• New releases: Tor.com (horror/genre-benders, YA SFF, SF, fantasy), Book Riot (romance, mystery/thriller/true crime, best out this week)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• On the importance of Pippin in LotR.
• “20 book apps for every kind of reader“.
• A Goodwill used bookstore.
• Epistolary ficlet.
• Another ficlet.
• This is SO TRUE.
• Hidden Valley Ranch ice cream.
• Crochet a Star Wars X-Fighter blanket/snuggie.
• This can’t possibly be a serious fashion show.
• Antique computers made from paper.
• “Yankee Candles’ stages of abstraction“.
• Somewhat disconcerting Starry Night optical illusion.
• Sequel to the horrible volume slider post: horrible options for entering your phone number.
• Cookie-stuffed brownies.
• Lovely Frank Lloyd Wright house.
• I was surprised at how well the lemon yellow accents worked.
• Castle…rowhouse.
• Hobbitish house.
• Less green on the inside. Fortunately.
• Lovely except for the lime green laundry room.
• “McMansion with a turret“.
• Buy your own square island for $225M.
• I don’t think they’re going to sell it until they get all of that “decor” out.
• Siegfried and Roy’s Las Vegas compound.
• :blink blink:
• Absolutely ridiculous bathtub location.
• Absolutely deadly bathtub setup.
• I wonder which was added first?
• Danger of impalation.
• Just danger.
• Fireplace stairs.
• WTH.
• Oh snap.

Mayhem would prefer not to have her photo taken, thanks.

Goofy Polly!

My, what a big mouth you have there, Harry!

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Tor.com (YA SFF), Gizmodo (SFF, horror), Book Riot (best out this week)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• “20 newly discovered Terry Pratchett stories will be published this year“.
• Oh, Kurt, we’re really in it now.
• “Jimmy Carter’s Presidency was not what you think“.
• Learn about starfish.
• xkcd tries to spare us all an annoyance. (Hover cursor/long-press for alt text/caption.)
• “Should you warm up your car before driving?“
• “Do you really need 10,000 steps a day?“
• “Size difference between prehistoric animals and modern descendants“.
• You’ll never guess who invented the cat flap.
• “16 baking recipes that don’t require eggs“. (I’ve made the chocolate crazy/wacky cake before and it’s delicious.)
• “There’s a Napoleonic Man of War simulator“.
• A mini choose-your-own-adventure game called “Escape the Wizard Dungeon”.
• Competitive hobbyhorsing.
• Cake batter donut-flavored iced coffee from Dunkin’.
• “Autism causes vaccines!“
• (As an aside, I know, tumblr has started doing this “you gotta log in to see the rest of this post” thing for long posts. UGH. On the bright side, you can quickly create a tumblr account to do so… and it won’t be as creepy as creating most social media accounts is.)
• What a $50 million house in Utah looks like inside.
• Simultaneously simple yet ornate.
• Remodeled Victorian that barely looks Victorian inside anymore.
• Still has that Tudor feel.
• I got stuck on the red bathroom.
• Very colorful!
• Huh.
• No, thank you, I do not want to live over a highway.
• I would definitely fall off one of the edges.
• :blink blink:
• I guess if you’re going to die falling down the stairs, these are at least lovely.

Harry always looks so skeptical/crabby, but he’s the sweetest boy!

Polly sitting like a people.

Mayhem asleep on my lap.

• New releases: Book Riot (best out this week), AAR (romance)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Maybe this is why everyone starts calling the One Ring their precious.
• Why LoTR is so comforting to watch.
• Ohhhh… (LoTR again).
• Very short ficlet.
• See what it looks like here in Minneapolis with all the snow.
• On beavers.
• Learn about Ada Lovelace, first computer programmer.
• Viz Media put some of their most popular anime up on YouTube for free.
• “Moment humpback whale thought it was a flying fish” (worth clicking through to the original article).
• Some thoughts on weight stigma.
• “ChatGPT is a blurry JPEG of the web“.
• I had never heard of Cartrivision before.
• Rather nice.
• I do like a good turret.
• I think these floors are cool, but they would also freak me out.
• Mushroom house.
• Blue, blue, your house is blue. Blue is your house…
• It has personality.
• As does this.
• “Looks a little scuzzy…“
• NOT a castle.
• And not what I think of when I think of A-frame houses.
• Curvy.
• Who needs 18 bedrooms and 32 bathrooms?!
• A house on stilts in earthquake country.
• Is no one who designs ridiculous stairs clumsy??
• I don’t think Escher should be the inspiration for real life stairs.
• UMMMM…
• Puzzling.
• Button stairs.
• Well, I can see why they removed that from the real estate photos.
• The absolutely grossest way to separate eggs.

Such an adorable goofball!

Harry can be very intense.

Mayhem, very close.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (best books out this week, fantasy)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Some of the good things about the Pevensies’ return home at the end of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe.
• Tufted pygmy squirrel.
• On types of rain and the lake effect.
• The NYC Museum of Trash.
• :blink blink:
• “Why stupidity is more dangerous than evil” (and stupidity is not defined the way we usually think about it).
• Valentines courtesy of the National Park Service.
• The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation has an entertaining twitter feed.
• Has its own pickleball court.
• David Bowie once lived in this house.
• Dragon door.
• Mini castle.
• There’s a lot going on in this one.
• I’d paint over those murals immediately.
• Partially converted stable.
• Door placement FAIL.
• :facepalm:
• Huh.
• Drawer stairs.
• Red to warn you of their danger?
• I guess scaremongering isn’t a new sales technique.

Harry and Polly’s second adoptiversary was on the 16th! Don’t they look excited. 😉

Harry on my bed.

Polly upside-down cake!

• New releases: Book Riot (best books out this week)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• Why Tolkien described evil places as having no trees growing there.
• Sort-of ficlet about a time travel cop working for a department of fish and wildlife.
• Another reason not to go to the movie theater.
• Learn about Dr Dennis H Klatt, who gave Stephen Hawking his artificial voice.
• The Washington State DNR is always delightful.
• As are the 2023 Minnesota snowplow names.
• Rivendell LEGO set.
• That time when vanilla extract became a tumblr meme and someone decided to bake a cursed cake.
• I didn’t realize anyone had ever tried selling propeller-powered cars.
• Flourless chocolate cake.
• Gorgeous townhouse in NYC.
• Nice Mid-Century Modern.
• The one she mentions in the post above.
• If you really, really like Italy.
• If you like glass block and zebra-patterned carpet.
• Over-the-top mansion.
• Fuchsia stairs??
• Triangle house.
• Huh.
• Umm.
• YIKES. Can’t be unseen.
• It’s the last photo that really shows the problem.
• No one will ever notice…
• What the heck?
• Well, at least it doesn’t deposit you on the stove or counter?
• You might want to wear your glasses whilst showering at this place, so you don’t make a misstep getting out of the shower.
• Maybe this one, too.
• Dangerous beds.

The Lady Miss Princess Mayhem!

Polly and Harry hanging out on the kitty hammock.

Harry and Mayhem napping on my lap.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Some thoughts about hobbits.
• Mini ficlet about one of the downsides of having a human on your crew.
• Might haunt your nightmares.
• “Dystopian bill offers inmates a year off their sentences if they donate organs“.
• The history of the word “queer”.
• Cookie baked oatmeal.
• Rustic round house.
• Mid-Century Modern with a Japanese flair.
• The “Glass Pavilion”.
• Buy a miniature town.
• Black closet or white closet?
• Or stove closet?
• Does the spinning wheel convey?
• Huh (keep going through all the photos to the end).
• Ewww, the carpets.
• Has its own crematory.
• Has its own Parthenon.
• Curtains instead of walls in the bedrooms.
• Decommissioned radar tower.
• Snake chair.
• Most ridiculous bathroom faucet ever?
• Fall down the stairs, get burned on the cooktop.
• Fall down the stairs, get burned on the cooktop. (Twice in one week!)
• …Did someone steal half the stairs?
• Yikes.
• Don’t rush out of the elevator without looking or you’ll fall down the stairs.

Harry and Mayhem sleeping on my lap.

Polly creepily sleeping with her eyes open.

Harry talking to me.

• New releases: AAR (romance)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Where Smaug lands amongst the world’s wealthiest.
• Slightly morbid sort of ficlet.
• 2023 cat calendar from… the Army Corps of Engineers.
• Disney-themed cereals.
• Hot sauce from Mountain Dew.
• Optical illusion art.
• Highland cow or sheep footstools.
• Looks exactly as a shepherd’s hut in Cornwall should look.
• “Spacey” house.
• Miniature replica castle.
• House previously owned by a manga artist.
• House so black and white that other colors look really weird.
• House previously owned by people who liked wallpaper a little too much.
• House previously owned by people who liked bears a little too much.
• Perfect if you love turquoise.
• Geodesic dome with a nautical theme.
• A little shabby to start, then YIKES.
• Normal boring, then WTH.
• House with no-good, terrible floors.
• Renovated jail still looks very institutional.
• Maybe not the butt warmer you expected.
• VERY WHITE.
• Cowboy hat house.
• Looks nice on the outside, but…
• :blink blink:
• …had whoever built that staircase ever seen stairs before?
• Same question.
• Two words you never want to hear together: stiletto stairs.

Polly and Harry napping – Harry, as always, keeping an eye on me.

Polly and her sleeping “blep”.

Harry “thlurrrp”.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• “Incomplete list of great things the PJ LOTR films added that weren’t in the books“.
• Stephen Colbert is part of the team working to bring the Chronicles of Amber to the screen.
• Ficlet set after the Robot Apocalypse.
• “Why isn’t every year the warmest year on record?“
• The many types of erasers.
• “Researchers breed naturally flame-resistant cotton“.
• Nonasuch with an entertaining look at the Miss Universe national costumes. Plus a look at past Miss USA national costumes.
• Repurposed scenery painting rooms.
• Another lovely mansion that’s a 5-10 minute walk from my wee condo.
• Fairy tale cottage.
• Unusual geodesic dome.
• Inside the “Invisible House”.
• The “Circular Sun House” by Frank Lloyd Wright.
• Another one from Frank Lloyd Wright.
• An unusual cottage.
• Decorating decisions were definitely made here.
• Not a fan of the red ceilings.
• Very unusual condo.
• Apparently I am in the minority for thinking it’s not a treehouse unless the involved tree is supporting the structure.
• I would be more concerned about having heat registers on the floor, but the house not having heat…
• Another house just for car enthusiasts.
• Must love bricks.
• Very clever fire escape.
• What’s the weight rating of that IKEA cabinet? I hope that was considered before including it in the ladder path.
• Never choose artistry over function re stairs.
• Here’s hoping those kids aren’t clumsy.
• Shower on the landing.
• This skeleton bike can’t possibly be functional… can it?
• Super creepy dollhouse. WARNING: Involves taxidermy.

Mayhem is THRILLED (not) to be sharing the sofa with Harry.

The Cute! It burns!!!! (Polly is as sweet as she looks.)

Harry wondering what the heck I want NOW.

• New releases: Tor.com (fantasy, scifi, horror & genre benders), Book Riot (nonfiction)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• “In search of new reading rituals“.
• “For Christmas this year my wife got me a 90-second Barnes and Noble shopping spree.“
• “A study of Discworld“.
• The difference between war in LotR and GoT.
• Tolkien-themed cakes.
• A touching superhero ficlet.
• A ficlet about saving the world.
• “A personal apology to young Americans for failing to stop Ronald Reagan” (I wasn’t quite old enough to vote against him, alas.)
• “Why we actually need more mindless activities“.
• Learn a cursed fact about vultures.
• The secret of Roman concrete revealed.
• Gargoyles.
• Gingerbread International Space Station.
• A McDonald’s meal painted in the stye of the old masters.
• If you need a moment of coziness…
• “Use your knitting superpowers to turn Barbie into a mermaid.”
• Dr Pepper-flavored Peeps.
• “lol, how could the peas be upside d—…“
• Friends-inspired candle.
• Cinnamon-sugar Nutella stuffed French toast.
• Fairy tale cabin.
• Fairy tale compound.
• Faux finish hell.
• Snaring stairs.
• Stairs with climbing grips to help you out.
• Why do people make countertop stairs!?

Yet another shot of Mayhem looking every bit the Panther Princess.

Polly on my lap, Harry (suspiciously) next to my legs.

Polly side eye.

• New releases: Tor.com (YA SFF), Smart Bitches (romance)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• On Theoden’s redemption arc in LotR.
• On special effects in LotR.
• On book Eowyn.
• A single paragraph on LotR that packs a lot of punch.
• A webcomic on trying to appease a volcano god.
• Unusual gryphons.
• “New covid variant just dropped, happy new year everyone“.
• “The coolest space images of 2022” and “The best spaceflight images of 2022“.
• Which US states legally consider Pluto a planet?
• Learn about mules.
• Pallas cat and kittens.
• Stop-motion video from the LEGO Group.
• A McDonald’s with a glass floor so you can view a Roman road plus skeletons.
• I can’t think of a good reason for this map.
• Bike desk that can charge devices with your biking power.
• “Which is the most ignored generation?“
• Calvin & Hobbes on resolutions.
• Castlesque house.
• And another.
• Not what I expected a house in the Bronx to look like!
• This feels more like an attraction than a house you’d actually live in.
• Very colorful.
• Decorating decisions were made.
• More decorating decisions were made.
• Extreme Christmas house.
• Too many statues house.
• Cleaning nightmare of a house.
• Only if you like the 1970s and religious murals.
• 1970s time capsule house.
• Safari house.
• House for car modification enthusiasts.
• Has a purple clawfoot bathtub.
• Colorful stairs.
• Artistically confusing stairs.
• Kitchen counters should never be part of the stairs.
• Death stairs.
• More death stairs.
• Stairs fit only for mountain goats.
• Terrifying bathroom floor.

It has been ridiculously snowy here in Minneapolis this week. I took the picture below on the morning of January 4th and it kept on snowing all day, into Thursday morning. We got around 15 inches/38 cm. UGH.

I knitted two pairs of socks for Xmas gifts and they were well received.

These were knitted from Meilenweit.

These were knitted from some ancient Regia.

Mayhem is still a lovely panther princess at 16.5 years old!

Staticky Polly!

Harry keeping warm and cozy.