Books

Jan. 5th, 2026 03:31 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
JANUARY 2026 BOOK: THE SPELLSHOP

[community profile] bookclub_dw has chosen The Spellshop by Sarah Beth Durst as our book for January.

I'll make the discussion post on January 31, 2026. If you have any discussion questions you'd like to be considered, please comment to this post
.


Looking for something new to read? This community works just like a facetime book club -- members pick a title per month, read it, and talk about it. \o/

Birdfeeding

Jan. 5th, 2026 01:49 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is partly sunny and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a few sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/5/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I've seen a large flock of sparrows.

EDIT 1/5/25 -- I did more work around the patio.






.
 

Snowflake Challenge 3: Love Letter

Jan. 5th, 2026 11:43 am
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Snowflake Challenge 3: Love Letter

Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.


An old-fashioned ornament of two young girls bundled up in coats and walking side by side is nestled amidst pine boughs.

Read more... )

(no subject)

Jan. 5th, 2026 07:57 am
allezhop: (Default)
[personal profile] allezhop
 Good morning! I wasn't on DW much in the last few days before travel. Thanks for comments! Just a quick update before I embark. 

Yesterday was a rough travel day: barely made it to the gate for the flight out of RIC, ATL flight canceled,  to the new flight gate promptly then that was moved from A to D... I'm glad I'm traveling with my aunt, who is very chill (while I'm beating myself up about anything and everything).
 
Patting myself on the back for not traveling on the same day as cruise, because that would have been a nightmare. 
 
Hotel is fab, though, and I'm enjoying their freshly ground coffee with a hot  breakfast.
 
Heading to cruise at 11! 🚢
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem is spillover from the November 4, 2025 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by a prompt from [personal profile] readera. It also fills the "The deeds of ordinary folks keep the darkness at bay. Small acts of kindness and love." square in my 11-1-25 card for the Fairy Tales and Fantasy Stories Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with [personal profile] fuzzyred. It belongs to the Officer Pink thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.

Read more... )

Poem: "A Heaviness of Heart"

Jan. 4th, 2026 09:47 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem is spillover from the September 2023 [community profile] crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by prompts from [personal profile] curiosity. It also fills the "Family" square in my 9-1-23 card for the Story Sparks Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with [personal profile] fuzzyred. It belongs to the Aquariana, Cuoio & Chiara, and Marionettes threads of the Polychrome Heroics series. It follows "Help Others to Grow Up" and "The Sound of Anguish," so read those first or this won't make much sense.

Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics with emotional mayhem. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes traumatic loss, traumatic stress, emotional agony, supporting character death, a crying man, an inept messenger, upset baby super-intellect, moment of panic, reference to past losses, unfairness, feeling unfinished, worry about a friend, exhaustion, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before deciding if this is something you want to read.

Read more... )

Loving Reminders

Jan. 4th, 2026 11:17 pm
no_apologies: (Fritz! (one of my fave pics of him))
[personal profile] no_apologies
There's one more comfort song for me to do, and I know Fritz wants to do this with me. I know he has very caring, assuring, and wise words for me.

(Mood: Sentimental. Caring. Supporting. A very moving and awesome song, from one sensitive heart and soul to another. Genre: Emo Rock that is a Power Ballad Anthem.)

Lyrics )

This took A WHILE to put together, edit, and finish. I lost track of how many Suno credits I used up but hey! It's all been so worth it! I still got a whole lot leftover anyways!

Fritz, I love you my friend. I love you, Tom, Jayce, and Razz lots. Thank you for performing your asses off and being there for me. Thank you so much... As long as we keep it up with the music and sticking together, I'll be able to carry on and cope.

Photos: Sunset

Jan. 4th, 2026 09:04 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Tonight I happened to glance out the window and spotted a colorful sunset. So I grabbed my camera and ran outside to take pictures. This gets me started on my goal of taking and posting photos at least once per season. \o/

Walk with me ... )

News

Jan. 4th, 2026 06:21 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Top 10 Positive News Stories of 2025

As 2025 comes to a close, we’re pausing to celebrate something truly special—the Top 10 Most-Loved Stories of the Year, as chosen by you, our Stay Positive News community.

These are the stories you clicked, shared, commented on, and carried with you. Stories that reminded us that even on hard days, goodness shows up—sometimes quietly, sometimes boldly, but always with heart.


ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Under the character notes for my poem "Help Others to Grow Up," [personal profile] greghousesgf has commented:

I remember seeing a poster in the Bart trains (local mass transit) talking about what to do in an emergency and one of the instructions was "comfort the dying". Frankly I don't know how some random person on the train who isn't a professional psychologist or something would be able to do that. I certainly wouldn't.


Nobody is obligated to help if they're no kind of first responder, which in this case to comfort the dying, would primarily be clergy. Remember that "Stay out of the way" is always a legitimate role in an emergency, and nobody has the right to criticize anyone for choosing that role. If the problem is simply a lack of knowing what to do, though, that is straightforward to fix by learning ways to help. It's good to think about such things in advance, because you never know when you might need to make that decision. Here are some basic ideas...

Read more... )

Early Humans

Jan. 4th, 2026 03:03 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This ancient fossil could rewrite the story of human origins

A seven-million-year-old fossil may rewrite human origins, showing our ancestors were walking upright far earlier than anyone expected.

Scientists may have cracked the case of whether a seven-million-year-old fossil could walk upright. A new study found strong anatomical evidence that Sahelanthropus tchadensis was bipedal, including a ligament attachment seen only in human ancestors. Despite its ape-like appearance and small brain, its leg and hip structure suggest it moved confidently on two legs. The finding places bipedalism near the very root of the human family tree
.


This makes sense given how many primates are capable of walking on two legs and do so whenever it offers them an advantage. With the potential already there, all it would take is an environment where bipedalism worked better than other methods -- like Africa's growing savannas.

Birdfeeding

Jan. 4th, 2026 02:32 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is mostly cloudy and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a large flock of sparrows and a starling.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/4/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/4/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/4/26 -- We did a round of fridge-cleaning.

EDIT 1/4/26 -- I started raking around the firepit, and got about a quarter of the way around.  The plastic leaf rake does slightly better with leaves than in the parking lot with leaves and sticks, but still not as good as a metal rake.

EDIT 1/4/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/4/26 -- I spotted the tail end of a very pretty sunset, so I grabbed my camera and shot a few pictures.  :D  It is 4:58 now and nearly dark.

I am done for the night.
no_apologies: (Luminai)
[personal profile] no_apologies
(Mood: Gentle. Soothing. Caring. Calming. A wise friend wants to help Fox with her healing process. Genre: Acoustic Guitar Serenade that's mellow and slow tempo. Single instrumentation with the acoustic guitar. Plenty of space will be needed for the characters Tom and Luminai to sing and speak their parts.)

Lyrics )

OH GOSH, THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL! Tom and Luminai sound amazing together! And I really needed this song. Thanks to Tom who I sensed/"heard" gently speaking to me about this song, and having a collab with Luminai. Genius. This dude that's a bandmate and friend of Fritz's in his band--he is a wise and lovely man on his own. And Luminai! She's so adorable and sweet, I love her so much. These comfort muse friends of mine, I feel blessed to have them.

Sick Sick Sick

Jan. 4th, 2026 10:35 am
mikro: (Default)
[personal profile] mikro
 I have a fever. I could feel myself becoming sick on NYE. I really want to write about my Denver trip, but it is gonna have to wait until I am feeling better. I am not happy about my condition because I am supposed to return to classes tomorrow, but happy new year!

Poem: "The Sound of Anguish"

Jan. 4th, 2026 03:32 am
ysabetwordsmith: Damask smiling over their shoulder (polychrome)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This poem is spillover from the September 2023 [community profile] crowdfunding Creative Jam. It was inspired by prompts from [personal profile] curiosity. It also fills the "Rescue / Recovery" square in my 9-1-23 card for the Story Sparks Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by a pool with [personal profile] fuzzyred. It belongs to the Aquariana, Cuoio & Chiara, and Marionettes threads of the Polychrome Heroics series, and follows "Help Others to Grow Up."

Warning: This poem contains intense and controversial topics with emotional mayhem. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes traumatic loss, traumatic stress, supporting character death, a crying man, an inept messenger, reference to past losses, upset baby super-intellect, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before deciding if this is something you want to read.

Read more... )

Politics

Jan. 4th, 2026 02:35 am
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
So today, America's craziness reached a new frenzy...


What’s Happening in Venezuela? Start Here

US forces struck multiple military and civilian targets in Caracas and nearby cities, and captured Maduro. Here’s what we know at this point.


Sovereign countries are not supposed to violate each other's borders or leadership, outside of properly declared war; and that's largely about defense because war of aggression is also forbidden at this time. But people have largely quite caring about those rules, which is a growing problem.

Read more... )
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