• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance, queer romance), Reactor (YA SFF/horror), Book Riot (best out this week, YA, historical fiction, queer, mysteries/thrillers/true crime, horror, nonfiction, comics/graphic novels, romance, SFF), Gizmodo (SFF/horror)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches. Last week’s linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• Ficlet.
• Two recommendations for free short fiction from Naomi Kritzer.
• New Year’s resolutions from Incidental Comics.
• Another New Year’s comic.
• Another comic – from the comments: “It is a beautiful, ruthless, hopeful metaphor about keeping up the good fight, year after year, even when we are worn down, and how we can still face the new year with hope and light, no matter how painful the last one was, and how it is okay to rest if we can’t fight.“
• Dark academia with a secret library room!
• Nice MCM.
• Attractive MCM, although I hate the sunken tub, the suspended ceilings, and the craft room carpet.
• Cute little cottage.
• Another cute cottage except for the grey flooring, which clashes terribly with the warm woodwork.
• And a cute semi-detached in London.
• Dome mansion.
• Waterfront home made from recycled redwood.
• Nicely converted commercial building.
• Minnesota Tudor that needs some work on the floors and woodwork.
• Sort of fairy tale esque, with a somewhat castle-esque interior and a unique wine cellar.
• Castle-esque house with an odd interior.
• Worth it for the Muppets reference.
• So much stuff that I need a nap after scrolling through the post.
• This house is a lot.
• The sitting room makes me want to hide in the corner… of a nice bland room.
• Just fascinated by the non-carpeted floors. They look like they’re made from the same material as fancy bowling balls.
• It has a mirrored garage door and the floors look like the scene of a violent crime.
• Unusual house.
• WTH.
• Completely unique conversion – originally, it was a roller rink in a cave, now converted to a home. Kinda meh.
• “[D]esirable flood plain”?!? Also, bathrooms should not have refrigerators.
• Everything looks normal and then suddenly high heeled shoe bathtub.
• A mystery.
• Nope, door handles shouldn’t be that creepy.
• Eeep.
• Once again for the people in the back, shelves should not be stairs.
• Ugh.
• Finland, what?!
• Umm…
• Nooooo!
• They tried.
• These look slippery.
• Just enough variation to be dangerous.

Mayhem, feeling a bit crowded by Harry.

Sleepy Harry on the cat tree.

Polly, very focused.

• New releases: Book Riot (best out this week)
• Great quote for the season from Terry Pratchett’s Hogfather.
• Yes.
• Useful resource for shaping your own knitted lace shawls.
• Knit the Rainbow accepts knitted and crocheted donations for homeless LGBTQIA+ youth.
• Gluten-free pumpkin chocolate chip cookies.
• Cute cottage.
• Lovely home built around a train car.
• A dome home with an amazing ceiling in what’s supposed to be the rec room.
• Unique.
• VERY bright hacienda style house.
• Dramatic late MCM with an excess of bathrooms.
• Must love orange.
• MCM decorated in clashing shades of green.
• Interesting underground house.
• Check out the nose-shaped exhaust hood.
• There’s just so much wrong with this late MCM.
• The previous owner had a vision. Fueled by what, I wonder…
• Extremely ugly late MCM double octagonal dome house.
• Castle-esque Tudor exterior won’t prepare you for the interior.
• Entirely for the terrifying toilet.
• Anyone else develop an eye twitch looking at this?
• WTF.
• Oh, there I go, right off the edge.
• Invisible final step.
• Nope.
• Well, since you asked nicely…
• Stairs that should have a weight restriction.

Harry and Mayhem on my lap.

Polly upside-side down cake!

Nice side-eye from Harry.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (best out this week)
• The copyrighted works from 1929 that will enter the public domain on January 1, 2025.
• And belated happy Public Domain Day!
• Excerpts from amusing Goodreads reviews.
• Human are weird.
• Post-Narnia ficlet.
• Make your own origami gävlebocken.
• Experience one of the weirdest stores in the Twin Cities, Ax-Man Surplus.
• I love the sky ceilings.
• Nicely converted church.
• Pretty nice MCM, although I hate the kitchen.
• Maximalism is not my thing.
• Very colorful Victorian without all the maximalist decor.
• Nice house, but the tubs look like they’d leave you bleeding.
• Ugly and slightly odd.
• Must be ok with clashing shades of blue.
• May or may not come with its own flea market.
• Oof, really bad remodel. I wonder if it got chopped into apartments and then sort of (poorly) reintegrated?
• Ridiculous price for what you’re getting.
• :blink blink:
• Catopia is certainly a unique property…
• It looks like a fussily decorated prison.
• I guess the railings make this NSFW.
• That’s a new one.
• At least turn it into enclosed storage so you don’t have to dust.
• Optical illusion stairs.
• At least there’s a railing?
• It doesn’t look like there’s enough clearance.
• Nope.
• Hmm.

Harry, looking sinister.

Polly, looking serious.

Socks I knit for myself ages ago, but just wove in the ends this week. The yarn is from Tall Pine Yarn and the color is better in the link! My phone camera hates fluorescent colors.

New releases: Smart Bitches (romance, queer romance), Book Riot (YA, best out this week)

Linkity from Smart Bitches.

On Edmund and the Turkish delight.

“Ok what next” (the looming edition).

On Harris tweed.

“Knitting is the perfect stim.”

“Scientists built a tiny DNA ‘hand’ that grabs viruses to stop infections“.

Hot cocoa marshmallow sandwich cookies.

Nice MCM.

Decent late MCM, but there’s a living area that desperately needs a railing.

Extremely funky late MCM.

Time capsule late MCM with all the worst bits of the era remaining.

Lovely little houseboat.

I can’t even imagine what this would cost in the Bay area.

Cool, if a bit too ornate for me.

Really nice late Victorian, but the new owner is going to have to refinish all the floors before moving in.

Is it just me, or does this house seem to be having some sort of identity crisis?

Has the most oversized bedroom and a funky tropical bathroom that doesn’t really go with the rest of the place.

I like the house, but the attached bar and restaurant – not so much.

Over the top.

Off the grid earthship.

Don’t think I’ve seen a fish tank like that before. There’s probably a reason for that.

No partially submerged bedrooms for me, thanks.

Converted church comes with its own cemetery.

Yikes.

Ouch.

Not the worst we’ve seen.

Perhaps not.

Snuggling siblings. (Love the air of faint menace Harry’s managing there.)

What does Polly see outside?!

Harry on the couch, wearing his skully bow tie.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Reactor (YA SFF/horror, SF, fantasy), Book Riot (historical fiction, YA, nonfiction, comics/graphic novels, queer, SFF, romance, mysteries/thrillers/true crime, best out last week)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• A lovely ficlet.
• A free wintery Terry Pratchett short story.
• On year-end reading statistics from My Jetpack.
• “‘Enshittification’ is officially the biggest word of the year“.
• “And the universe said…“
• Advent calendar advent calendar (hover cursor/long-press for caption).
• Covid standard time.
• On pigeons.
• Gorgeous quilt with a subtle kitty theme.
• Dragon-themed knitting.
• You could own the castle where part of Game of Thrones was filmed.
• Nice MCM.
• Unique late MCM.
• Groovy late MCM.
• Interesting MCM.
• Hmm. Very odd MCM.
• MCM with an identity crisis.
• Cute.
• It would be best if they took the curtains.
• Weird one in Utah that has some deadly stairs in the loft and needs a lot of work.
• Round house with a strangely located laundry area and puny kitchen.
• Partially remodeled. What’s up with the blue carpet with a drain in the kitchen??
• “Luxury doomsday condos“.
• Have we seen this one before? It’s crazy.
• Brace yourselves – there’s over-the-top and then there’s whatever the heck this is.
• Log cabins shouldn’t be that big.
• At least there’s a handrail??
• I’m not sure I even understand how it’s supposed to work.
• Ridiculous.
• Complicated.
• Why?!
• Yikes.
• Again with the dizzying patterns on stairs.

Harry cares deeply about all our silly problems.

Polly, asleep on my arm.

No post next week, due to the Thanksgiving holiday in the US. Be well, everyone!

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (best out this week, YA)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• I have several of Jan Messent’s books just to look at her amazing knitting.
• What pets mean to us.
• Lovely MCM.
• Round MCM.
• Very fancy firehouse conversion.
• Cozy vibes.
• Nice MCM, although it’s another with the tub right by the bed. And the last shower pictured looks like a cleaning nightmare.
• Disappointing castle esque house.
• Round house with photos of before and after they greyed it down.
• An inexpensive floating house that needs work, so maybe it’s not so inexpensive.
• I have to say, I like houseboats better than floating houses, which don’t look like they can actually go anywhere.
• That’s a lot of money for a house that needs a lot of work.
• That’s a lot of plants.
• That’s a lot of plaid.
• Converting these pole barn type buildings into homes is just so weird to me.
• What a disturbing looking house (just based on the outside).
• Adventures in terrible bathroom design.
• Dizziness inducing carpet patterns have no place on stairs.
• At least they look better than what was there before, based on the cement patching.
• Nope.
• Just say no to glass stairs.

Harry and his skully bow tie.

Polly and her Ears of Annoyance.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (best out this week, YA fiction, YA nonfiction and comics)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Until November 22, you can get ten free books (a “Getting Free” from the current catastrophe pack, basically) from Haymarket Books.
• Ok, I didn’t know page turners existed until now.
• “Advice for Challenging Times“.
• Little Debbie is selling candles.
• Cozy little floating house.
• Just cute.
• It is indeed a fairy tale compound.
• Nice Tudor in Minneapolis with too much mint green.
• Cute cottage in New Orleans.
• Time capsule MCM.
• Very fancy Baroque townhouse in Minneapolis.
• Pretty good church conversion that needs some color and a dishwasher.
• The attic is interesting, but I like the basement the best.
• If you’ve been looking for an ice palace…
• Besides being too close to the ocean, all the 12-degree angles are annoying.
• Supremely delusional real estate ad.
• Another entry in the delusional landlords category.
• I agree about the cursed bit.
• Nooooo.
• D’oh.
• Do not like the left side.
• Invisible stairs of death.
• WTF.
• Yikes.

Polly kneading (and possibly licking) a fleecy blanket.

Nice air of vague menace, Harry!

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance, queer), Book Riot (historical fiction, YA, comics/graphic novels, nonfiction, queer, SFF, BIPOC romance, mystery/thriller, romance), Gizmodo (SFF/horror)
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• “Books Are My Passion” Lego set.
• Very cool mittens.
• “There is hope…“
• Just no.
• Lovely MCM.
• Another lovely MCM.
• This MCM has too much stone for me.
• An MCM with a checkered past.
• Interesting bank conversion, but they sure don’t show much of the kitchen.
• I like the cool tower, but the photos are all at weird angles and there aren’t any interior photos of the tower.
• Big daycare vibes.
• Sorry, I got stuck at the table full of ceramics.
• Really hate the look of this “by the hour” rental.
• That’s the tightest spiral I’ve ever seen on a set of stairs.
• Best for spindly people.
• Hmm.

Mayhem, possibly having an existential crisis, as one does.

Harry (looking vaguely menacing) and Polly!

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (best out this week, YA epic fantasy, YA)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Some thoughts on Boromir, Aragorn, and bracers.
• Ficlet.
• Comic that’s a bit sad.
• A twist on Rapunzel.
• Try a walking or biking desk instead, I guess.
• The Oregon Trail video game is being made into a movie.
• Castle-esque Tudor. I like it, although the kitchen definitely needs more storage.
• Interesting Art Deco house that needs something to counterbalance all the brown.
• Very colorful. Put a few of those colors back, actually. (Or pass them on to that Art Deco house.)
• Gigantic statuary and a bathtub shaped like a clay pot.
• Just for the record, there aren’t any mountains in St Paul, MN.
• And no railing.
• The micro-railing is darling but useless.
• Tricky.
• Ack!
• Yikes.

Polly!

Harry has a new skully bow tie!

Siblings keeping an eye on us.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance, more romance), Book Riot (best out this week, best out last week, YA, YA comics and nonfiction)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches. From last week.
• Spooky ficlet.
• Digging into dubious sounding claims.
• Warning signs.
• Animated needlepoint shooting star.
• A View-Master movie?!
• One-pot creamy chicken soup.
• Pumpkin muffins.
• Soft pumpkin cookies with cream cheese frosting.
• Nice MCM.
• Interesting MCM in Palm Springs.
• Very cheery!
• My favorite part is the tower.
• Surprisingly nice inside.
• Very eclectic.
• I think that’s probably too many murals.
• The redo is definitely an improvement, except for converting some built-in bookshelves to a wet bar.
• “Unusual, not necessarily tasteful” – includes Bathroom of Extreme Dizziness.
• Must really love faux brick and the dusting thereof.
• I like the built-ins in the bedroom.
• I was too traumatized by the scary tall bookshelves to see anything after.
• Guitar-shaped house.
• Only included because I love the phrase “tower of shower”.
• If you need 27 bedrooms and don’t mind a major rehab project…
• How not to convert an old mill.
• Boring house with a secret.
• You wouldn’t think a hobbit-esque house would be boring, but…
• Just gives me that mall vibe.
• Pantry danger.
• They didn’t even try.
• Huh.
• The “Trippy” poster at the bottom is a nice touch.
• So much bad in one photo.
• Chaotic stairs.
• Creepy.
• Eep.
• No.

Harry vs The Leaf, part one.

Harry vs The Leaf, part two.

Polly sniffing the breeze.

Mayhem sniffing the breeze.