My completed Giant Square Scrap Blanket, made with many bits of leftover sock yarn (all with at least some blue) and knitted on 3mm needles (US 2.5). This was a gift and it was much appreciated. Which is good, because by the end, I was using 150 inches of circular needle cable and I could’ve added more… No idea how many stitches I ended up with, but it’s about 3.5-4 feet across. Used two-stitch i-cord to bind it off.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (Latine, horror novels by black authors, nonfiction, YA, best out this month), Reactor (YA SFF/H, fantasy, SFF crossover, romantasy, horror, SF), Gizmodo (SFF/H)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• I have complicated thoughts about the color-coordinated books.
• Nice MCM.
• Unusual beach house in Australia.
• If you’ve ever wanted to grow and sell vanilla beans in Hawaii…
• Minimalist, with a round kitchen.
• …It’s hard to describe.
• Odd blue glass house.
• Where are the doorknobs?! And why is the kitchen in the basement??
• The grey kitchen cabinets look terribly out of place. And I hate the blue ceilings.
• Quonset hut conversion. That would be miserable in Minnesota, since it has no insulation.
• New Mexico townhouse that desperately needs to be renovated. The first couple of pictures make it look as if it was a diner.
• Do they consider that a bench or an elevated walkway?
• Mysterious and dangerous.
• D’oh.
• Flimsy and no railing.
• No, thank you.

Harry on the move, Polly blep.

Harry doesn’t fit so well in the fabric basket, but that doesn’t matter to him.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (YA, best out this week, by black authors: historical fiction, queer YA)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• A little ficlet about the Pevensies after their return from Narnia.
• Heather Cox Richardson’s State of the Union recap.
• Why Scotch tape screeches.
• Nice MCM.
• FLW designed MCM. I love all of the built-ins.
• Castle house in Minnesota.
• Home that has some hamster habitatesque features.
• House that has two Hobbitesque houses included.
• Converted Masonic lodge in which certain choices were made, including a tub in the family room, a tattoo shop, too much taxidermy, and the master bedroom.
• Disappointing castlesque house.
• Yikes.
• Nope.
• Why.

Polly, staring into your soul.

Harry on the kitty warmer.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (best out this week, aromantic, mysteries/thrillers on audio)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Some fun knitting patterns for fingerless gloves.
• D12 that’s just wrong.
• Just here for the bookshelves.
• Cute not-a-treehouse.
• Nice dome home but you must love mint green/turquoise.
• MCM that’s so cluttered it’s hard to appreciate the interesting features.
• It’s not every house that has a built-in table with illuminated crevice.
• Ok but with some weirdness, like a corner tub and whatever is going on with the fridge/wall oven/pantry nook in the kitchen.
• Alice in Wonderland themed.
• For that shopping mall vibe.
• Damp looking cave house.
• D’oh.
• There are signs of a railing, but…
• You’d have to try very hard to fall through the window.

Artsy photo of Harry and Polly.

Polly on the window sill.

Harry under the covers.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Gizmodo (SFF/horror), Book Riot (comics/graphic novels, queer)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• To keep in mind…
• Read about the Minneapolis romance-only bookstore, Tropes & Trifles.
• More good stuff from Heather Cox Richardson.
• Phone settings to change before going to a protest.
• An interesting comparison of electrical outlets in the US and UK.
• “Fresh” fruit in heavy syrup. Hmm.
• A converted library – the dream!
• Nice converted medieval tower.
• Converted barn that looks expensive to heat.
• Gorgeous Italian Art Nouveau villa.
• Very nice MCM.
• Octagonal MCM.
• I love the clock room. Be prepared for the taxidermy…
• Has a cool waterfall but also way too many cups and saucers glued to the walls.
• Just here for the towers.
• And just here for the Kraken shower curtain .
• Is it just me or does the carpet on the main staircase have “stairs that can kill you” potential?
• I was not prepared for the interior either.
• Strange condo.
• I guess you don’t need a railing for the slippery bit at the bottom.

Harry on my lap, deeply asleep.

Polly, sharpening her head on the scratching post.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (YA comics/nonfiction, YA, best out this week)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Fantasy micro ficlet.
• Some books about dragons.
• Heather Cox Richardson has had some great thoughts on what’s happening here in Minneapolis. (FYI – numerous links in that sentence.)
• “There is no ‘nervous system hack’ for fascism“.
• “31 things I want you to know I love about the Twin Cities when we’re not under a violent occupation by federal agents“.
• “US pediatricians give middle finger to RFK Jr, issue their own vaccine recommendations“.
• You can visit the Computer History Museum online.
• “Cat lore: colors and personality“.
• There’s really no way to be be prepared for the what LEGO’s partnership with Crocs looks like.
• Nice MCM – I love the room with the built-in bed frame and storage! Wish there was a way to do that in my bedroom.
• I like this a lot more than most contemporary construction.
• Quite nice earthship.
• Fun Victorian.
• Converted grain elevator.
• Smokehouse conversion – I love rocks but I hate the kitchen counters.
• Colorful.
• Why would you buy a crooked house?
• Been a while since we’ve seen egg slicer stairs.
• At least there’s a railing and carpeting…
• If you look at it again, it’s much worse than it was on first impression.

Harry napping.

Polly has a lot to tell me!

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (Latine, best out this week)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Knit a hat used by Norwegians in the 1940s to visually protest Nazi occupation.
• Heather Cox Richardson from January 21. And on January 17.
• “You’ve heard about who ICE is recruiting. The truth is far worse.”
• Debunking some myths.
• “Why everyone should still use an RSS reader in 2026“.
• Beautiful Craftsman.
• Nice school conversion.
• I’m not really a fan of tiled counters but the kitchen counters/backsplash are exceptional.
• I THINK it has potential, but there’s so much stuff it’s hard to tell.
• Converted 19th century church in which the Gothic architecture sits uneasily with the modern conversion.
• The beigest house in Utah?
• Disappointed in the three “libraries”.
• Deceptive not-stairs.
• “Nope” is the correct response.
• D’oh.
• Huh.
• Don’t do this.
• Even small children deserve railings on their stairs.

Harry blep.

A-tisket, a-tasket, Polly’s in a basket!

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (best out this week)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Ficlet that involves the Muppets.
• “60+ small tasks to defend the right to read“.
• “Side-eyeing science fiction’s love of empire“.
• Heather Cox Richardson on what’s happening in Minneapolis. And on f@scism.
• Planetary alignment, xkcd-style. (Hover cursor/long-press for caption.)
• Gorgeous.
• Lovely Craftsman.
• Very fancy converted bank.
• Converted stable in Paris.
• Very castle-eque.
• Own a historical landmark.
• Formerly an infamous spy house.
• You are not prepared for the interior.
• You’ll just have more and more questions as you look through the photos.
• Kind of tragic bed and breakfast.
• Castle fail. Only the room with the mural is good.
• Colorful but still awful.
• Too much tile. Among other things.
• The unholy use of Photoshop and AI.
• That “bridge” looks quite flimsy.
• Needs more railings.

Sleepy looking Polly.

Harry and the Very Big Yawn, part two.

Polly and Harry, looking vaguely disapproving.

• What I’m referring to in the title.
• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance, queer romance), Book Riot (nonfiction, best out in January), Reactor (YA SFF/H, SF, fantasy, romantasy, horror)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Linktiy from BookWyrm Knits.
• “40% of Americans did not read a single book in 2025“.
• Utah, no!
• “[A]lgorithm free internet music to discover and and diversify your music“.
• Very nice Tudor.
• Quite nice late MCM.
• MCM with a slightly odd interior.
• MCM with rocks.
• Round MCM.
• Cute cottage.
• Another cute one! And for that price, you’d be able to deal with the suspended ceiling and fluorescent office lighting.
• Nice but overpriced floating house.
• Houseboat on the Thames – quite lovely except the absolutely terrifying shower.
• Pretty nice not a treehouse in California.
• Converted school.
• A castle house where they actually tried for a medieval look inside.
• A house built inside the ruins of a castle.
• Very elegant, with towers.
• Manor with 13th, 16th, and 18th century additions. There’s a weird glass floor insert that I don’t like at all by the copper tub.
• Definitely unique – it comes with a geodesic dome, vintage convenience store, and plane wreckage.
• You’ll have more and more questions as you look through the photos.
• Not enough photos of this historic NYC mansion, originally owned by the founder of Arm & Hammer baking soda.
• Landlord “improvement”.
• Would absolutely not go down those stairs in socks.
• At least there’s a railing!
• No.
• Hmm.
• Give it a minute.
• Chaotic stairs.
• Higgeldy piggeldy stairs.

Harry and the Very Big Yawn.

Polly is very fond of the catnip banana.

• New releases: Gizmodo (SFF/horror), Book Riot (queer)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches. And more.
• The tiniest of ficlets.
• The Muppet Show will return for one night only on February 4.
• Perfect summary of 2025.
• Lovely converted mill.
• Converted power station.
• Converted water tower.
• Converted lighthouse. The inconvenience of doing anything to this place!
• Cute but tiny NOLA townhouse.
• You could own a Scottish castle and furnishings.
• Fun MCM, even if some of the wallpaper is just too much for me.
• Slightly unusual MCM.
• Somewhat mysterious MCM, although I’m pretty sure the built-in in the library is a couch.
• Very, very colorful.
• Very pink.
• Very dramatic interior.
• The interior of this one is crazy.
• Maximalist penthouse in which “[t]he ensuite is bigger than the kitchen.“
• Half of a duplex that’s sort of Victorian, sort of not so much anymore.
• Many oddities.
• Pay $2 million for an uninhabitable house.
• “[F]eckless use of tile“.
• Ditto.
• No railing.
• But why.
• Oof. If you roll out of bed, you’re toast.
• Just stop using shelving for stairs.
• Insufficient sturdiness detected.

Harry and Polly on my lap/legs.

Harry!

Polly on my shoulder/upper back.