Thursday, June 12th, 2025 01:42 pm
As there are still unclaimed post-deadline pinch hits and I have had requests for extensions, I am announcing a delay. The new Reveals will be Friday, July 4th.

Pinch hit check-in day will be July 1st, if you currently have a pinch hit or pick one up they will need to be posted or you will need to e-mail me by July 1st.
Thursday, June 12th, 2025 12:21 pm
Use a hair clip.  It holds securely, doesn't damage yarn, molds to the shape of the ball, and tells you exactly where the end is. 
Thursday, June 12th, 2025 09:44 am
As Kayla headed out for breakfast this morning, she snapped a photo of the "Strawberry Moon," which if I'm reading right is about the largest the Moon will appear in our sky for a long time.

ExpandMoon Over Fernley )

The camera phone is of course not very good for taking this sort of picture.

LiveJournal continues to show a 403 Forbidden error.
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Thursday, June 12th, 2025 09:37 am
Hey guys! I read a great women’s sci-fi anthology from 1989 in the sci-fi library. It gave me a lot of new additions to [community profile] pluralstories, but one story that really stood out to me (and has no spirited/many-selved content at all) is Barbara Krasnoff’s "Signs of Life." It’s about sign language interpreters in a universe where the Deaf are overwhelmingly the space pilots. Krasnoff had some training in the field (though she didn’t end up entering it) and reading it made my hard-of-hearing ass very happy. I really wanted to share it with y’all, but the Visions and Memories anthology is long out of print and paper-only. Alack!

So I found Krasnoff online and asked about it, and she posted the story on her blog, so now I can share it with everyone! Hooray! Here it is: https://krasnoff.wordpress.com/signs-of-life/

That anthology was really ahead of its time, and I’m glad some of the stories are finding new life (and hopefully new audiences)! I hope y’all like it!
Thursday, June 12th, 2025 05:29 pm
I have a new obsession! And it's a bit of a surprise, because new American (/half-American) comedy in a modern setting is really not my usual kind of thing, but here we are. Étoile first caught my attention via a link to this gifset [er, big spoiler], then after clicking around a bit, finding some stuff about Cheyenne and deciding I had to know more about who she was, I decided to give the show a try. There is definitely some stuff about it that doesn't work for me, but the bits that do work really work, and on the whole it's loads of fun. Tobias and Cheyenne are, as I thought, among the highlights of the bits that work for me, but less expectedly, Geneviève has become my fave, and after watching the excellent finale I was inspired to write a little thing about her. I don't exactly know what I'm doing—live-action fandoms are not easy for me, especially one as fast-paced as this—and I'm not sure how far the ideas in this fic are really sound, but for now:

Not through words, but the first ray of dawn (1022 words) by regshoe
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Étoile (TV)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Geneviève Lavigne (Étoile)
Additional Tags: Episode: s01e08 The Offer (Étoile), Post-Canon, Vignette
Summary:

Geneviève, the morning after.



I am beginning a slow re-watch of the show and would like to write some more stuff for it in future, so we'll see how that goes, I suppose. In the meantime reading all the Tobias/Gabin fic (there's huge amounts of it, by my standards) is being fun too!
Thursday, June 12th, 2025 11:24 am
It's very poignant to be here again. I'm in Minneapolis so rarely that I can still distinguish each visit, but the overall sense is one of extended memory, that is not just of my own, but of anecdotes from my mother and grandmother about their lives here, my grandmother as a (very) young adult, and my mother as a kid.

Not all the memories of mine are good--the week we spent in Bloomington ranged from weird to horrific, the axis we kid spun around was the sound of my mother crying in the bathroom when my bio grandfather started his daily drinking and turned into a monster. We kids at least escaped with his bio kids (our age, his second marriage) but mom couldn't escape--we had the car.

The city that was best to them all (though mom only got to visit, never got to live there) was Red Wing. I adore that place! There's something so peaceful about Red Wing. And extended memory is very complete, as we heard ALL the stories about life on the farm, etc. But it wasn't idyllic--my grandmother and her older sister had to go--that was the conditions my great-grandmother accepted when she remarried in order to save the farm, around 1930, with the Depression really digging in. The man said he could abide the two younger girls but the sixteen year old (my grandmother) and her older sister had to get out and find their way on their own. Which they did, in Minneapolis, waiting tables.

Anyway I'm here for a con. I came a day early, knowing that getting in at one in the morning would leave me a zombie for a day. The weather is perfect--cool and cloudy. I think I'll go out for another walk.
Thursday, June 12th, 2025 03:30 pm

Posted by Amanda

Hot Earl Summer

Hot Earl Summer by Erica Ridley is $3.99! This is book five in The Wild Wynchesters series. The heroine is a bodyguard and the hero is impersonating his cousin. Have you read this one?

Bold, curvy Elizabeth Wynchester loves cuddling hedgehogs almost as much as she adores vanquishing villains with the sharp blade concealed inside her cane. Despite others’ opinions about her body and gender, nothing will stop her from seeing justice done. When her next mission drops her at the dastardly Earl of Densmore’s castle, she’s prepared to duel like gentlemen—only to be locked inside! Her trusty sword cannot defeat the castle’s hidden traps… or protect her heart from the devilishly handsome rogue guarding the keep.

When reclusive inventor Stephen Lenox agreed to impersonate his cousin for a few days, he didn’t expect the earl to vanish altogether. Nor could Stephen predict mounting death threats… or the arrival of a beguiling, blade-wielding spinster who declares herself his new bodyguard. As the earl’s enemies lay siege to the castle, Stephen fights his way past Elizabeth’s defenses. She’ll share his bed, but when the adventure concludes, she vows to sever their affair. Unless he can somehow convince a swashbuckling siren to surrender her heart…

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Love and Other Disasters

RECOMMENDED: Love & Other Disasters by Anita Kelly is $2.99! This is book one in the Nashville Love series, and the other books are also discounted. Tara and Carrie did a joint review and gave it a B+:

Tara: Overall, I really enjoyed this one! Dahlia and London were such wonderful characters, and I’m a big fan of cooking shows, so I know I’ll be reading Love and Other Disasters again. I’ll just be sure to stock snacks next time, because reading about so much amazing food made me hungry.

Carrie: I was delighted with this book overall. The supporting characters were fun (or loathsome, as the plot demanded). The character development was realistic and powerful. The romance was sexy and I can totally picture Dahlia and London as an old couple on a porch somewhere — I was invested in them for the long haul. This will be one of my comfort re-reads for sure!

The first openly nonbinary contestant on America’s favorite cooking show falls for their clumsy competitor in this delicious romantic comedy debut that USA Today hailed as “an essential read.”

Recently divorced and on the verge of bankruptcy, Dahlia Woodson is ready to reinvent herself on the popular reality competition show Chef’s Special. Too bad the first memorable move she makes is falling flat on her face, sending fish tacos flying—not quite the fresh start she was hoping for. Still, she’s focused on winning, until she meets someone she might want a future with more than she needs the prize money.

After announcing their pronouns on national television, London Parker has enough on their mind without worrying about the klutzy competitor stationed in front of them. They’re there to prove the trolls—including a fellow contestant and their dad—wrong, and falling in love was never part of the plan.

As London and Dahlia get closer, reality starts to fall away. Goodbye, guilt about divorce, anxiety about uncertain futures, and stress from transphobia. Hello, hilarious shenanigans on set, wedding crashing, and spontaneous dips into the Pacific. But as the finale draws near, Dahlia and London’s steamy relationship starts to feel the heat both in and outside the kitchen—and they must figure out if they have the right ingredients for a happily ever after.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Forged by Magic

Forged by Magic by Jenna Wolfhart is $1.99! We mentioned this one in Hide Your Wallet and on Cover Awe. I definitely purchased this one based on the cover. Did any of you pick it up for that reason?

A heartwarming, feel-good fantasy romance…with a helping of spice and only a pinch of danger.

Trapped in a tower by the emperor who conquered her homeland, Daella yearns for an escape. But as one of the few half-orcs left in the world, she knows she’ll never be free, much less find her own happily ever after.

Destiny takes an unexpected turn when the emperor offers her a deal. To earn her freedom, she must journey to the mysterious Isles of Fable and track down wielders of outlawed dragon magic. Eager to seize her chance, Daella agrees.

When a brutal storm tosses her ship off course, she washes up on the wrong island—right at the feet of Rivelin, a gruff but handsome elven blacksmith, who seems more likely to stab her than help her. To her surprise, he offers her shelter until the next ship passes through in six weeks’ time.

Daella soon realizes he’s hiding something big. It could be the very magic she’s been tasked to hunt down—the key to her long-awaited freedom. But as they bicker over the flames of his forge, her heart kindles with something she’s never felt before.

When his secrets finally come to light, Daella must decide what’s more her freedom from the wicked crown or the desires of her heart.

Forged by Magic is a complete, stand-alone fantasy romance novel set in the whimsical world of Falling for Fables.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

A Curse So Dark and Lonely

RECOMMENDED: A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer is $2.99! This one was recommended to Carrie and she really enjoyed it, giving the book an A-:

I enjoyed the way this book both used and subverted Beauty and the Beast tropes. There’s a good blend of angst and humor and worldbuilding.

In a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer gives readers another compulsively readable romance perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer.

Fall in love, break the curse. 

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom. 

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

Add to Goodreads To-Read List →

You can find ordering info for this book here.

 

 

 

Thursday, June 12th, 2025 09:54 am
Gay Trivia.....


In 2012 which country's senate unanimously
approved the "Gender Law", praised by the UN
and World Heath Organization as one of the
most comprehensive transgender rights laws?

A: France
B: Denmark
C: Sweden
D: Argentina


ExpandDa Answer )
Thursday, June 12th, 2025 09:57 am
They really brought in Philip Akin as a new character? And they really killed him off AGAIN? What even.
Thursday, June 12th, 2025 09:35 am
Very nice and punctual but they've basically learned nothing in the year they've worked at the theatre. Not where to stand, not which row is which, or the general location of a given seat. The last two really matter during reserved seating shows. Whatever side that usher is on is going to have lines, and people may end up in the wrong seats.

So I was discussing the situation with my boss and I said my current approach was that each shift would be to pick one thing that usher does not know, and do my best to ensure they know it by the end of the shift. Last shift was "where to stand", for example. My reward is, I think, that usher is now _my_ special project who I will be working with whenever I HM.

I did assure my boss I do remember a previous HM who grilled ushers on seat location and would ding them a quarter hour for minor uniform infractions and that I wasn't going to use them as a model. Well, I do, but only in the sense of asking myself if the way I want to handle something is how that person would, and if it is, I do something else.
Thursday, June 12th, 2025 08:59 am


An artisanal cheesemaker's attempt to save her precious cheese cave lands her in the middle of an interplanetary crisis.

The Transitive Properties of Cheese by Ann LeBlanc
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Thursday, June 12th, 2025 08:50 am
Every Thursday, we have a community post, just like this one, where you can drop a rec or five in the comments.

This works great if you only have one rec and don't want to make a whole post for it, or if you don't have a DW account, or if you're shy. ;)

(But don't forget: you can deffo make posts of your own seven days a week. ;D!)

So what cool fics/fanart/fanvids/fancrafts/podfics/other kinds of fanworks have we discovered this week? Drop it in the comments below. Anon comment is enabled.

BTW, AI fanworks are not eligible for reccing at recthething. If you aware that a fanwork is AI-generated, please do not rec it here.
Thursday, June 12th, 2025 07:53 am
Did my four wheelbarrows of thistles, brambles, bee balm, & loose ground cover at the New Paltz garden early-ish yesterday morning.

Then one of the garden elders came down the path, pushing a rototiller that does everything but make coffee. Nodded at the approximately one-third of the garden that still needs to be cleared. Asked, Would you like me to use this to...?

And I said, No, because beneath the thistles, brambles, & bee balm, I keep uncovering delicate plants that were once part of some previous occupant's ornamental garden, and I wanted to give those delicate plants a chance to thrive once more.

And the garden elder nodded as if I had passed some sort of test!

"You're doing it the right way!" he proclaimed. "Give a holler when you've finished clearing the big stuff & I'll come back with this & help you with the low weeds."

Which would indeed be a God send. I really hate digging with a shovel.

Shortly, I will be scampering out to log today's wheelbarrow quota before it gets hot.

###

Other than that, I have been feeling super-anxious about the political situation.

It has occurred to me—and to 50 million other armchair analysts—that Trump's vanity birthday parade this Saturday with all those tanks is really just a pretext to turn the White House into some kind of armored fortress for when Trump declares martial law. Which will also be on Saturday. I mean, Saturday is fuckin' Flag Day! Could the symbolism be any more flagrant?

And I am anxious, and I am scared, but I am also disgusted: All of this was outlined in exhaustive detail in Project 2025. It's like American voters failed an open book test.

Hoping I'm wrong.

But the dots seem to connect, and the picture is one we've seen before.

Humans are ridiculous and territorial, and they never, ever fuckin' learn.
Thursday, June 12th, 2025 01:11 am
Folks have mentioned an interest in questions and conversations that make them think. So I've decided to offer more of those. This batch features hobbies.

Ceramics is a hobby of making things from clay. It can include practical things like dishes or ornamental things like sculptures.

On Dreamwidth, consider creative communities like [community profile] crafty, [community profile] get_knitted, [community profile] justcreate, or [community profile] nacramamo.

ExpandRead more... )