Birdfeeding

Feb. 20th, 2026 12:52 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is partly cloudy, chilly, and windy.

I haven't fed the birds yet.  Already I've seen one male and two female house finches, plus a male cardinal.  :D

EDIT 2/20/26 -- I fed the birds.  I've seen a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 2/20/26 -- Under the big mulberry tree in the house yard, I hauled several logs toward the log garden.  I am working on creating a sort of enclosure there where I can pile dead leaves.  That will contain raked-off leaves, create habitat, store moisture, and keep the leaf litter available into the growing season.

EDIT 2/20/26 -- I hauled more logs to complete the enclosure. \o/

I flushed the great horned owl from the ritual meadow when I went back there.

EDIT 2/20/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I took a few pictures of the log garden enclosure.

I've seen a large flock of sparrows and a mourning dove.

EDIT 2/20/26 -- I raked leaves away from the base of the barrel garden.  So many tulips are sprouting there!  :D

EDIT 2/20/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

Books

Feb. 20th, 2026 12:41 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
8 Queer (mostly M/M) Hockey Books We Love!

A week and a half ago, we posted about our favorite sports books with queer characters. When we were collecting the recommendations for that post, we got so many recommendations for hockey books that we decided to break them out into their own post! Today, we bring that post to you, in celebration of the Olympic men’s hockey semi-finals taking place today (game one started just a few minutes before I started this post, in fact). Most of these are m/m, which wasn’t intentional, but here we are I suppose.


Recipes.

Feb. 20th, 2026 12:26 am
pattrose: From Aly (jim-blair-alyjude)
[personal profile] pattrose
Cauliflower casserole
INGREDIENTS:
2 heads cauliflower, cut into florets
5 eggs
1 ½ cups heavy cream
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
4 tablespoons butter, melted
2 cups shredded white cheddar  cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
½ cup shredded mozzarella cheese
Additional ½ cup grated parmesan for topping
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease a 9×13 baking dish.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the cauliflower just until tender, about 3-4 minutes.
Drain the cauliflower to eliminate as much moisture as possible, then transfer cauliflower to the prepared baking dish.
In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, heavy cream, seasonings, and cheese. Mix in the melted butter …
In a medium bowl, beat together the eggs, heavy cream, seasonings, and cheese. Mix in the melted butter (make sure butter has cooled before adding it in).
Pour cheese mixture over the cauliflower and top with the remaining ½ cup parmesan.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until top begins to brown.
Serve warm.
I love this because it has no meat in it. It's nice now and then.
pattrose: (Jimsmile)
[personal profile] pattrose
20. Are you a fan of mayonnaise in a sandwich (either egg-based or vegan)?

I don't like mayo at all. I use cream cheese for sandwiches. I love sandwiches like that. This one was short and sweet. I think I'll post another recipe tonight. Do you all prefer dinner or dessert recipes?

Have a great Friday.

2026 60 questions meme.

Feb. 20th, 2026 12:08 am
pattrose: 00 Starfleet Academy 4 (00 Starfleet Academy 4)
[personal profile] pattrose
1. What distracts you from what’s truly important each day?

I can't think of anything that is truly important daily. Like today it's our anniversary, so we're going out for dinner. I'm not going to get distracted. There's my answer. If it's important, I won't be distracted. I'll see if the next one is better.

2. If you decided right now that you had enough money, and that you would always have enough, what would you do with your life?

We might travel more. Fly first class. It's on my bucket list. I guess my life wouldn't change that much.

Dreamwidth Topics for talk February.

Feb. 19th, 2026 11:53 pm
pattrose: (Default)
[personal profile] pattrose
Things I'm Good At:

1. I love to cook and I honestly think I'm good at it. I'm also good at baking. My older grandchildren call me and set up weekend visits and stay for dinner. They all have their favorites and ask for that.

2. I'm a great Grandmother. I adore these kids. We raised two of our grandchildren and adopted them. I'm also a good mom. I made some mistakes, believe me. But no one could love them more.

3. Being married. It wasn't always grand, but we hung in there. He is my best friend.

4. My pup loves me. She has separation anxiety, so we take her with us a lot. She's very sweet.

5. I wish I could say my home is spotless, but I can't. But it's always picked up.

How about you?
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
These are active communities in Dreamwidth from Winter 2025-2026. They include things I've posted, but only the active ones; the thematic posts also list dormant communities of interest. This list includes some communities that I've found and saved but haven't made it into thematic posts yet. This post covers A-I.

See my Follow Friday Master Post for more topics.

Highly active with multiple posts per day, daily posts, or too many to count easily
Active with (one, multiple, many) posts in (current or recent month)
Somewhat active (latest post within current year, not in last month or few)
Low traffic (latest post in previous year)
Dormant (latest post before previous year, but could be revived because membership is open and posting is open to all members or anyone)
Dead (not listed because there are no recent posts, plus membership and/or posting are moderated)
Note that some communities are only active during a limited time, or only have gather posts on a certain schedule.

Read more... )

Energy

Feb. 19th, 2026 02:52 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
New sodium ion battery stores twice the energy and desalinates seawater

A surprising breakthrough could help sodium-ion batteries rival lithium—and even turn seawater into drinking water. Scientists discovered that keeping water inside a key battery material, instead of removing it as traditionally done, dramatically boosts performance. The “wet” version stores nearly twice as much charge, charges faster, and remains stable for hundreds of cycles, placing it among the top-performing sodium battery materials ever reported.


This is super exciting because of its double benefit: battery materials and drinking water.  Also awesome, unlike rare minerals used in many batteries, sodium is something Earth has in great abundance. \o/

Birdfeeding

Feb. 19th, 2026 01:35 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is cloudy and cooler, but still unseasonably warm.

I fed the birds. I've seen a flock of sparrows and a male house finch.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 2/19/26 -- I saw a fox squirrel at the hopper feeder.

EDIT 2/19/26 -- I refilled the hopper feeder.

I raked off the leaves from the goddess garden. There I found one lavender crocus in bloom along with many more sprouts.

Oddly the honeybees are not visiting the crocuses as usual. Instead they are nosing around the seeds in the hopper feeder. Go figure.

EDIT 2/19/26 -- I started raking leaves off the daffodil bed on the east side. So many shoots now!

EDIT 2/19/26 -- I finished raking leaves off the daffodil bed on the west side. Just as I wrapped up that activity, it started drizzling rain. *sigh* I was hoping to gather up leaves later and put them somewhere, possibly behind the log garden.

EDIT 2/19/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

My seed starting kit arrived! :D What makes this awesome is that it comes with its own light system. That means it's not restricted to window use; it can go anywhere -- within reach of an outlet if we use a USB wall wart, or wherever else with some sort of battery pack. It will be interesting to see how this experiment works out.

While I was heading to the mailbox to fetch that package, it started raining again. There are puddles in the street. But then the sun came out, so I looked around -- and glimpsed part of a rainbow to the northeast. Naturally I trotted up the road in pursuit of a better view. It was a bright, full rainbow with a partial double on the outside. :D 3q3q3q!!! Definitely one of the better ones I've seen. I got a lot wetter than was strictly necessary, but I so don't care.

EDIT 2/19/26 -- The rain let up.

I did more work around the patio.

I raked up the leaves left from the rain garden and dumped them behind the log garden.

EDIT 2/19/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I raked up the leaves left from the daffodil bed, filling the trolley twice, and dumped them behind the log garden. Then I raked the leaves away from the front of the log garden and dumped them behind. This revealed a lot of shoots, mostly grape hyacinths with some crocuses mixed in.

I heard honking overhead and saw a skein of geese flying north. :D

I am done for the night.

Community Thursdays

Feb. 19th, 2026 12:13 am
ysabetwordsmith: A blue sheep holding a quill dreams of Dreamwidth (Dreamsheep)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
This year I'm doing Community Thursdays. Some of my activity will involve maintaining communities I run, and my favorites. Some will involve checking my list of subscriptions and posting in lower-traffic ones. Today I have interacted with the following communities...

* Posted "Esbat" to [community profile] dreamwidth_pagans.

* Posted "Climate change" to [community profile] environment .

* Posted "Books" to [community profile] ethical_society_of_satan.

* Posted "Birdfeeding" to [community profile] birdfeeding.

* Posted "Gardening" in [community profile] thefreaksclub.

* Posted "Gardening" in [community profile] veg_life.

* Posted "Music" in [community profile] tfc_musicianships.

* Posted "Esbat" in [community profile] the_magick_circle.

* Commented on [community profile] moodthemeinayear.

Topics for talk February.

Feb. 18th, 2026 09:38 pm
pattrose: (Cactus3)
[personal profile] pattrose
Topics for Dreamwidth.

Ways I Can Take Care of Myself.

If someone says something I know isn't right, I can nicely say exactly what I think. I won't keep saying the same thing, but at least I got to say how I felt about what was said. Years ago I would have just let it go and kept my mouth shut. But now, I realize that people don't always agree with each other. And people are free to say what they want. Who am I to tell anyone they're wrong? Right? I'm rambling. I know how to use pepper spray, and I know some self-defense. But keep in mind I'm much older since I learned those things. I know all about abusive behavior and would gladly take some measure of action towards someone that is hurting a child or hurting an adult for that matter.

Hope about you?

2026 60 questions meme

Feb. 18th, 2026 09:34 pm
pattrose: (Default)
[personal profile] pattrose
2026 60 questions meme.

Who is someone you envy and why?

I don't really envy anyone. Everyone is their own person and we all know how to do something that someone else can't. Be happy with your goals and your life.
pattrose: (Default)
[personal profile] pattrose
Not quite 365 days questions meme February

19. Have you ever worn false eyelashes or had eyelash extensions?

Nope, never have. Never will. Boy, tonight is really boring. Not the night, just the questions aren't doing anything for me. It's just one of those nights. I decided I'm going to post a recipe I tried for dessert on hubby’s birthday. It was so good.

Recipe for Amish pineapple dump cake.

Feb. 18th, 2026 09:25 pm
pattrose: (Roses1)
[personal profile] pattrose
Pineapple dump cake

Gooey Amish Pineapple Dump Cake
Ingredients: 1 can (20 oz) crushed pineapple with juice; 1 box yellow cake mix; 1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted; 1 cup of b town sugar, optional whipped cream or vanilla ice cream for serving.
Instructions: Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C). Pour crushed pineapple with its juice evenly into a greased baking dish. Sprinkle the dry cake mix evenly over the pineapple without mixing. Drizzle melted butter evenly over the top, covering as much of the cake mix as possible. Top with a fine layer of brown sugar. Bake for 40–45 minutes until the top is golden and the edges are bubbly. Let cool slightly, then serve warm with whipped cream or ice cream if desired.

This one is so easy. And it's delicious. I don't even care for pineapple and I loved it.

Photos: Flowerbeds

Feb. 18th, 2026 07:52 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
The first crocuses are blooming! I just had to take pictures when I spotted them this morning. Yesterday they were just buds.

Walk with me ... )

What I’m doing Wednesday

Feb. 18th, 2026 06:41 pm
writerlibrarian: (Default)
[personal profile] writerlibrarian
Health stuff

The chiropractor appointment this morning helped a lot. I’m feeling a lot better.

Teacher stuff

The first paper was due last Friday and only one student was late. My TA is working on noting the papers. We had two meetings to make sure we were on the same mind. She’s is a very good TA. I am three weeks ahead content wise and I am considering playing with avatar AI for the remix class. We will be analyzing all the remixes of Arthur Conan Doyle Holmes and the current trend in romansty and dark romance to use Greek Mythology, It’s an option I kinda hope to explore. 

Reading

Done with v. 3 and v. 4 of The Apothecary Diaries, v. 5 arrived from the library. Still very good and addictive.

The Beginning After the End. 1 by Turtle Me. Manga. Okay, it’s a twist on the Arturian legends but not something I’ll continue to read. 

Downlands by Norm Konyu is a whole other story. So, so, so good. Ghosts, gothic tale of a village, twins siblings, time travelling and gorgeous graphics. A must read graphic novel. 

Watching

I have gotten a little further into Unveil Jadewind  (17/34) but I’ve gotten back to one of my comfort viewing The Best Thing. 

I’m watching the Olympic men’s hockey tournament and Canada almost lost today but we made it through. Probably lost Crosby for a game or more but Suzuki, Binnington and Marner saved the day. 

Crafting

My red fox xstitch is coming along. It’s making me want to start a blackwork project





 

Books

Feb. 18th, 2026 04:54 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Ten Titles to Read for Aromantic Awareness Week

Happy Aromantic Spectrum Awareness Week! We’re stoked to be celebrating this awesome week for the fourth time with some great aro book recommendations!

Birdfeeding

Feb. 18th, 2026 12:57 pm
ysabetwordsmith: Cartoon of me in Wordsmith persona (Default)
[personal profile] ysabetwordsmith
Today is sunny and actually warm, with a light breeze -- it's 69°F outside.

I fed the birds. I've seen a small flock of sparrows, and a mourning dove flying around.

I put out water for the birds.

The crocuses are blooming in the rain garden! :D I'm pretty sure this is the earliest I've seen anything bloom here. The snowdrops don't even have their buds up yet. I took a few pictures of the crocuses.

EDIT 2/18/26 -- While we were out, I spotted 2 red-winged blackbirds. They are waaayyy too early. They won't find much to eat yet. :/

EDIT 2/18/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 2/18/26 -- I trimmed the dead stems from the 'Autumn Joy' sedum in the septic garden.  The garlic chives are already sprouting there too.

I've seen a flock of sparrows, a male cardinal, and a male house finch.

EDIT 2/18/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night.

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