There are things I've meant to post about but this cold has me all fuzzy-headed and blah. I do feel better today, so hopefully soon my ears will unclog and my nose will stop running, and possibly my cough will go back to being noisy but painless.
Anyway! A random assortment of things! And also stuff!
= Last week, L and I met up for drinks and dinner, and discovered that our favorite bar is closed! And the replacement bar - the one with the really good burger (and the Tuesday $12 beer-and-burger special) - also closed! I should be used to it, but I really hate when places I really like close. Where am I supposed to go for a quick after work beer now? Sigh.
= On Sunday, I baked this
blueberry muffin/pancake cake (
pic), though I left out the nutmeg (I have this problem that no matter how small an amount of nutmeg I put in something it is all I can taste afterwards) and added a squeeze of lemon juice instead. It came out really good. Though I probably put in too many blueberries. It's almost more blueberries than cake. But so moist and delicious.
= I think I've mentioned that I only really like tea when it's iced (#i like cold beverages), and I've found that I really like Republic of Tea's hibiscus sangria tea, and also their pomegranate green tea. I would definitely recommend them - tart and refreshing and also kind of pink - never underestimate the appeal of a pink drink (see my DW default icon). Otoh, there was something about Tazo tea's citrus blend iced tea that I found offputting. Maybe I let it steep too long. I don't know. It smelled like it should have tasted great, but something was not quite right.
= What I'm reading Wednesday:
What I've just finished
I finished off The Language of Power, the fourth Steerswoman book, and I really liked it. After the letdown of the end of the third book, this was so much better. Plus,
Bel and Will return! And more clues about how the wizards came to be! I haven't decided yet it if was a full on generation ship, or if it was a combined science/military expedition, or if it's earth after the moon was destroyed (!!) or what, but clearly the wizards were crew and the Outskirters were military, and everybody else had to come from somewhere, and I really want to know. I had a really hard time moving on from these books. I spent a couple days not reading because I just wanted there to be more Bel and Rowan doing their thing.
I understand the fifth and sixth books are in the works? I await them eagerly.
I also finished, just today, at lunch, Range of Ghosts by Elizabeth Bear. The book takes a while to get going, but the characters are engaging - I do really like Temur and Samarkar, as well as the mare, Bansh. There are a number of women who are active in the story and they're all different and fleshed out fairly well, and I like that Temur respects them and defers to them when they know more than he does. I like that the world is not a standard European fantasy world, though I probably spent too much time trying to match each culture with a real world analogue than I should have (I can't help it).
I do think the plot was kind of all over the place. It didn't feel very pulled together, or maybe there's just too many things happening to make it feel cohesive. But I'm interested enough that I've got the second book lined up to go.
What I'm reading now
I'll be starting The Shattered Pillars on my commute home.
What I'm reading next
And then after that, I'll read the third one, Steles of the Sky. And then after that, Full Fathom Five by Max Gladstone, which I didn't realize came out on my birthday.
= I posted a story yesterday!
break loose of loss and longing (@
AO3)
Captain America; Steve/Bucky; pg; 3,510 words
"What do you think of the speculation that you and Steve Rogers were lovers?"
"What? Who thinks that? I don't think about that. Why would I think about that?"
It started out as tumblr not-fic under a SebStan gif set, which I think is explanation enough for the goofiness. There's a reason one of my tags for him is #captain america's stoner boyfriend.
Sadly, none of my other wsip are calling to me right now - well, except for the damn MCU/DCU crossover that I can't figure out (Talia al Ghul, why so difficult?) - and I'm currently free of new ideas. Sigh. (Well, lbr, I don't really ever have any new ideas? I kind of write the same story over and over about 95% of the time; at least I cop to it, unlike some very famous male writers.) I guess we'll see once I'm not sick anymore. I feel like my physical and mental health have interfered a lot with writing lately, on levels I have previously not had to deal with. I don't like it. I don't like it at all.
I do think someone who is not me should write a GotG/Leverage crossover though. Because sometimes bad guys make the best good guys, right? (And if it could have some Sophie/Gamora in it, that would be even better. IJS)
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