I have written the first draft of 2.5 books!

The first one was the 1/2 which just got a little messy and I didn’t enjoy it. It was my first major writing project and I just didn’t organize it well enough. I also grew out of the idea quickly and decided to stop and not waste more time.

My second book I managed to finish at 70k I believe (it’s been a while). Similarly I grew out of the idea by the end and it would have needed major revisions to push through editing.

My third and most recent one I really love, the first draft is complete and I am slowly editing it. Though editing seems to be my weakness it seems because it’s taking far longer than it should. This one I would love to actually clean up and eventually publish but yeah, going to take a while to get there!

I use Scrivener to write in and I highly recommend it! (you can usually find some discount codes for it as well). I like to use it to quickly draft the storyline and then expand each scene as I go. It also has some handy features for organizing research notes and pictures. It’s packed with so many features so it’s a pretty popular writing app among writers in general.

Ahh yes, my poor Whitestar Calathea that gets a spider mite infestation every few months is definitely proof of this. Always the same one. Never anything else around it.

You can always freeze/can them for later use!

Fancy! This looks like it came from one of those collector edition sites for books! Definitely a pretty piece to put on the shelf.

I read this book last year. Here is my review for it which still sums up my feelings for it now as well:

`This book had such an interesting premise, the in-between world, the creepy atmosphere, the strange happenings. Yet it felt like there was still something missing, some piece to tie it all together better.

The descriptions of the willows and the strange world were great and really set the unsettling tone. I kind of wish more time was spent there and the mystery was unraveled further within that realm rather than getting all the information from outside sources. As much as the museum was a cool concept it didn’t feel all that connected.

However overall if you don’t overthink it, it’s a good story with an unsettling atmosphere and I did enjoy it. `

It’s looking good! I have a similar problem actually, and I’ve been noticing that my older leaves are also slowly deteriorating as well making the overall plant seem a bit less nice. I ended up chopping some of the vines back almost all the way to regrow some new branches near the bottom to replace the old leaves. You can probably do the same over time with all of them to keep them fresh.

Ah I’ve had this on my list for a while now. This is a good reminder to maybe bump it up again because it still sounds so good!

Ah I grabbed this recently but haven’t gotten to it yet. It sounds really good!

You can try 7 1/2 Deaths of Evelyn Hardcastle by Stuart Turton! I really liked that one. It’s more Groundhog Day but with a bit of a twist on each iteration if that makes sense. I don’t want to spoil too much but it was a wild ride putting things together.

What a beautiful majestic boy he became! Love the little baby meow.

I believe he said it took place in the same universe at some point? So there will probably be overlap between them.

Yeah, after finishing the Wheel of Time series it felt like I really lost something important and it was so hard to get into other fantasy worlds for a while due to how immersed I was in it for so long.

This plant is just severely etiolated as it’s desperately searching for more light, not mutated! You will need to give it better lighting conditions if you want the new growth to be more compact.

Man this is a ton of new stuff! Just when I think I’ve played enough Stardew there’s another update and I start all over again.

Love the old school retro vibes! I’ve used OBS for screen capture before, but I’ve heard good things about Davinci as well.

I read this book recently that fits into the mystery/crime/creepy category: What Lies in the Woods by Kate Alice Marshall

Looks like a fig tree to me! Hard to say what type until it starts to fruit though, the leaves are very similar. You’re in for a treat though when the crop comes in!

Ah that’s cool! I look forward to seeing your updates then! Have you seen the other spin off games like Paralives and Life by You? It might be interesting to see what kinds of stuff they’re lifting from sims and where they are expanding/changing things.

Looking awesome! This makes me want to install Sims again honestly. Loved those games. Are you planning on going in that life sim genre?

I’m making this quilt first (other than the mini scrap quilts): Painted Desert

I got the kit for it with the original fabrics a long time back and finally got around to making it!

I’ve been back in a quilting mood recently. Mostly finishing off a bunch of mini quilts I’ve been putting off for too long and slowly working myself up to the three big ones I told myself I need to do. Now I’m at the point where I have to baste the large quilts and I hate this part…

Oh this sounds pretty good! Gives me the Murder on the Orient Express vibes with the setup so wouldn’t be surprised if that was the general inspiration for it. But I am interested to read it myself now.

Definitely seems like a gauge issue. It should essentially be a tube that stretches a bit to fit on your head for it to slouch like that, if it’s any wider it will mushroom like you said.

I remember once reading that someone did this for real. And another person would tear their paperback book in half if it was too thick to hold. I was very sad for a while after that.

I cleaned out the lint from inside my sewing machine and oiled it for the first time since getting it…. like 5 years ago. Heh. Suddenly all those noises I kept complaining about went away, who would have thought! For real though it was much easier than I expected and it’s running so quiet and smooth now.

That’s the most aggressive wink I’ve ever seen!

Somehow they managed to make the game look even stranger than the first one, which I didn’t think was possible. I remember trying to watch a playthrough of the first game and it was a bit too out there for my tastes already.

I read an advanced copy of Horror Movie by Paul Tremblay and it was so good! Really recommend that one when it comes out.

Wow those are gorgeous. They look like they’re glazed ceramic!

I think this is mostly dependent on the type of apple you used. Some types withstand the cooking better and can stay more firm!

Totally agree with this. The first few hours were great but then when you get the broom and you see the huge open space that’s just really lacking. I really wish it never went to that scale.

The article just feels all weird. I’m not sure why there is such a strong push for/against keeping track of the books you read. It’s just a statistic like any other. Some enjoy it and others don’t, but it feels like each group is trying to convince the other they’re wrong for no real reason.

I personally keep track of books on Goodreads and write reviews for every one. I forget things and writing my thoughts down works for me, and it’s kinda neat to see the books I’ve read that year.

I love Maarit’s work! I have a few of her prints on my walls. I keep telling myself I don’t have any more room to buy more but they’re all so pretty!

Yeah you can definitely do this! There are lots of kits on Etsy that are exactly like this in wood or plastic. Just make sure the holes are smooth and won’t catch the threads and damage them.

That looks like a nice project! I definitely have many bags of yarn and fabric around for projects as well… one day I will get through them all.

The main trunk will stay the same height at this point, but it will get thicker as it matures. Your best bet is to encourage a few branches out and go for a wine glass shape off the main trunk. With some pruning you can make it look like a pretty nice dwarf tree!

If you cut the top off then it will only be able to grow branches at this point.

100+ is very impressive! It sounds like you essentially finish a book every 3-4 days to get those numbers. How you keep that up consistently? I feel like I can do that for a month or two and then tend to need a break before picking up more.

I usually set a goal of 24 and generally surpass it every year (at 33 this year so far). I have months where I read a ton and then others where I just don’t even pick up a book due to getting busy. But it’s a solid goal just so I can see how I’m doing that year.

The actual awards where they celebrate the games they are supposedly meant to celebrate. Some respect for the devs who poured all their time into making them instead of being rushed off the stage. And finally it would be nice for them to actually acknowledge the industries struggles this year and put a light on the fact that the gaming culture is kinda rotten and this is meant to counteract it, instead it seems to fall into the same hole.