• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (YA, best out this week)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• “American Library Association sues” 47.
• Some LotR trivia.
• Ficlet.
• Cute little Art Deco-esque house.
• Lovely little bungalow.
• Nice condo in a converted church.
• Pretty cute pueblo style house.
• Dramatic pops of color.
• One from the Twin Cities – it has a speakeasy in the basement.
• Very colorful. The purple kitchen cabinets are fun, but I think I’d get tired of them quickly.
• Has potential but it isn’t finished.
• “You rarely find an upgraded cave.“
• Fancy. It’s also a wedding venue and has an outbuilding dedicated to a large model train setup.
• Confusing.
• Some of the interior color choices are… interesting.
• The interior sure doesn’t go with the exterior.
• 8 bd, 25ba (not a typo), and a lagoon.
• Has an odd little indoor pond. And I wonder why they moved the toilet in the half bath?
• Pay cash and the owner will throw in a bulldozer.
• All that plus they look slippery.
• Helpful or not?
• Oof.
• Hell no.

Polly using the scratching post, like a good girl.

Harry, keeping an eye on goings on around the neighborhood.

Thanks for all of your condolences and kind words about Mayhem. It’s good to know she’ll be missed by more than just me!

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance, more romance, queer romance), Reactor (fantasy, YA SFF, SF, genre-benders), Book Riot (YA comics/nonfiction, YA, best out this week, horror, best out last week, queer)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches. And more.
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• Linkity from The Pen Addict.
• “The literary impact of Beverly Cleary“.
• A bit of journaling humor.
• Ten most challenged books of 2024.
• “It’s a warning, not…“
• Help us in our hour of need, Dr Creampie…
• Another ficlet.
• Time loop ficlet.
• How to dye Easter potatoes.
• Cool embroidered art.
• How to tell if you’re living in a dictatorship…
• ARGH. Guess who went through the whole online passport renewal process (including going to FedEx/Kinko’s to get a passport photo taken) in <80 minutes Friday afternoon after dawdling for over four years until I only had three months before I would have to start over with a new passport application????
• GF sweet potato cornbread.
• Castle-esque house that’s not disappointing.
• Very nice MCM.
• Funkadelic MCM.
• Lots of mosaics and a pink dome.
• Colorful.
• Quirky.
• Cute little pueblo style house.
• Lovely little bungalow.
• Cozy with a tower.
• Unusual late MCM.
• Ultramodern “rocket” house.
• A garage condo???
• Even using a warmer grey, it just doesn’t look right with all the wood.
• Looks like a converted office building and has a few odd design choices inside.
• This house is trying to be too many styles simultaneously.
• Sadass fortress just as sad inside as out.
• Funky tower house with a very disturbing… “orifice” on the ceiling.
• It’s cool, but I have some questions about the last few interior photos – that looks so dangerous!
• Hope you don’t have to pee in the middle of the night.
• Insufficiently sturdy!
• Hmm.

Harry and Polly on my lap. I think Polly has a skeptical!

Harry on the couch (and pet warmer) whilst the fleecy blankets were being washed.

Polly vs the catnip pumpkin!

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Gizmodo (SFF/horror), Book Riot (romance, YA, historical fiction, mystery/thriller/true crime, manga, nonfiction, LGBTQ+ YA, SFF)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Officially, NaNoWriMo is no more.
• If you’re wondering whether you might need a measles booster shot…
• Interesting possible (positive) side effect of the shingles vaccine.
• How “trickle-down” economics works.
• Lego’s April releases include Sleeping Beauty’s castle and the Shire.
• Cursed information. Cannot be unknown or unseen.
• Little Debbie theme park??
• A sweet post about frogs.
• An American pilgrimage.
• 40 spring recipes.
• A free cookbook for when you don’t have much/any energy to cook: The Sad Bastard Cookbook: Food You Can Make So You Don’t Die.
• Gorgeous Arts & Crafts home.
• Nicely converted church in Wales.
• Converted 14th century convent in Portugal.
• Kinda like this one.
• Nice, but not a treehouse.
• Cute, but not a treehouse.
• Much tower.
• Sort of dome home.
• I definitely didn’t expect the paneling.
• There’s just something off about this one.
• That lap pool freaks me out.
• Turns out I find slanted walls disconcerting, too.
• Mesh catwalk over the kitchen = nope.
• :eyeroll:
• The more you look at it the worse it gets.
• Yikes.
• Finland, no!
• We’ve seen worse.

Dearest Laptop – I have Some Concerns. (A hard reboot fixed the issue [overheating related]… for now at least. I need to do some laptop cleaning this weekend.)

Mayhem asleep on my lap.

Harry making biscuits.

Polly cannot believe!!!

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (mystery/thriller, trans historical fiction, trans romance, YA, best out this week, m/m romantasy)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• “The most popular book genre in every state“.
• “The Institute for Museum and Library services is now a propaganda machine“.
• To remember.
• A complicated reading set up.
• So very true about poetry.
• Bad news if you’re a gum chewer.
• How to remove your data from the now bankrupt 23 and Me.
• Using chickpea liquid to replace eggs in recipes.
• The unsettling paintings of Alex Colville.
• The Solar Do-Nothing Machine.
• Lovely MCM.
• Fascinating MCM.
• Ok MCM with interesting outside features.
• Cool vintage rail car attached to a house.
• Cute little house.
• Fun property in Berkeley.
• Not as purple inside as you would expect from the exterior.
• Surveying weirdness?
• I’m confused about the Legos.
• Very colorful deadly stairs.
• Flimsy, collapsing, no railing.

Old lady kitty Mayhem.

Polly mid-yawn.

I interrupted Harry’s nap…

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance),  Book Riot (“books for better living“, YA nonfiction & comics, best out this week, YA)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• A comic that tells a story.
• Two tips for easing a migraine.
• A refresher on what N*zism is exactly.
• This is a must-read if you’re in the US.
• MCM inspired contemporary.
• Fancy MCM.
• Nice castle-esque Tudor.
• It would cost much, much more here.
• If you’ve been thinking of moving to France…
• Another one where the exterior will not prepare you for the interior.
• Has a grotto.
• The wall art gives you the feeling of being at an aquarium.
• Castle-esque with gargoyles on the outside, not so much on the inside.
• The breadbox in a “rock” is a whimsical touch.
• This converted jailhouse seems a little bleak to me.
• Must really love colorful shag carpet.
• What the what.
• Ouch.
• Do not like.
• :facepalm:
• Here’s hoping you don’t have to pee in the middle of the night.
• Hmm.

Mayhem sleeping on her face, as one does.

Harry and Polly napping on my legs.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance, queer romance), Book Riot (YA, best out this week, horror, nonfiction, comics/graphic novels, mystery/thriller/true crime, romance, SFF, queer), Reactor (genre benders, YA SFF, SF), Gizmodo (SFF/horror)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches. And more!
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• Unsurprising research about book bans.
• Book bench.
• Ficlet.
• Another ficlet.
• “How to identify credible sources“.
• Absolutely true about me and my handknitted socks.
• Converted Carnegie library.
• Pretty nice MCM in the desert.
• Excellent MCM church conversion.
• I mostly like this one.
• Cute houseboat.
• The fanciest studio condo I’ve ever seen.
• Unusual floating house.
• Rustic castle.
• Possibly cool MCM but it’s so cluttered it’s hard to tell.
• Round MCM that needs a lot of carpet replaced.
• Must love pink… and faux fur walls.
• Definitely an odd property.
• Oh my. So tacky.
• This is ridiculously over-the-top in a very different way.
• Another over-the-top one.
• Has a shark tank.
• Strange.
• A terrible… bed? Can’t be unseen.
• Awkwardly placed refrigerator.
• Well then.
• Yikes.
• D’oh.
• You could lose a child in that gap.
• :sigh:
• Feels like the color might be hinting at something…
• Nope.
• WTF.
• Ridiculous.

Some recently gifted socks – they’re short because two skeins of Kroy Sock apparently isn’t enough to make tall socks with a stitch count of 68 (but was fine for 64).
More recently gifted socks. I THINK this is some variety of Meilenweit, but I’m not sure what I did with the label.

Focused Polly, with snoozing Harry in the background.

Harry grooming the shaved spot on May’s tail where her blood pressure was taken.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (YA comics and nonfiction, YA, best out this week, romance)
• Bookish knitting and crochet patterns.
• “10 life lessons from Twin Peaks season 1“.
• Very nice MCM, although the front of it is giving me Route 66 motel vibes.
• Cool late MCM if you’re ok with rocks.
• A late MCM that desperately needs some bright decor.
• Lovely historic UK farm.
• Delightful little converted lighthouse.
• Nice loft style condo.
• Bright and airy condo.
• Must love black and purple.
• It’s cute but some of their decor creeps me out.
• I am not the target market for this house.
• Funky converted industrial building.
• Quirky house that’s disappointingly bland inside.
• Surprisingly nice quonset hut.
• Skinniest condo in San Francisco?
• Some odd choices were made here.
• Weird property.
• Has the potential to be very cool after a lot of work, although I’m not sure how I feel about the well.
• Mini moat.
• How did it come to this??
• Wha…?
• Umm…
• Yikes.
• FFS.
• It’s a dresser! It’s a staircase! It’s both!
• Ouch.
• Huh.

The Lady Miss Princess Mayhem!

Pretty Polly.

Handsome Harry.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance, queer romance), Book Riot (best out this week, YA, historical romance, horror)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• “How to stand up for your local library by getting involved“.
• A zine you can download with ideas for countering fascism.
• “Microsoft study finds relying on AI kills your critical thinking skills“.
• “The best AI-free, encrypted alternatives to Google Docs“.
• Some ideas for substituting for eggs, plus recipes for meals without chicken.
• 50+ recipes that start with a can of chickpeas.
• 40 soup recipes.
• GF chocolate bundt cake.
• xkcd about incoming asteroids. (Hover cursor/long-press for caption.)
• Live and work in a bookshop.
• MCM with repositionable walls in the main living area.
• Cozy Italian mountain home.
• Nice converted carriage house that just needs a touch of color.
• Cool oast house.
• Well, you don’t see houses like this every day.
• Must love tiled cabinets.
• Must love pastels.
• Very tacky.
• So. Much. Stuff.
• Hard to tell what’s going on with this one, but whatever it is, it’s not good.
• Hot mess.
• Anything castle-esque is gone from the interior.
• WTF.
• Good grief.
• Sharp, thin, no railing.
• Quite the tall steps.
• The height of the bottom step is the least of my concerns.
• Yikes.
• And they’re in a single line, so you have to climb them in a very unnatural way.

Polly using the scratcher.

Harry, looking dapper in his bow tie.

Polly and Harry making it very hard to get up and exercise.

Mayhem, deeply asleep.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (best out this week, queer, nonfiction, YA, comics/graphic novels, mysteries/thrillers, romance), Reactor (scifi, fantasy), Gizmodo (SFF/horror)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• “Dystopian books have taken over the bestseller lists… That can’t be a good sign“.
• The six stages of having too many books.
• 25 recipes for desserts that don’t use eggs.
• Very cute!
• If you’re in the market for a castle…
• It’s a little too fancy for me, but it is an exceptionally well done church conversion.
• Nice not-a-treehouse.
• Very brown late MCM.
• Wallpaper choices were made. Poor ones.
• Ceiling medallions for everyone!
• Way too much marble inside.
• Extremely disappointed in this allegedly castle-themed house.
• Just the repainting alone is going to be very expensive.
• But where does that living room stove pipe come out???
• WTF – they “opened it up” by partially removing walls – leaving behind the framing/studs.
• Something’s gone awry.
• Kitchen fail.
• No. That fireplace has a body count.
• D’oh.
• Watch that first step.
• Huh.
• :sigh:

Mayhem did not agree to be photographed.

Is Harry sleepy or crabby? Hmm.

Intense Polly is intense!

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (best out this week, YA)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Ficlet.
• Bookshop.org is now offering ebooks.
• “Books written without AI can now receive ‘human authored’ certification“.
• The largest tuberculosis outbreak (ever) in the US is happening right now.
• Flashback review of the movie “Run Lola Run”.
• I kind of love this one.
• Townhouse in a converted church – this unit includes the tower!
• I really like the stained glass.
• Orb-like dome home.
• Just here to gawk at Funky bath #1.
• Must love rocks.
• So complicated on the outside, yet so bland on the inside.
• Has a real heaven and hell vibe.
• Very beach.
• I find the floors stressful.
• Wow. Spectacular lack of effort taken to clean before the listing photos were taken.
• :blink blink:
• Deadly home office.

The Lady Miss Princess Mayhem has advanced kidney disease, but is doing well so far!

Polly sees a bird!

Harry – yawning or yelling?!