EXCHANGE INTERFACE

I did gardenings and meetings and dinnerings and cropswappings and dogsittings and cookings and prayerings.

Now I need a weekend to recover from my weekend...

No hockey - it was 'Masters' Weekend' where teams 'older than 35' from all across the state play each other. It's usually held at the end of July, but for some reason this year they decided to do it in May. Which threw out a whole bunch of people. But we never have hockey on that weekend. And next weekend is the long weekend away.

So I did ALL THE THINGS (and enjoyed it, even if I'm tired).

Thank heavens the sun's been out the last couple of days. We've been getting a bit soggy here, and everyone was starting to feel a wee smidge sodden.

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Oh! And I fixed the sleeves of my Oodie so they're shorter!

What's an "oodie" I hear the internationals ask?

An oodie is a creation made specifically for the Australian householder in the middle of winter. Because our houses are so cold in the middle of winter that we basically need to wear the warmth equivalent of outerwear inside. So some clever soul came up with a giant hoodie of velour, with thick fleecy inside, for casual wearing inside a house. It's basically a wearable quilt.

The downside is that it only comes in one sze - ginormous. Which means my arms swim in the sleeves. Pushing them up all the time is a pain. So I whacked off the sleeves at the wrist (about six inches) unpicked the cuff, and resewed the cuff back on with a zigzag stitch (for the stretch). The sleeves are still a little longer than I like, but it's much easier to wear!

It only took me years to do it.

Now I need to go look up patterns for foot sacks to see if I can use the off-cuts to make some 'around the house slippers' to keep my toes warm.

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Although really what I need to do is go back to bed. It's nearly 3am. I woke up around 2am (after going to bed early - around 9pm) and went "oh no". So I thought I'd get up, write this post, poke a few fics, and go back once I'm tired. If I get tired.

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ps. I'm writing AtlA fic. Cripes.

Black Jewels A:tlA fic.

Additionally: wondering how it is that there are 80,000 fics for this fandom and only two sedoretu fics. This canon is MADE for it. The damn situation is practically PAVED with bricks (fics?) of gold. HOW.

And the two fics are, of course, not Zutara fics, which is my pairing pref. I'd go Katara/Zuko/Sokka/Suki tbh rather than the four benders, because one of the ways LeGuin set up sedoretu relationships was for inheritance lines - a brother and a sister marry and share their partners.

EXHIBIT A: Southern Water Tribe sibs.

Especially when a lot of the fanon I like around the SWT involves a less restrictive sexuality before marriage (but fidelity after).

...see? Like I said: plotting.

Also: heeeeeelp.

Look, sometimes fic is great. Like, absolutely SPECTACULAR.

Great plot, amazing characterisation, good description, immersive prose.

And then sometimes it's...okayish. Very 'ish'.

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Did I ever talk about amazing Harry Potter (yes, I know) fic where Harry, angry and frustrated by the Wizarding World's intractability on certain bigoted points, goes Dark Lord? I can't remember.

He hunts down the Death Eaters (including Lucius Malfoy), swears an Unbreakable Vow to Hermione (basically to keep him in check from going full Voldie, etc.), and basically Neville and the rest of DA get involved.

It's long, but so good. So so good.

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I found this one Zutara fic which is basically Katara, Aang, Zuko, and Toph all (collectively, together) form The Avatar spirit and it is stupendous. So much character, so much plot...quite a lot of angst, actually. And perhaps the best (and worst) thing about it is that everyone makes bad choices in it. So frustrating! But so good, too!

--

Anyway, I aspire to write anything like that, but the closest I got was 'And Baby Makes Eight' for the MCU, which has over 1000 kudos.

These fics have, like 1o000 kudos. One - the one I mentioned above? 17000. SEVENTEEN THOUSAND. I cannot even.

Anyway, I'm...kind-of? enjoying reading fic again. But, yeah, there are ones where you just slip through the story like a fish through water, and ones where it's a pretty solid freestyle, and then ones where you get by with a doggy paddle.

Metaphorically speaking.

Made some throw-together pasta - fettucine, tomatoes and garlic (fried together), a couple of shredded basil leaves, a small tin of tunafish (chilli and mango), and a tablespoon of feta cheese to salt it and give it that cheesy richness.

Not bad.

I made bean soup for dinner. The soup is pretty basic, in fact, but the addition of a picada - a Catalan nut-herb mix not unlike pesto - apparently makes the soup.

And then I'm thinking of making some blondies - dulce du leche blondies - since I have the ingredients and baking is usually pretty easy. And I think blondies freeze well, so I could bake a whole tray and freeze some and defrost them later. Maybe even make some pecan pie squares.

Hockey training got cancelled due to rain: also, I wasn't going to go because I pushed my back/butt muscles a bit too much (we drew 2-2 against a more skilled team, even if they weren't as young) and I need to rest them. Maybe even take a nice long bath with salts...

So many things to do, only one night to do them in!

1. How often do you hear live music?

Not very often. I never have been much of one to go see bands or even concerts. A few musicals. The occasional concert by an artist I enjoy. And sometimes bands on a Saturday night down at the pub back in university days.

These days? Very rarely.


2. What was your favorite live musical performance ever?

I don't know if I remember this one with fondness so much as just it's the strongest memory I have. One night after university computer lab, a couple of the people I'm working and doing uni with say they're going to a bar in town to celebrate the 18th birthdays of a couple of the guys we work with. The two of them room together, and their birthdays are back-to-back. It's not my usual scene, but I figure I should really do more socialising with this group, so I agree to go along.

It's a dive bar. On a Wednesday night. In a university town. Kinda quiet, but there's a band on stage that's doing rock covers from the 80s. The floor is an old nylon carpet and we're not going to think about how it's slightly sticky underfoot. The lighting is dim, there's about a half-dozen of us, and after a drink or two, we're singing along with the band who takes it pretty well.

They invite the birthday boys up to sing the Eagle Rock, but somehow end up singing Hotel California. I am served a triple-rum-and-coke having admitted to the others that I don't really drink, and they think that it's hilarious to get me an excessively alcoholic drink for my 'first drink'. The 2xrum&coke is foul, and someone else ends up drinking it. I go for a wine cooler, which is sweeter and easier on my palate. We bawl songs until it's midnight and it's the birthday of the second guy, and then we keep going for another hour.

TBH, the performers weren't standout. But I remember the night the best, simply for the hanging out and the friendships.


3. Do you play an instrument, or sing?

I play piano, I learned flute and tuba, and I sing - happy birthday, at church, in the car, on the karaoke machine.


4. Have you ever performed music onstage?

Does karaoke count? But even without that, yes, I've performed at concerts and eisteddfods when I was younger. Not for three decades now, but then it might even be years since I've touched a piano.


5. Who is your favorite musician?

That's a tricky one. Modern or classical? Artist or musician? Live, recorded, without autotune?

I can't choose. I love them all - Beethoven and his Ninth, Elgar and the Engima variations, Chopin's Impromptus and the haunting notes of Tchaikovsky's opening to Swan Lake. There's Queen's Rhapsody and P!nk singing about falling into trust, there's Billy Joel crooning smooth and sweet and Deborah Harry declaring she wants that man, there's Rihanna singing about being unfaithful and Anna of Cleves rmeinding us that she's the Queen of the Castle... I remember going to see Roxette and Offspring, singing with U2 in the car - raised by wolves | stronger than fear | when I close my eyes | you disappear...

You can't make me choose. I carry it all in my heart.

Firstly, we won our game on Sunday, a 1-0 win. Which was nice. Full game again, although we had a woman from the next grade up who could sub us when necessary, but about half of us just stayed on for the full game in the end.

I am thinking I may need to start working at being a centre half - attacking-AND-defending midfielder. There's only one woman who can presently play CH and Team 1 is using her too (out of 4 players who were solid centre halves for our two teams, we've lost two of them this year, and we had 5 the year before).

I prefer striker, tbh. I'm a pretty good forward, especially on a team where we have a solid defensive half line, and at least one person who's a good "finisher" (ie. scores goals). But there's nobody else who could learn the position, and I may not be particularly stand-out, but I can run back and forth and offer options.

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A couple of years ago, Mothers' Day stung. I'm still not sure why; I didn't want children and all that. I still don't. But this year, I felt...almost jaunty about the day.

( better connections with the kids in my family? )

A pretty good weekend.

Anyone for mail?

The ABC's of me.

A. Age: nearly 50

B. Bed Size: Double

C. Chore You Really Dislike: Washing Up

D. Dogs: I like them, but I prefer to live with cats.

E. Essential Start to Your Day: A cup of coffee (small latte, one sugar) is nice

F. Favorite Color: Blue

G. Gold or Silver: Silver

H. Height: 5'4"

I. Instruments You Play: I've played piano, flute, and tuba. I'd kind of like to learn violin and oboe, but who has time?

J. Job: IT Systems Analyst

K. Kids: No. I'm not childfree - love my nieces and nephews - but I never had a partner and that was the dealbreaker for me.

L. Live: I liked their first few albums. Haven't heard of them since the 90s. (Yes, I know this is not what the question is asking, but I don't quite know how to answer.)

M. Mom’s Name: Nope.

N. Nicknames: One, two, many, lots.

O. Overnight Hospital Stays: Once for the yeeterus. I have been very healthy otherwise.

P. Pet Peeve: People who think that because they haven't done anything evil, they haven't benefited from anything evil.

Q. Quote From A Movie: I have many, but can't think of any right now. The one that's coming to mind is Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight? and that leads to The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn't exist.

R. Right or Left Handed: Right.

S. Siblings: Two full sisters, three stepbrothers (two on mum's side, one on dads), and a half-brother.

T. Time You Wake Up: Right now, six hours after I went to sleep. That can manifest as 3am (like last night, after falling asleep around 9pm) or at 6am if I stay up until around 11:30pm.

U. Underwear: Cotton, mostly, although I really liked the elastane 'no underwear lines' but they don't make them like they used to. The first set I bought back in 2009 have lasted 15 years, the ones that I bought back in 2022 are already losing their stretch.

W. What Makes You Run Late: Finishing a task that wasn't completely done the first time on the way out.

X. X-Rays You’ve Had: Lots of ones for the teeth and jaws. One for a broken fingertip. One for possible issues with the foot. And probably a bunch of others that I don't remember.

Y. Yummy Food You Make: Just about everything? There are somethings that are distinctly less tasty, but they're usually home experiments, and I just didn't put enough of the spice/acid in.

Z. Zoo - favorite animal: I haven't been to the zoo in ages. But probably the flamingos. The pink is just amazing.

If any of the words don't work for you, choose a different word that uses the same letter. That way the meme changes and evolves as it travels around.

Gakked from rmc28:

The Last...
Movie I watched: Project Hail Mary, in cinemas with a couple of friends. It was very enjoyable.
Series I finished: Honestly? Probably Bridgerton, back in 2024. I haven't watched any TV series since. Just can't concentrate enough to watch something through. I started Bridgerton S4 with the sistren on Monday night, we're going to work out way through the series, a couple of episodes at a time.
Book I finished: Undercover Attraction by Katee Robert. Part of the O'Malley sextet - a Boston crime family. Rather interestingly, the male MC of the second book in the series was quite clearly modelled off Charlie Hunnam in Sons of Anarchy.
Book I bought: Archangel's Sun by Nalini Singh - I'm buying the Guild Hunter series in hardcopy, after receiving the first six books as a gift about a decade ago.
Book I received as a gift: ...something about work. It's to do with work and faith and the intersection of them and was given to me by a friend to whom I sold a couple of quilts.
Food I ate: Trout fillets. Bought by B1 and fried to perfection for dinner.
Meal I cooked: Hainanese chicken rice, recipe by Nagi of RecipeTinEats. Really good!
Drink I had: Fermented limeade - home-made lime soda, which I left on the dining table for a few days too long and now it's slightly alcoholic.
Song I listened to: Trustfall by P!nk.
Album I listened to: Probably 'Anjunadeep16'. I love deepbeat dance-trance music for focusing on work.
Playlist I listened to: Belt It - my 'singing in the car' playlist. Turn the volume up, and belt it!
Concert I went to: The Music Of John Williams II with the Sydney Symphony Orchestra - a couple of months ago.
Game I played: Civ II. Was just playing it now when I decided I'd check DW.
Person I talked to: B1 - sister.
Person I texted: Sue - a friend who I arranged to pick up some gardening stuff with this evening.

The fifth day of the tour (for me) involved food food food and, welp, yes, more food...

( Day 5: I'm not even going to talk about the wine... )