chebe | Network

I am working on several surprises right now, so I can't really tell you about them just yet, can I. After all, they might turn out like the recent glove disaster!

But I can say I'm glad to be mostly at home this weekend, as compared to last weekend.

Also, the annual rowing Holiday Challenge has been keeping me busy this year. The basic format of the challenge is to use a rowing machine to row 200,000m between Thanksgiving and Christmas Eve. I believe it was two years ago that I wondered, just how many meters could I manage? I managed 375,000 that time around. This year, I'm hoping to reach 400,000. As of this moment, I have 41,000m to go, and 4 days. So I can probably achieve this goal. In future years, however, I want to be less ambitious about the Holiday Challenge so I can allocate more time to other things instead. I am at least finally starting to see some of the cardiovascular fitness benefits from sitting on rowing and biking machines for so much time.

And on that note, back to projects/surprises.

thistleingrey

Previously: 2014, 2018, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024. This has really become a few fragments, and oh yeah, I could post about video games a bit---the full version of the meme doesn't suit me.

1. What did you do in 2025 that you'd never done before?
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calzephyr posting in

1word1day

Povitica - noun.

Povitica (pronounced "poh-vee-TEET-sah" in Croatian, or "poh-TEET-sah" as potica in Slovenian) is a traditional Eastern European sweet or savory nut roll bread characterized by a very thin, yeast-raised dough.

A rich filling, usually finely ground walnuts, honey and/or sugar, is spread inside and then rolled into a tight spiral. Learn how to make it yourself below:

Watch on YouTube

badly_knitted posting in

get_knitted

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: Does anyone have any plans for making Christmas gifts or cards?

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

ysabetwordsmith

Today is mostly sunny and cool.

I fed the birds. I've seen a few sparrows and house finches, mostly on the suet feeder.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 12/20/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 12/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 12/20/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

As it is getting dark, I am done for the night.

Current Mood: busy

wildeabandon

Classes for the first semester are done, and I'm back in the UK for Christmas. According to my study schedule I'm about 8 hours behind on where I should be at this point, but said schedule also assumes that I don't do any schoolwork between now and my return to Belgium on the 29th of December, so I should be able to get caught up without too much difficulty. I am feeling pretty pleased with myself for a)having made a realistic schedule for the semester, and b)having pretty much stuck to it - sometimes getting a day or so behind, but never more than that, and occasionally actually getting a couple of days ahead. It's also been quite helpful at times when I've definitely felt as though I was getting behind to be able to look at it and say "No, actually I'm on track to get everything done as long as continue to work at the same rate as I have been doing so far."

I didn't manage to get to the conversation table I had planned for last week, because I stayed up too late the night before and then spent the day translating Ugaritic tablets, which meant I had absolutely no brain left by the evening, but I shall try again in a couple of weeks. I did go to the cabaret on Sunday evening, which counts both as 'doing a social thing' (albeit with someone I already know, which is much less stressful), and 'practising my French' (albeit largely receptive rather than productive).

The big food order arrived this morning, and I've just got two more presents left to buy, and one to finish crocheting, so that's my plan for today, and I think I'll then be basically ready for Christmas. Tomorrow I'm heading to York for the day, to see

leonato in "Anything Goes", which should be a lot of fun.

rmc28

Yesterday after work I did a library run (more Rick Riordan!) on the way to pick up a hire car for the weekend. Then drove with Charles over to Northstowe for the Kodiaks Christmas party at the Northstowe Tap and Social. Secret Santa, noodles buffet, attempting to introduce an American to prawn crackers - she didn't like them - and a drag queen bingo.

I left the party a little early to go to the last Warbirds practice of the year and was so glad to be back on the ice again. (Yes, in shock news, 48 hours after having a massive mood crash about having a cold forever, I was well enough to skate hard for 90 minutes. It is a weird signal, but a consistent one.) It was ten days since my last practice, and it's now ten days until my next one (Kodiaks 2 on 30 Dec). I missed it so much. Practice was just the right level of challenging that I'm really pushing myself but not feeling like a hopeless incompetent, it was just what I needed, as was seeing my teammates again.

(Charles made his own way home from Northstowe by bus)

Tonight is the last Kodiaks 1 game of the year, for which I will be herding the volunteers as usual, and rocking my lovely new manager's coat (incredibly warm knee-length hooded puffer coat, personalised with the club logo and my initials). There is apparently a post-game clubbing plan. And tomorrow morning I'm taking Nico climbing. Somewhere in there I'm sleeping, honest.

I have 2.5 more days to work this year, and I am so ready to be done. The giant Ocado order is booked for Tuesday evening. I have a very large pile of borrowed books to read, and the rink public skate schedule in my calendar. The hot yoga place had a special offer, so I also have a 12-day pass to get me through the lack of hockey practices. They are quite strict about turning up sick, and I still have a bit of a cough this morning, so I won't be using it today. But hopefully tomorrow.

andrewducker

9 years ago I bought Bloodborne as one of my first Playstation games.
I was rubbish at it.
I'd play for a bit, get stuck on Father Gascoigne, go play something else, come back two years later, repeat.

Today, having not played Bloodborne for months, I thought I'd give the fight a few goes through, to warm up on the game again. It took me at least ten minutes of wandering about to remember what the buttons did.

And then I beat him first time, without it even feeling that hard.

I made mistakes, I nearly died twice, and I'm not sure I *deserved* the win, but for the first time he felt clumsy, and like he was giving me space to breathe, and I wasn't panicking all the way through the fight.

And now I get to play the other 90% of Bloodborne.

(I'm now trembling quite a lot, as my adrenaline levels drop back to a reasonable level. If you'd like to see what the fight looks like, for someone rather better than me, here's an example).

ysabetwordsmith

People have expressed interest in deep topics, so this list focuses on philosophical questions.

What would happen to a society in which no one had to work, and everyone was provided enough food/water/shelter/healthcare for free?

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Current Mood: busy

sonia

I made another appointment with the eye surgeon and went in this afternoon. I told her about the theory of my pupil getting bigger than the opening in the capsule, but she said no, it looks clear, she doesn't see any obstruction with the pupil enlarged, and my pupil isn't that big. Good to know! All sorts of variations in bodies.

I have been paying attention to when it's worse and tried to describe the direction of it but she didn't seem interested. She did honestly say she didn't know the cause, which I appreciate. Dry eye was her best theory, although I don't know why my eyes would suddenly be so much drier than before the procedure.

She offered to refer me out, so I have another name, and we'll see if I can get in to see him. I suspect I'm just going to have to live with it, but I'd at least like a better understanding of what changed.

ysabetwordsmith

Here are the content notes for "The Community Couch."

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

These are the location notes for "The Community Couch."

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Here are the character notes for "The Community Couch."

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This poem came out of the April 1, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from

siliconshaman,

wyld_dandelyon, and

mama_kestrel. It also fills the "Bookstore Girl" square in my 4-1-25 card for the Aesthetics Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with

fuzzyred. It belongs to the series Arts and Crafts America.

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

A stunning new forecast shows when thousands of glaciers will vanish

New research reveals when glaciers around the world will vanish and why every fraction of a degree of warming could decide their fate.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Our theme this month was "Sentient and Self-Aware Machines." I wrote from 1 PM to 3:45 AM, so about 14 hours 45 minutes, accounting for breaks. I wrote 3 poems on Tuesday plus 2 later in the week.

Participation was down slightly, with 7 comments on LiveJournal and another 36 on Dreamwidth. A total of 9 people sent prompts. You have new donor

gs_silva to thank for the second freebie.

Read Some Poetry!
The following poems from the December 2, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl have been posted:
"Never -- Ever -- Quit"
"Protect the Inner Core"
"User Interfaces"

"Mamalokshen" (1-9-23, outside fishbowl)

Buy some poetry!
If you plan to sponsor some poetry but haven't made up your mind yet, see the unsold poetry list from December 2. That includes the title, length, price, and the original thumbnail description for the poems still available.

This month's donors include:

janetmiles,

gs_silva, and

fuzzyred. All sponsored poems from this fishbowl have been posted. There are 2 tallies toward a bonus fishbowl.

The Poetry Fishbowl has a landing page.

Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

This is the freebie for the December Poetry Fishbowl reaching its $150 goal. It was inspired by a prompt from

jadelennox. It also fills the "Ancestors" square in my 10-1-22 card for the Fall Festival Bingo.

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

The following poems from the December 2, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl are currently available. Poems may be sponsored via PayPal -- there's a permanent donation button on my Dreamwidth profile page -- or you can write to me and discuss other methods. There are still verses left in the linkback poems "Delight in Another," "A Sense of Weather Changes," "Ouroboros Insects," "The Loving Embrace of Night," "Generations of Cooks Past," "Homefree and Clear, " "One Bite at a Time," "Stars and Diamonds," "Mishpocha," "Changing Your Nature," and "Besa."

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Current Mood: busy

ysabetwordsmith

Today I remade the holiday potpourri bowl. It needs to be redone every other year or so, because the potpourri and lights wear out. This year I couldn't find any damn potpourri so I wound up deconstructing a cinnamon-scented pinecone.

Current Mood: accomplished

Profile

chebe

December 2025

M	T	W	T	F	S	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30	31

Curious thoughts

Network

The longest night, the shortest day [status]

2025 memed

Saturday Word: Povitica

Check-In Post - Dec 20th 2025

Birdfeeding

Interesting Links for 20-12-2025

And breathe...

Weekend fun, and the week to come

A long awaited victory

Philosophical Questions: Economy

Seeing starbursts update

Content notes for "The Community Couch"

Location notes for "The Community Couch"

Character notes for "The Community Couch"

Poem: "The Community Couch"

Climate Change

Poetry Fishbowl Report for December 2, 2025

Poem: "Mamalokshen"

Unsold Poems for the December 2, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl

Crafts

Profile

December 2025

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