vital functions
Jul. 18th, 2021 09:39 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kaberettReading. The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories, Susanna Clarke. I made one previous attempt at this in hard copy, lo these many years ago, and bounced off it; I also made an attempt at it more recently, in ebook, from the library, but (I now recall) gave up in disgust because I did not have sufficient spare concentration to cope with the absolutely terrible ebook conversion, feat. both obvious OCR issues (e.g. among --> amottg; Mr Grout --> Mr GroLit; Aug. 11th --> Aug nth) and the complete absence of any number of potentially helpful section dividers.
This time, however, I am making good progress, and also I got annoyed enough to ferret out how to report issues with ebook content to Overdrive/Libby, who provide ebook borrowing for my local library. And I e-mailed them! And I very rapidly got an e-mail back saying they weren't sure how long it would take to fix, but they would Be In Touch With The Publisher! So I am pleased about that, and also I am enjoying the book.
Watching. Leverage: Redemption S01E02. I am hoping that now we've had The Set-Up (where's Nate, where's Hardison, where's Sophie, who's the New Guy, who's Breanna?) we might get into story that I find more engaging? Currently I am mildly irritated by (i) SO MUCH NATE, (ii) Oh No Drug Addicts And Opiate "Crisis", and (iii) the OT3? What OT3? we got this episode after the first episode's gestures in its direction [relevant screencaps]. (Here's some spoilers-for-all-eight-eps-I-assume meta on this topic.)
CXG S03E08. I am... still sorting out how I feel about Rebecca's transparently insincere and deliberately manipulative suicide threats. In real life, that's my hard-line no-guilt "we're done" stopping point; in fiction... it's not actually worse than any of the other shit she's pulled, and maybe this is something I can sit with and have compassion for and so on and so forth.
Also THAT CLIFFHANGER.
Cooking. Japchae: more-or-less this recipe minus the meat (we're vegetarian) and the mushrooms (japchae is Acceptable Migraine Food but mushrooms are not), and plus courgette. I found out that I could get The Asian Cookshop to send me a bunch of stuff I'd normally pick up in Soho, except plague. I feel very lucky that this arrived in time to Be Food at me during the latter half of this week.
What else what else. Ribiselkuchen -- sponge cake topped with redcurrants -- and artichokes-for-lunch (steamed, with butter & lemon) and, as ever, Various Bread.
Eating. Artichokes! Redcurrants! Jostaberries! A small number of dessert gooseberries! A tiny handful of raspberries! I am very much enjoying the soft fruit coming ripe.
Making & mending. I now have working bike lights! I will grudgingly concede that it is possible that I have had working bike lights all along, but I have now actually confirmed that they're working, and tested the batteries in the rear light along the way, so that gets ticked off my list.
I have also learned the principles of replacing ink sacs in vintage fountain pens (...) by Watching Videos, and I am gearing up to see about fixing my ratchet anvil secateurs, neither of which currently ratchet. (I think.)
Growing. Redcurrants! Jostaberries! Gooseberries! Artichokes! The beginnings of the raspberries!
I think I might also have identified a Jerusalem artichoke I'd previously been informed existed Somewhere on the plot, but have yet to dig it up for further investigation.
The tomatoes are increasingly actually flowering and I really need to plant them out. The cucumbers are coming along Acceptably. The chillis are starting to flower. The aubergine have had a growth spurt but are still nowhere near bearing fruit (and definitely need potting up, oops). Something keeps eating my fennel seedlings, but the Cosse Violette beans are coming up well and the sweetcorn are getting visibly rapidly taller. I still don't understand why only one squash germinated, but it's almost tall enough to consider planting out.
Observing. Most of what I have to report here I discussed yesterday: a probably-vole, a meteor, The Bat. However, also: a comma butterfly, which was making a pig's ear of getting itself back out of the greenhouse (but which managed it eventually).
This time, however, I am making good progress, and also I got annoyed enough to ferret out how to report issues with ebook content to Overdrive/Libby, who provide ebook borrowing for my local library. And I e-mailed them! And I very rapidly got an e-mail back saying they weren't sure how long it would take to fix, but they would Be In Touch With The Publisher! So I am pleased about that, and also I am enjoying the book.
Watching. Leverage: Redemption S01E02. I am hoping that now we've had The Set-Up (where's Nate, where's Hardison, where's Sophie, who's the New Guy, who's Breanna?) we might get into story that I find more engaging? Currently I am mildly irritated by (i) SO MUCH NATE, (ii) Oh No Drug Addicts And Opiate "Crisis", and (iii) the OT3? What OT3? we got this episode after the first episode's gestures in its direction [relevant screencaps]. (Here's some spoilers-for-all-eight-eps-I-assume meta on this topic.)
CXG S03E08. I am... still sorting out how I feel about Rebecca's transparently insincere and deliberately manipulative suicide threats. In real life, that's my hard-line no-guilt "we're done" stopping point; in fiction... it's not actually worse than any of the other shit she's pulled, and maybe this is something I can sit with and have compassion for and so on and so forth.
Also THAT CLIFFHANGER.
Cooking. Japchae: more-or-less this recipe minus the meat (we're vegetarian) and the mushrooms (japchae is Acceptable Migraine Food but mushrooms are not), and plus courgette. I found out that I could get The Asian Cookshop to send me a bunch of stuff I'd normally pick up in Soho, except plague. I feel very lucky that this arrived in time to Be Food at me during the latter half of this week.
What else what else. Ribiselkuchen -- sponge cake topped with redcurrants -- and artichokes-for-lunch (steamed, with butter & lemon) and, as ever, Various Bread.
Eating. Artichokes! Redcurrants! Jostaberries! A small number of dessert gooseberries! A tiny handful of raspberries! I am very much enjoying the soft fruit coming ripe.
Making & mending. I now have working bike lights! I will grudgingly concede that it is possible that I have had working bike lights all along, but I have now actually confirmed that they're working, and tested the batteries in the rear light along the way, so that gets ticked off my list.
I have also learned the principles of replacing ink sacs in vintage fountain pens (...) by Watching Videos, and I am gearing up to see about fixing my ratchet anvil secateurs, neither of which currently ratchet. (I think.)
Growing. Redcurrants! Jostaberries! Gooseberries! Artichokes! The beginnings of the raspberries!
I think I might also have identified a Jerusalem artichoke I'd previously been informed existed Somewhere on the plot, but have yet to dig it up for further investigation.
The tomatoes are increasingly actually flowering and I really need to plant them out. The cucumbers are coming along Acceptably. The chillis are starting to flower. The aubergine have had a growth spurt but are still nowhere near bearing fruit (and definitely need potting up, oops). Something keeps eating my fennel seedlings, but the Cosse Violette beans are coming up well and the sweetcorn are getting visibly rapidly taller. I still don't understand why only one squash germinated, but it's almost tall enough to consider planting out.
Observing. Most of what I have to report here I discussed yesterday: a probably-vole, a meteor, The Bat. However, also: a comma butterfly, which was making a pig's ear of getting itself back out of the greenhouse (but which managed it eventually).
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-18 10:44 pm (UTC)Sounds like your garden is doing significantly better than my drought and heat-stricken garden is. My currents barely produced, my gooseberries tasted rotten no matter what age they were, and my blackberries may produce at most 8 berries. But that's our fault because we cut them down so that we could paint the fence they were against. I'm surprised even 2 canes came back this year!
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-18 11:04 pm (UTC)While initially skeptical, I really love the DIY information provided by transporting enthusiasts via YouTube. I keep thinking of making a short vid -- more TikTol than YT -- about seven ways to use a larks head know to attach things to your wheelchair.
(Feel free to steal that idea.)
(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-19 10:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2021-07-19 12:05 pm (UTC)