "Dr. Demetre Daskalakis on leaving the CDC and calling out RFK Jr. :" https://www.advocate.com/exclusives/daskalakis-on-rfk-cdc-resignation

* "E.P.A. to Stop Considering Lives Saved When Setting Rules on Air Pollution:" https://archive.ph/Tsv8A

* "Poor communities threatened by aging sewers see crucial aid slashed under Trump:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-epa-wastewater-systems-minority-dei-8f67357e87f9fe67e8c7351b6d5244de?

* "Smithsonian swaps Trump portrait and removes mention of impeachments:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/11/smithsonian-swaps-trump-portrait

**** Corruption of the Justice System, Pushback, and Related ****

* "Federal judge demands former Trump lawyer explain why she’s still listed as U.S. attorney :" https://thedailyrecord.com/2026/01/08/judge-orders-lindsey-halligan-us-attorney-title-constitutional-ruling/

* "DOJ says Halligan is still a US attorney, despite a judge disqualifying her:" https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/13/lindsey-halligan-us-attorney-doj-00726362

* "Top attorney dismissed in prosecutor's office run by Lindsey Halligan:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/top-attorney-dismissed-prosecutors-office-run-lindsey-halligan-rcna253651

* "DOJ opens probe into Fed’s Powell, drawing backlash from lawmakers:" https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/11/doj-probe-fed-powell-statements-headquarters-00721679

* "Global central bankers speak up for beleaguered Fed Chair Powell:" https://www.politico.eu/article/global-central-bankers-speak-up-for-beleaguered-fed-chair-jerome-powell/

* "Wall Street executives warn Trump: Stop attacking the Fed and credit card industry:" https://apnews.com/article/banks-trump-jamie-dimon-jpmorgan-credit-cards-bny-b4f31993a64c31687c91f17beab0a98a

* "The enormous stakes of Donald Trump’s fight with Jerome Powell:" https://www.vox.com/policy/474960/donald-trump-jerome-powell-fed-economic-stakes

* "Why Trump’s foolhardy Fed power grab is so dangerous:" https://www.ms.now/the-briefing-with-jen-psaki/watch/why-trump-s-foolhardy-fed-power-grab-is-so-dangerous-2481262147880

* "Democrat Elissa Slotkin says she is under investigation for video on illegal orders:" https://www.npr.org/2026/01/14/g-s1-105989/slotkin-investigation-illegal-orders

* "Mark Kelly sues Hegseth over ‘chilling’ effort to reduce military retirement rank:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/12/mark-kelly-pete-hegseth-lawsuit

* "Trump's ongoing freakout over viral video message to military spurs weaponized DOJ:"

( Embed: )

* "US justice department investigating Minnesota Democrats over alleged obstruction of ICE:" https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/czx1wgvpr1zo

The Law is about using force, such as the insurrectionists used on Jan. 6 to try to stop the transfer of presidential power to Biden, not for legally protected speech.

* "Former special counsel Jack Smith to testify publicly about Trump probes:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/former-special-counsel-jack-smith-testify-publicly-trump-judiciary-com-rcna253740

* "FBI raids home of Washington Post reporter in ‘highly unusual and aggressive’ move:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/14/fbi-raid-washington-post-hannah-natanson

**** Trump/Epstein/Maxwell, etc. CW: CSA ****

* "Trump DOJ In Contempt of Congress:"

( Embed: )

* "Conservative Californians ask SCOTUS to allow forced outing of transgender students:" https://www.advocate.com/news/education/supreme-court-appeal-forced-outing

They want the legal right to abuse other people's children.

* "Supreme Court seems likely to rule against transgender athletes in school sports programs:" https://www.advocate.com/news/supreme-court-anti-trans-sports-laws

* "7 takeaways from Supreme Court arguments about bans on trans women and girls in sports:" https://www.advocate.com/news/trans-athletes-scotus-takeaways

* "The trans athletes at the center of Supreme Court cases don’t fit conservative stereotypes:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/transgender-athletes-supreme-court

* "The Supreme Court’s trans sports cases are about erasure, not fairness:" https://www.advocate.com/opinion/supreme-court-transgender-sports-case

* "Hiring slows in December to end the weakest year of job growth since the pandemic:" https://www.npr.org/2026/01/09/nx-s1-5670392/jobs-employment-labor-market-economy-tariffs

* "Here’s the inflation breakdown for December 2025 — in one chart:" https://www.cnbc.com/2026/01/13/cpi-inflation-december-2025-breakdown.html

* "Tortilla, broccoli, ‘a piece of chicken’: US agriculture secretary mocked for ‘money-saving’ meal:" https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/15/trump-agriculture-secretary-brooke-rollins-food-guidelines

* "A Dallas Megadonor, a New Nonprofit, and the War on ‘Housing First’:" https://www.texasobserver.org/dallas-texas-monty-bennett-homeless-policy/

* "‘We’re asking for very basic things’: 15,000 nurses are on strike in New York City:" https://19thnews.org/2026/01/new-york-city-nurses-strike/

* On I.C.E. "Robert Reich has talking points for calling your reps re: ICE and the DHS funding bill:"

* On I.C.E. "Today's earful to my federal legislators:" https://amaebi.dreamwidth.org/2750636.html

* "Trump announces outlines of health care plan he wants Congress to consider:" https://apnews.com/article/trump-health-care-insurance-congress-savings-accounts-b7b4caae9ad14fda4646c42d3858202b

* "Fewer Americans sign up for Affordable Care Act health insurance as costs spike:" https://apnews.com/article/affordable-care-act-aca-health-insurance-subsidies-a95164553f8cdd6c77348856334e64d6

* "Georgia Republican's weeklong anti-trans obsession with Sarah McBride plays out on the House floor and online:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/andrew-clyde-sarah-mcbride-obsession

* Our until Midterms is to survive, to build grassroots resistance, to do all in our power to slow the republican Christo-fascist agenda, and to prepare for 2026 in case there is still Democracy.

"Take action with Indivisible:" https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/

Trump 2.0 Indivisible Guide. https://indivisible.org/resource/guide

If you can't safely contact them in person, here are some other options for contacting your Congress Critters:

Five Calls to your critters: https://5calls.org/

Here is one that will send your reps a fax: https://resist.bot/

And another: https://faxzero.com/fax_senate.php

Snail Mail Campaigns: https://conuly.dreamwidth.org/3622760.html

"Congress. gov:" https://www.congress.gov/

White house (Possibly Dangerous): https://www.whitehouse.gov/

ACLU advice for writing to your Critters: https://www.aclu.org/writing-your-elected-representatives

This tracks legislation: https://www.govtrack.us/

"The Public Comment Process (+ how to write effective public comments):" https://www.tumblr.com/gwydionmisha/781844516804149248?source=share

"Swing Left:" https://swingleft.org/

Run for Something: https://runforsomething.net/

"Vote Smart:" https://justfacts.votesmart.org/

Protests: "50501 Events:" https://www.fiftyfifty.one/events

"ICE Raids Toolkit: Defend Against ICE Raids and Community Arrests:" https://www.immigrantdefenseproject.org/raids-toolkit/

Contains a raid tip hotline amoung other things. "Know Your Rights
LEARN HOW TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND YOUR FAMILY:" https://wearecasa.org/know-your-rights/

* "Americans by Name, Punished for Believing It:" https://boltsmag.org/prosecuted-for-voting-american-samoans-alaska/

* "The GOP’s Secret to Protecting Gerrymandered Electoral Maps? Claim Privilege.:" https://www.propublica.org/article/electoral-maps-gerrymandering-texas-voting-elections-privilege

* "Tennessee Republicans unveil ‘Immigration 2026’ agenda as ‘model’ for rest of nation:" https://tennesseelookout.com/2026/01/15/tennessee-republicans-unveil-immigration-2026-agenda-as-model-for-rest-of-nation/

* "Federal judges allow California congressional map to stand:" https://www.politico.com/news/2026/01/14/federal-judges-california-congressional-map-00729765

* "6 myths about rural America: How conventional wisdom gets it wrong:" https://theconversation.com/6-myths-about-rural-america-how-conventional-wisdom-gets-it-wrong-269037

* "Abigail Spanberger becomes VA's first woman governor, honoring history and diversity in inaugural speech:" https://www.advocate.com/politics/abigail-spanberger-inauguration-diversity

* "Members Of Congress Should Not Be Allowed To Trade Stocks While In Office - Gov.-elect Spanberger:"

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* "24 members of Congress are 80 or older. More than half are running for re-election.:" https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/congress-oldest-members-run-reelection-80s-rcna249479

* "Mary Peltola, barrier-breaking ex-Alaska congresswoman, is challenging Dan Sullivan in Senate race:" https://apnews.com/article/alaska-senate-peltola-sullivan-3fd17afc556641652e83e9c11d700306

* "Locally Extinct for a Century, Bay Scallops Thriving Again on Virginia Shore of Chesapeake Bay:" https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/locally-extinct-for-a-century-bay-scallops-thriving-again-on-virginia-shore/

* Friday after the lying down part of physio, I did manage to drag myself out to exchange books and they hadn't return the one that was close to the edge. I also felt like I'd been beaten with sticks and send on a long slog through mud. By the time I reheated leftovers for dinner, I had the shakes pretty bad, which is no surprise. Thursday is supposed to be a rest day, but I didn't get one. By Friday, I was on day five of not enough sleep while doing physio. I had an uncontrolled fall trying to feed fish, so that's one mild sprain one the ankle that dislocated one the week before and once the week before that. My body then piled on the really bad muscle spasms, which were also no real surprise as the muscles involved are also ones I am using for physio. I still owed sitting and standing physio on top of all this. I ended up deciding standing physio wasn't safe and liable to re-injure, but I did do sitting physio.

I pushed myself to get an aggregate out anyway, ahead of the weekend protests, and also under the belief that I was going to be a MESS Saturday, which I was. It took four hours to do lying down physio as Livia kept coming for pets and cuddle naps and I kept needing cuddle naps. I did end up doing all the physio, but I suspect I should not have done standing physio because the ankle is really unhappy now even though it was okayish during.

There are a bunch of things I really need to do in my room because I really am tired of it not being properly squared away after All the Things and I am so close to done, but half of it is standing and I am so tired if I try to sort I will never leave the bed. I really need to change bedding too, but it's a two person job and Squirrel literally can't help and it's really too much for New Millennial. I have no idea how I will change a fitted sheet under these conditions.

Squirrel now has two physio exercises. Progress!

* "The War On Protein Is Over | Trump Unveils Our New National Bird | "High-Grade" Morality:"

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* "The Orphanage (2007) feat. Shelagh Rowan-Legg:" https://www.iheart.com/podcast/256-horror-queers-31157095/episode/the-orphanage-2007-feat-shelagh-rowan-legg-301857119/

Contains spoilers. Also some interesting stuff I did not know that illuminates some things.

* "Cabinet Meeting Cold Open - SNL:"

( Embed: )

*****
* Full list of Resistance and charity links has been migrated to my profile as it was getting out of hand.

The help links are at the bottom under the cut.

* "When the Feds Come to Your City: Standing Up to ICE :" https://crimethinc.com/2025/12/03/when-the-feds-come-to-your-city-standing-up-to-ice-a-guide-from-chicago-organizers

* "Swing Left:" https://swingleft.org/

* If you need help with chest binders:

* "Free Chest Binders:" https://www.pointofpride.org/free-chest-binders

* "Brother 2 Brother Binder Program:" https://blacktransmen.org/binder-program/

* "Morebinders:" https://www.morebinders.com/about

* "The Queer Trans Project :" https://queertransproject.org/

* "Free Gender Affirming Gear Program:" https://www.ftmessentials.com/pages/ftme-free-youth-binder-program

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Email to my dad: Do you think that we are heading into a recession? Yahoo! Finance divides stock sectors into subsectors. I was looking at Internet retail because it said that subsector is up. but it looks like the "top" companies are all going down. I have a bad feeling about that. I did my dad's "stoplight' thing, and the markets are borked right now.

I was reading about a medieval museum in Paris, and it talked about how tapestries served for warmth as well as decoration. It occurred to me that I should get a quilt for the wall on the side of my bed to keep it warmer plus it would look cool. I haven't found the right quilt yet. I'll keep looking. (My bedroom is on two outside walls and is cold. That reminds me that I need to get the thermal curtains up.) I think that I might have found one. It's a Hawaiian quilt, made in Maui, with dark green leaves and yellow flowers. I printed a picture of it to put by my bed to see what I think of it in there. It looked good so I bought it. Now to bed.

Picture of the quilt:

I canceled Planet Fitness because they moved out of Urbana. They’re trying to make me feel guilty.

Whole lotta munching going on. (I fed Oliver and Lily and Bella and Gracie their dry food late-night meal.)

I kind of want to adopt a senior cat, so I’m using that as incentive to clean the place up. I’m trying to stack the deck to get it done.

I ordered a steam cleaner off of an ad on Facebook, only to find that it’s coming from China. I want to use it now! Sigh. It has a shipping label now.

Okay, NOW I’m going to sleep!

Urgh. The dogs came in the bedroom, and I closed the door. Apparently, it didn’t latch all the way, and Oliver pushed it in and jumped to the ledge above the door. I don’t want to go to sleep with him in here because he’ll come down, and either the dogs will chase him or he will bug me. I’m trying to wait him out. But he knows that I’m trying to wait him out. Who will win? I did!

I had a rare bout of insomnia, so I got up and made oatmeal.

I worked more yesterday. At least I got to the point where both of the jobs I had the goal of building over the weekend were "done"...as in a rough draft was written out and the application is starting up. Now I need to spend this holiday troubleshooting and fixing whatever is wrong with it all. At least that helps me feel progress was made so far. In the evening Mary Beth and I made our grocery run to Superlo. Okay, I guess I'd better go do this thing.

Current Mood: bluh
Current Music: Eric Dolphy - Conversations [Musical Prophet: the Expanded 1963 New York Studio Sessions]

No dayjob today because we're off for MLK Day.

It snowed all day yesterday, starting before dawn, but nothing stuck to the sidewalk until after dark, by which time it was still snowing and I was just not up for shoveling. Which meant, of course, that first thing this morning, after the overnight freeze, there was a layer of ice on the sidewalk. With a great deal of effort and about an hour in two segments (pre- and post-breakfast), I managed to break up and remove enough to make it reasonably safe. I hope. My hands were a little shaky at the end, which indicates I exerted myself more than I should have. Our house is not that wide, thankfully.

The temperature is supposed to go above freezing this afternoon, so hopefully that softens the remainder enough that I can scrape it up. Putting salt on top of ice doesn't help, it just melts the top so it can refreeze in a new and more slick state. Nope!

I have a free ticket for the Orchestra's MLK Day concert this afternoon; I was originally planning to attend with my friend who is now out of town because of a death in the family. We shall see if I recover from my exertions enough to attend. I am not worried about wasting a spot, they generally hand out more tickets than there are seats for these events, and tell you a seat is not guaranteed.

It's possible more snow will arrive in the coming week. Whee. If it does, I hope it doesn't affect our choir kickoff on Saturday, January 24th. Also, I hope the scores get sent out soon, as I need to make a trip to the library to print mine.

I'm back to the office tomorrow and Wednesday.

( You're about to view content that the journal owner has marked as possibly inappropriate for anyone under the age of 18. )

Current Mood: enthralled

Challenge #6

Top 10 Challenge. The category(ies) you choose are up to you. You can give top 10 Fics you read last year, the top 10 songs to create to, the to 10 guest stars on your favorite show, top 10 characters in your favorite book series, top 10... well, you get the idea.

10 happy times

1. Quiet mornings before my wife gets up when I can read, write and update my DW with Ella nearby.
2. Hammock time with Ella.
3. Browsing in a bookstore.
4. Cooking for my parents and/or wife.
5. When I'm in the midst of a solid piece of writing that is flowing.
6. Puttering around outside looking at trees and rocks.
7. Listening to music, discovering new-to-me music, talking to people about music.
8. Sending and receiving snail mail, whether it's Postcrossing or mail to/from people I know.
9. Figuring things out, making something new, having to work out how to put something together.
10. When you see something or hear something and it sparks an idea.

Posted by Jess Craven

https://chopwoodcarrywaterdailyactions.substack.com/p/chop-wood-happy-mlk-day

“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
—Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Hey, all!

No newsletter today because it’s a holiday. HOWEVER, I am sending one action I one reminder out now because both are time sensitive.

First, the action: please do this if you’re in New Jersey, and forward the action to friends and family in the Garden State if you’re not.

⏰⏰ TIME SENSITIVE: URGENT!⏰⏰

Governor Murphy needs PEOPLE POWERED PRESSURE to sign 3 Immigrant Protection bills by TUESDAY!

We need these bills signed, but he won’t do it unless he hears from lots and lots of people! Advocates have fought for 6 long years to get these bills passed; we need to support them. Governor Murphy only has 1 day left to sign!

Call and/or text the message:

I’m a New Jersey resident from [zip] and I’m urging Governor Murphy to sign the three immigrant protection bills on his desk. Please protect our immigrant neighbors and in the process, ALL New Jerseyans!

Phone: 609-292-6000

Text: 732-605-5455

Here’s info on the bills. Some details have changed since a recent vote but still relevant.

Second: don’t forget that on Tuesday, January 20 at 2:00 pm local time, Women’s March is asking everyone — from middle schoolers to retirees — to walk out of school, work and commerce in order to block the normal routines of power. Please join them if you can!

When: Tuesday, January 20, 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm PST LOCAL TIME

Thanks, everyone! Happy MLK DAY!

Jess

Thanks for reading Chop Wood, Carry Water! This post is public so feel free to share it.

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