I tweaked some blog settings yesterday, specifically related to email. Here’s hoping I didn’t bork things up!

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance, graphic novel romance), Book Riot (best new books out this week)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Dictionary.com’s new/updated words for 2024.
• Part of the Merril Collection (“a research collection of speculative fiction [science fiction, fantasy, horror, magical realism]”) has been digitized.
• Ficlet… wait for it…
• “The best friendship duos“.
• Tumblr as commonplace book.
• Every year nonasuch does a fabulous job reviewing the Miss Universe national costumes – here it is for 2024.
• The saga of the airport cheese.
• Intarsia in the round.
• MCM, complete with flocked wallpaper.
• The Coca-Cola house.
• Plaid cabinets – WHY?
• This house “has a wing that’s a replica of the wild west town Tombstone, Arizona, circa 1800s”.
• The sellers had a decorating vision alright.
• This one has some mysteries.
• Converted grain mill that’s sadly boring.
• Just odd.
• Boggled.
• A barn with a Tudor inside.
• Micro condo on the upper floor of a mall and the front of it is all glass…
• Careful of that first step!
• How much weight do you think a vanity is designed to hold?
• Nope.

Polly grooming her tummy.

Annoyed Harry with Polly in the background.

My collage meeting was fun!

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance, more romance, queer romance), Reactor (scifi, fantasy), Book Riot (romance, best out this week, cookbooks, horror,  comics/graphic novels, nonfiction, sff, mystery/thriller, best out last week, queer, cozy mysteries), Gizmodo (sff/horror)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches. And more!
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• “Good Omens in 35,000 dominoes“.
• NASA has a new free (and ad-free) streaming service.
• The saga of Zoozve.
• The saga of bringing home a cat from the shelter. This links to newer updates. (These links work in a browser, but not if you’re on mobile and using the tumblr app. Maybe it works that way for all tumblr links and I just don’t do link checks very often?!)
• Minnesota’s snowplow names for 2024.
• Knitted mohair shoes…
• That is way too many buttons. Put some back.
• One of the best Windows blue screen of death examples I’ve seen.
• How to terrify children at the doctor (actually sort of humorous).
• Some Minnesota humor from xkcd. Hover cursor/long-press for caption.
• Much less boring than the exterior would lead you to expect.
• Very colorful!
• And another very colorful one.
• Cute little desert compound.
• Over-the-top quirky.
• It’s not my style, but it seems like a renovation gone right for a change.
• Nice MCM, although 1978 seems awfully late to be mid-century.
• MCM with too many interior boulders.
• Mostly original MCM. The carpet needs to go!
• Time capsule MCM with acres of horrible carpet.
• Renovated MCM that’s a bit of a hot mess.
• MCM with an indoor koi pond.
• Poorly converted library.
• Converted gym that doesn’t live up to its potential.
• “Tropical basement oasis“.
• This has too much going on.
• The murals are cool but not what I would like for a home.
• Sort of castle that was also featured on McMansion Hell.
• It already has so much stuff in it, unless you’re buying it as a winter home and aren’t planning to use your own stuff.
• There’s an awful lot going on here.
• I would faceplant into that tree constantly.
• Umm.
• Plus they look hella steep.
• D’oh.
• Why.
• Nope.
• :shakes head:

Harry and Polly generating some major teenage energy here!

Poor Mayhem always looks so rumpled these days, even after being brushed.

One of the most unflattering photos I’ve taken of Polly, lol.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (best out this week, science), Gizmodo (SFF/horror)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• “The shocking truth of what goes on in our public libraries!”
• What if Gandalf just carried the Ring himself, using some tongs?
• The Can Opener Epic.
• Knitting that looks like crochet.
• If you’re curious about Jimbriel’s sweater/jumper in Good Omens 2.
• “13 things you didn’t know about the International Space Station“.
• As compounds go, it’s quite nice.
• The colorful outside does not adequately prepare you for the more colorful inside.
• Time capsule MCM complete with airstrip and decrepit airplane.
• Kind of a cool factory conversion.
• Interesting one in Las Vegas.
• Little pink houses for you and me.
• A NYC penthouse with a cottage on the roof.
• Cute condo with furnishings included, but that HOA fee…
• Fancy earth ship.
• Where do you find someone to maintain a thatched roof in Utah?
• Parts of this MCM are cool but parts are WTF (the stove, the outdoor tub).
• Only the Pirates of the Caribbean pool room is worth bothering with.
• The interior has been updated out of any personality it had, but the house does come with a decommissioned fighter jet in the yard.
• Well, this is a helluva project.  (The mentioned lawsuit.)
• Just kind of weird.
• WTF.
• Ick.
• Mysterious shower or tub.
• Can’t tell if this is a repeat or there are just multiple similar death stairs.
• Are we sure it’s not scaffolding?
• Hmm.
• NO.
• I believe tetanus is your third option.

Mayhem has seen some sh*t.

Polly on my lap, lounging against my reading pillow.

Harry spilling out of the kitty canoe.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Book Riot (best out this week)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• “You’re not imagining it: Google search results are getting worse…” Might I suggest DuckDuckGo? I switched a month or so ago and I must say it’s a relief to not have to wade through all the ads and sponsored crap.
• Also, apparently Google News “is infested with AI garbage”.
• The “Visit Oregon” site has Oregon Trail on it!
• You’ll be able to buy a portable cassette player again soon, if you’ve been needing one in your life.
• “MCM” but built in 1991 – I love how colorful it is.
• A modernish Irish castle with a grotto swimming pool.
• It has a wishing well and a castlesque interior.
• All of the eclectic furnishings are included.
• It’s very dramatic, but that’s just too much glass.
• Another dramatic house, but with an unfortunate excess of taxidermy.
• Converted mill that looks challenging to heat.
• If you’ve always wanted your own bunker…
• “Brutalist lite“.
• What the heck is going on with stairs above her head in the background?!
• That pole is not placed well for gripping.
• Stairs on which tiptoeing seems to be required.
• Huh.

And the last pair of socks I gifted over the holiday season. These aren’t perfectly matchy matchy because of a knot in the skein. Grrrr. But really only the heel flaps differ.

Mayhem enjoying the new fancy sherpa “mink” blanket (from a vendor) (and of course the pet warmer is under the blanket).

Winking Polly!

Harry apparently doesn’t trust me, based on that look.

• New releases: Reactor (formerly Tor.com) (horror/genre-benders, YA SFF, scifi, fantasy), Book Riot (audiobooks, best out this week, romance, manga), Smart Bitches (romance, queer romance)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• Download the Nov/Dec 2023 free short fiction bundle from Reactor.
• Get a 38-book Terry Pratchett bundle for $18 (US only, sorry). Must have a Kobo account to redeem.
• Very cool Good Omens music box.
• Some perfect words.
• “…how will I ever manage“.
• This is exactly what working in a bookstore is like.
• A dark ficlet.
• “13 New Year’s resolutions for saving democracy“.
• “Asexuality is finally breaking free from medical stigma“.
• “Kohler’s newest bidet finally brings Alexa and Google to your butt“.
• The Door Saga.
• Caramel s’mores bars.
• All the built-in bookcases!
• I adore the book stairs.
• This is pretty nice.
• Cool MCM, although those cliffside locations make me nervous.
• Converted grist mill compound.
• The glass turret and its lift are quite unique.
• Fancy place on NYC’s West Side with a fireplace mosaic that hasn’t aged well.
• Log cabin mansion in Nova Scotia.
• Completely over the top ridiculous.
• Is it just me or does this place have major bar vibes?
• Must love their wallpaper choices…
• Never has plywood been so lovingly finished.
• That’s too many bottles – put some back.
• Another strange one in Utah.
• Yikes.
• FAIL.
• I guess at least there’s a warning at the top? Although when you crouch close enough to read it, you’ll probably fall down the stairs.

More socks that I gifted in 2023. These were Meilenweit Intenso.

So cute, Polly!

Mayhem deeply asleep on the couch (yes, there’s absolutely a pet warmer under that fleecy blanket!).

Harry and Polly on my lap.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance), Tor.com (YA SFF/horror), Book Riot (horror,  YA, nonfiction, best out this week, SFF), Gizmodo (SFF/horror)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches!
• “What happens when young people actually read ‘disturbing’ books“.
• “Books hitting the public domain in 2024“. Some other things entering the public domain this year, including clarification that it’s Steamboat Willie, not Mickey Mouse.
• “Hurkle-durkle“.
• Ficlet about aliens coming to earth and being unprepared for the wildlife.
• “Vaccination dramatically lowers long covid risk“.
• Humorous mistakes made in the pursuit of science.
• I laughed.
• EWWWW.
• Cookies and cream bundt cake.
• You really have to see the “Stretch Ceiling” product they used in this place.
• I like this.
• Cool Bauhaus style home.
• If you’ve been looking for the perfect Tuscany villa…
• Fancy New Orleans mansion.
• The Murphy beds were a surprise.
• This 1989 home in North Salt Lake, Utah, is a shape we’ve never seen before. It’s kind of weird.
• Has a treehouse, in Greenwich Village.
• Swoopy “hobbit” house needs someone to finish it.
• An odd tiny house.
• Slightly bland church conversion.
• Fixer upper built from petrified wood.
• Pretty sure no one should rent from this person.
• Are things this dire for California rentals?
• No.
• I would be dead.
• At least there are railings.
• That’s just sad.

One of the pairs of socks I knit for Xmas – I think it’s a Lang colorway. Excuse the white balance issue – always an issue here in the winter.

Harry and Polly looking deeply suspicious of my intentions.

Polly likes to jump on my back/shoulder when I’m trying to take art journal pictures.

We got a new nip toy for Xmas and Mayhem immediately took it for a trial run.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance)
• Very cute comic about a traveling fox.
• “Barack Obama’s favorite books of 2023”.
• Some information about and a link to “Hamlet, But Hamlet’s a Chicken”.
• Fantasy book recommendations based on books you loved as a child.
• Mickey and Minnie Mouse become public domain on January 1.
• New things to learn in 2024.
• “See a rover’s day on Mars in 10 seconds”.
• The new Minnesota state flag has been selected.
• Optical illusion cat glamour shot.
• Cute little MCM A-frame.
• I like it.
• Nice condo in Washington, DC.
• Decent Tudor, although I wish they would have mopped after the workers were done.
• Zsa Zsa Gabor’s former home.
• Another church conversion – chandeliers for everyone!
• Overpriced converted windmill.
• The most expensive listing in the US, apparently.
• Do the plants convey? You’d definitely need a plant service to deal with all of that.
• Fancy.
• Unusual MCM that needs a lot of work.
• Minnesota B&B for sale. That one room painted lime really clashes with the excess of pastels.
• Shake shingles for everyone!
• MCM with a brutalist color scheme.
• I have Questions about the tub.
• I guess that’s as good a theory as any.
• You might break an ankle just looking at the second photo.
• Are those little rugs on the steps attached? It doesn’t look like it.
• The bed rails should DEFINITELY by taller.
• Umm.

Cute Mayhem and her kittenish face!

Blurry Harry is tired of my shenanigans.

Polly laying on the window ledge with her feet braced against the window. Silly girl!

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

Linkity from Smart Bitches.

Good Omens has been renewed for its third and final season!

Watch Patrick Stewart in A Christmas Carol.

Some interesting LotR meta.

There’s an X-Files reboot in the works, without the original cast or director.

Thirty “best-worst” ways to play Doom on its 30th anniversary.

Comparison of 20 different bind-off methods.

Very colorful!

Perhaps you need an eerie retreat center in your life?

I like the “sunrooms for everyone!” vibe.

An interesting church conversion.

And an interesting Southwest MCM.

Very groovy, rather tired MCM.

This has an extremely odd master bedroom.

Disconnect between the interior and the exterior – and the flex space has two photos. It’s not two separate rooms as the blogger thought originally.

A dome home with issues.

Why did they keep all four kitchens?

Stairs that are not just dangerous and ridiculous but also wine storage.

Shelves or stairs?

More dangerous pub stairs.

Pretty Polly.

And handsome Harry.

• New releases: Book Riot (best out this week), Smart Bitches (romance)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• “I love Neil Gaiman’s tumblr because…“
• Some info about long covid.
• Cursed fact about whales: they apparently shed their entire skin at once.
• …I have questions.
• Nice carriage house conversion.
• A modern round house.
• Castle esque.
• Castle house with chutes into a pit of foam blocks.
• Very unique home with some deadly steps and stairs.
• Very cute, but there’s a tragic amount of counter space in the kitchen.
• Post office converted into a meditation retreat center/home.
• Previously a jail, now an inn with a beauty salon and owner apartment.
• An interesting one in the Hamptons.
• Looking at the last photo – was this one end of a row house??
• Potentially cool MCM but it needs so much work.
• Terribly dated house, but it comes with an amusement park.
• Staggeringly expensive and I hate the lips in the dining room.
• Needs some… erm, all the work.
• What the heck is that “balcony” on the stairs?
• Some scary balcony stairs.
• WTF.
• This looks like an agility test I would fail at oh-dark-hundred.

The tiniest blep from Polly.

Harry’s not as crabby as he frequently appears to be.

• New releases: Smart Bitches (romance, queer romance), Tor.com (genre benders, scifi, fantasy, YA SFF) Book Riot (best out this week)
• Linkity from Smart Bitches.
• Linkity from BookWyrm Knits.
• On mass market paperbacks.
• Agatha Christie changed mysteries forever.
• What if “Earth is the space Amazon Rainforest”?
• Looking a little bit deeper into Cinderella.
• “Some useful new tech terms” (humor).
• “Typical airliner seating chart”. Hover/long-press for caption.
• This is what 2.2 mb looked like in 1966.
• The comments about this game are extremely funny.
• I like this cowl. Here’s the Ravelry link to the pattern.
• Hot chocolate cupcakes.
• Cool MCM trailer.
• Cute, although a bit too much white. Those high bookcases – eep.
• Well done church conversion in Minnesota.
• Live in Glacier National Park.
• Nice converted bakery.
• An odd little castle house.
• A strange one, with terrible photos.
• I find the interior of this one disconcerting – maybe it’s all the mauve.
• Crazy.
• This not really a castle is a weird mix of too white and tired. And what’s up with the toilet that’s not against a wall?
• Castle house that probably has mold.
• Conversation pits look weird with their custom furniture removed.
• The outside doesn’t scream “grotto”, does it?
• The pool must be seen to be believed.
• I find the kitchen to be quite terrible.
• It’s really weird, the staircase encroaching on the kitchen like that.
• Yikes.
• D’oh.
• Hmm.
• A real leg breaker.
• This bathroom has way too many stairs.
• Looks like some contortions may be required near the bottom.

Harry and Polly checking out the new (larger) pet warmer. I think they like it.

Mayhem on the old (smaller) pet warmer.