speaking the truth

1) I've always enjoyed lifting weights. I really REALLY enjoy lifting weights now.

2) I think guys are supposed to acknowledge each other with nods & grunts at the gym? Or so I've been informed? I'm probably still doing too much 'chipper & friendly'. Ahh well, nobody's punched me for it yet.

3) Why yes I AM still using the womens' locker room. I do not WANT to be using the womens' locker room, & it is absolutely not fair to the women. Also, I am NOT setting foot in the mens' while I still have these tits.

4) Alas, tits.

5) Biceps tho

[ Loiosh, an orange tabby wearing a green harness, is standing in a patch of green grass in front of an old gnarled tree trunk. His head is down, and he’s sniffing a tuft of the grass. ]

This grass is far superior to the other grass, not least in that it is across the walkway from the river, & thus Loiosh is much less likely to be able to yeet himself into the EXTREMELY, APPALLINGLY COLD water while chewing on it.

Note I said less likely, not impossible. Even at almost seventeen, the boy has his ways.

[ Loiosh is cronching some lovely green grass. One ear is now tilted back, because, apparently, of Reasons. ]

It was, also, still green & juicy, surely much tastier than the wilting brown stuff near the water.

[ He’s making the wrinkled muzzle face, as if he were removing the innards from an antelope. ]

RAWR NOM TASTY GRASS

[ And now his tongue is sticking out. Just a tiny bit, but it’s there.]

Eat grass, lick chops.

[ His mouth is open, displaying sharp carnivore teeth, and his entire head is blurry, as he strikes at the defenseless grass. ]

He’s just having a very good time with all of this, is what.

originally posted on Patreon; support me over there to see posts a week early!

[ Loiosh, an orange tabby wearing a green harness, is seen from above, standing on a couple of boulders; he’s sniffing at a clump of mostly-brown grass to his left. Beyond him are the dark, turbid waters of the Arkansas River. ]

I was … pretty okay with this.

[ Loiosh’s hindpaws are still on the same rock, but he’s stretched his front half out, nearly over the water, forepaws on another rock, to try to reach a particular blade of grass. His head is tucked under a tuft of grass, and he’s straddling his leash, which runs directly upwards toward the camera. ]

I WAS MUCH LESS OKAY WITH THIS PLEASE DO NOT FALL INTO THE RIVER

IT DOES THIS

[ A view across the river. The riverbed has been built up between narrowed banks so that a standing wave rushes over an arch in the bed, then crashes down into breaking seafoam. ]

I’d spent half the ride up on the phone with my mom, & we were talking about the surfing wave in the Arkansas in Salida; I’d planned to take pictures of it on my last trip, but then there was accidentally the fiber festival, & I plain forgot.

[ A closer view of the upper part of the standing wave — the surface of the river is smoothly rippled as it runs down into the turbulent foam beneath. ]

There wasn’t anyone on it that day — there might’ve been, earlier, when there was some sun on it, but even in a wetsuit, there’s limits.

[ A closer view of the surf below the standing wave. The water flows under the the leading edge of the foam, which is whitest and wildest at that boundary, then slowly calms over the next twenty or thirty feet until it’s back to the usual smooth flow of the river. ]

I could watch people surfing there for hours — far longer than Loiosh has the patience for. Eventually he wants to go find some grass. Or, in this case, some more grass, ideally some that wouldn’t get him grumbled at for trying to fall in the river.

originally posted on Patreon; support me over there to see posts a week early!

[ Loiosh, an orange tabby wearing a green harness, stands just outside the driver’s side door of the van, slightly crouched and looking upwards. ]

I thought we were done. We’d done an entire lap of the park, which is about half a mile; he’d walked a bunch of it; he’s SIXTEEN. That’s a long way for an old man cat.

(I am SO NOT COPING WELL with the concept that he’s an old man. Surely he is still a tiny kitten!)

He hauled me back to the van, the long way around, to the driver’s side, at which point this commenced:

[ Loiosh is standing with his hindpaws on the running board and his front half up on the floor of the van, in front of the driver’s seat. ]

[ Hindpaws on the floor; forepaws, and indeed the front half of his body, on the driver’s seat. He’s glaring at me. ]

[ He’s turned around, and one forepaw is reaching back down to the running board. ]

[ Long boy is long; hindpaws on the running board, tail trailing almost straight up behind him; his forepaws are on the ground, and his head is hidden behind the driver’s side door. ]

& then? He trotted back off the way he came, back around the van. Cats, idek.

originally posted on Patreon; support me over there to see posts a week early!

[ Loiosh, an orange tabby wearing a green harness. is seen from behind, in his stroller. He’s staring forward, along the paved path ahead. The background is a park, with low grass and a few trees. ]

I took the boy to the park, as you do.

The squirrels were … imprudent.

[ The camera has moved right and angled left, such that the view shows more of the left side of the path. Both camera and Loiosh are focused on a squirrel, who is happily hop-hopping down the left side of the path, paying no attention to the cat staring at them. ]

THIS small child is VERY BRAVE, & I hope that they do not get EATEN.

[ A slightly blurry, rather close view of the squirrel in question. The blurriness is due to zoom, not motion; the squirrel is standing still, tail upright with a curl at the end, one forepaw raised up, ears slightly tilted to the sides. There’s a scar across their nose, which ought to have taught them something. ]

Were they cautious? Sure. Would that have done them the tiniest bit of good if that had been Major Tom in the stroller? NOPE.

(Me, I just wanted to make friends. I’m terribly fond of squirrels.)

[ Less blurry, this time; the squirrel is closer to the camera, or at least the camera is closer to the squirrel. They’re facing the camera pretty directly, all four paws on the ground now, but ears perked firmly forward. Their tail is tilted a bit off to the left but otherwise still up. ]

SO CURIOUS. I mean, mostly about whether I had a snack for them. Which I did not. But it’s true, you never know, & that many squirrels in a park that size do very much depend on handouts from humans.

Upon no treats being forthcoming, they decided to bugger off. But they buggered off very slowly, just in case.

[ The squirrel is now facing to the right. up on their hind legs now, forepaws neatly curled, tail still up, with a curl at the tip. They’re poised and ready to poing poing off. ]

You never know who might suddenly produce a handful of peanuts!

originally posted on Patreon; support me over there to see posts a week early!

[ Two black picture frames hung on a pale lavender wall — one holds a single print, art of a mystical portal striding through a barren landscape on three tall legs; the other has three prints in the same style: another mystical portal between two rock pillars, a flying island with a conical building on it, and another flying island with a tree. A long, lanky black dragon flies near the island in the third print. ]

My friend Jank sent me these prints a while ago — it’s been more than a year, maybe closer to two, & I admired them greatly, & then stuck them in a drawer until I had time to do something useful with them.

Which I have finally managed! They’re cheapass mall wart frames, I spent a while haunting the local thrift stores without finding what I needed, but it had to be pretty specifically this so I’m not shocked that I couldn’t find the right stuff. They work, though! & now they’re hanging above my comfy chair, right where I can see them when I’m in bed, & I am very happy to have them there. I’m really enjoying having some art on the walls, & as I get more walls up, I’ve got more art to put on them. Eventually this place is gonna look REALLY nice. Little steps!

originally posted on Patreon; support me over there to see posts a week early!

[ A bright yellow, ovate leaf sits on bright green grass. Half of it is laying flat, mostly shaded; the other half sits nearly vertical, sun shining through a few small brown-edged gaps. ]

Fall is so beautiful in town here. The cottonwoods in the park go bright yellow (as do the aspens throughout town), but the grass stays green until we’ve had a few good hard freezes. I couldn’t resist taking a bunch of leaf pictures — far more than wound up in this post.

[ Another cottonwood leaf, this one with far more brown spots in the yellow, with wider gaps in between. An entirely brown leaf sits in the grass next to it. ]

The whole time I was farting around with my camera, of course, Loiosh was being a wigglebutt. Why was I crawling around in the grass, he wanted to know, instead of petting him? Why?

Cats. They do not see the beauty in fallen leaves.

[ A close view of an entirely brown leaf. About half of it is shaded, and each tiny vein and darker brown spot is clearly visible. ]

Nor do they understand the joy of creating art, but that was later that day.

In the meantime? More leaf.

[ A green, elliptically shaped leaf buried in the grass. ]

The plaintain was all still green — I need to bring a spade & grab a couple next summer so I can plant them at home & see how they do, but for now, I’ll just enjoy the fact that they’re right there in the park. Free medicine!

Speaking of free medicine …

[ The fluffy white head of a dandelion. The long, narrow, dark brown seeds are visible through the fluff; the stem is reddish-brown. ]

I used to harvest all the dandelion & plantain leaves that went into the bite, sting & rash salve, & someday I hope to be able to do that again. In the meantime, at least they’re THERE.

Is this mushroom medicine? Is it food? I do not know! I don’t mess with mushrooms unless they come from the grocery store. Actually I don’t mess with them at all, I’m not terribly fond of the texture. But they’re pretty!

[ A small, white, round mushroom lies buried in the grass. It has a neato kinda bumpy texture. ]

I’d probably have come home with a couple decent squirrel pics, too, but alas, they take Loiosh far more seriously than I feel they really need to. I get their point, though, you never know when you’re gonna get eaten by a cat.

originally posted on Patreon; support me over there to see posts a week early!

[ A large red Wawa cup sits on my desk. Sticking out of it is a fork, with a meatball stuck on it. ]

So for a couple-three years I ran errands almost every Friday, which means I called my mom almost every Friday, & I nearly always managed to catch her right about when she was in the middle of a Wawa meatball hoagie.

I grew up in the Philly suburbs going to Wawa. They’re just a fact of life in that part of the world. & I love Wawa’s meatball hoagies with unreasonable love.

& the closest Wawa to where I live, here in Colorado, is one thousand, one hundred thirteen point three two miles from here. In Alabama.

I hadn’t had Wawa meatballs in FAR too long. & there’s my mom on the phone, every Friday, making mmm-mmm & slurp noises, because she’s a BUTT.

So I’d beg her to send me some. It wouldn’t be hard! Get a bunch, stick em in the freezer, shove em in a box with a whole lot of packing peanuts. In the middle of winter. It’d be fine! Surely if she loved me, she’d send me some meatballs!

Spoiler: she did not send me any meatballs.

BUT! My beloved roommate Morgyn took pity on me! & on the way home from Pennsic this August, after a brief visit to their family home in Maryland, stopped at a Wawa in the general Lanham area & bought me a bunch of meatballs. & then stuck em in a cooler with a bag of ice.

My friends, they were the best damn meatballs I’ve eaten in my entire. Life. & hell YEAH I sent my mom a picture.

Her response? “What the what??” I may possibly have laughed like a hyena. It was a beautiful thing.

Now I just need someone to stop at Corropolese on their way out here, buy me a whole bunch of tomato pie, & shove it in a cooler with a bag of ice …

(ngl, any of y’all show up here with a full sheet classic tomato pie gets your choice of faerie home decor, plus probably more soap than you’ll use in the rest of your life. Bonus points if you get em to put the Methacton logo on it with parmesan.)

originally posted on Patreon; support me over there to see posts a week early!

[ Three rusty pallet nails, each wrapped in copper wire just under the head. A loop of copper wire sticks up above the head, as well. In the background are more nails, and a curve of hammered copper wire. ]

I keep getting Ideas, is what.

It’s honestly kind of fun.

I’ve been meaning to start using old pallet nails in stuff for YEARS now, or at least since about three minutes after I started pulling pallets apart. But now I have enough brain to actually _do_ that, & it turned out to be WAY easier than it might have been.

NGL I had fun putting this together, between the nails, the BIG nail, the hunk of really thick aluminum wire, & that vertical metal bit in the middle, which I picked up from right in front of the front door, after walking past it for half a year & thinking it was probably leather.

[ It’s a wider version of the first picture — a long length of copper makes a roughly horizontal S, with a shorter one in approximately a J. A small spiral of aluminum wire sits between the two copper pieces; a big nail stretches across the top of the piece, with smaller, rusty nails lined up below it; and a narrow, slightly wavy hunk of metal runs straight down the center. ]

The nails make a nice fringe sort of thing, & I couldn’t help but to pick some _very_ good blues to go with the rest.

[ A third length of copper wire, with a spiral on one end and a loop on the other, has been added to the rest; another copper spiral, this with a long cobalt blue glass bead threaded into it, hangs from it. Eight rusty nails now hang from the longer nail, and a variety of cobalt blue glass beads, along with some large clear ones, have been added in strategic spots. ]

I just … started making curves, for this one.

[ A n unevenly trapezoidal frame holds four lengths of copper wire — each starts at the upper left corner, and they radiate out from there to cover nearly the entire bottom edge of the trapezoid. Three end in spirals; the fourth ends in a simple loop. ]

Looking at that, you may wonder how I’d planned to connect the four end bits at the upper left. The answer is ‘buggered if I know, I’ll figure it out tomorrow’. It actually took me a week, but I got there, using the tried & true ‘keep wrapping wire around it til it gives up’ method.

[ A blurry close view of that spot in the finished piece — a length of wire has been wrapped around the base of each copper piece in turn, then back around each in the opposite direction. The same wire then runs back down, between each pair of copper pieces, then around the frame. ]

I only had to go back & forth three times, I feel like that was a pretty good job.

[ The finished piece — various purple and off-white beads have been draped across the frame and the copper. A dangly bit hangs from the one loop, off to the left. ]

Neither of these is in the shop yet; I’m hoping for next week.

originally posted on Patreon; support me over there to see posts a week early!

[ A beat up, weathered blue popup is set up on the side of Alamosa’s Main Street. One back corner is tied to the van’s tow hitch. A table sits in the back left corner, covered with a purple and white Mexican blanket. At the front is my portable workbench, with a folding camp chair sitting behind it. ]

Jasper put a link to the show on the household discord … August 29th? I think? & the application was due September 4th. So I spent that weekend putting together a couple more faery home decor pieces & then filling out the application, of which the hardest part was, of course, the prices.

I managed that a whole day ahead of time, & then realized that I had very little idea of 1) how to DO an art show, & also 2) how this particular one was run.

Turns out it was much closer to a craft show than a gallery show, which makes sense, given that I could choose to set up a popup with my stuff. Which I did, & then asked if I could bring MORE stuff, & upon hearing that I could, decided I was just gonna bring ALL the jewelry.

… all my jewelry display stuff is in the storage unit.

So I set out, two days before the show, to remedy this, with a budget of zero dollars & zero cents. I asked the Blessed Tommaso, He Who Built Eisental Camp An Entire Kitchen On A Budget Of Zero That One Pennsic, to put in a good word for me with the Gods of I Wonder What I Can Find In This Pile Of Junk, & set about wandering around the yard to see what might be useful.

Turns out we had a couple old fridge shelves, the grid kind. Also some metal grid shelving. & I have card stock & Inkscape & am not afraid to use either.

[ A selection of metal grids, often used as fridge shelves, hang from a popup tent; each is covered with white or purple cardstock cards, each of which holds a pendant or a pair of earrings. Many of them hang at odd angles. ]

& then I attacked the stack of plywood with the circular saw, attacked the pile of old roof tarp with a pair of scissors, & joined the two with the first roll of duct tape my eyes fell upon.

[ A hunk of plywood, about two by four feet, hangs from the top of the popup wall. It’s covered in beat-up, formerly-white tarp, which has been attached with neon green duct tape. Eight faery home decor pieces hang from it. Another, similar piece, sits on the ground, leaning against the popup leg; it’s filled with earrings and pendulums. ]

Then I spent NINE THOUSAND YEARS punching holes in each of the cards, writing prices & names on em, then attaching jewelry. At one point I couldn’t find the hatpin I use to make earring holes, & almost had an entire meltdown over it, but I did my deep breathing & they turned up.

It all looks EXTREMELY JANKY & I LOVE IT.

THEN I stuck CJ’s popup in the van, along with the two plastic buckets me & Jasper used to make pell bases cos they’re heavy, & then me & Jasper & Loiosh drove into town.

It was, thank the weather deities, not windy. Loiosh was feeling VERY froggy & pinned me in my chair for a while halfway through setup, for the sole & express purpose of purring vigorously at me, but that wasn’t actually a problem, because Jasper was still busy getting all the faery home decor stuff, the necklaces, & maybe half the pendulums arranged on the plywood, then tacking them all down. I hadn’t wanted to do that at home, because I didn’t want to transport them that way, but then I was too tired to take everything back off at the end of the day so my entire jewelry inventory is still sitting in the van, hanging from hunks of plywood & metal grid things.

I’d stuck my jewelry workbag & the basket with spare wire & stuff in the van, too (my portable workbench & camp chair live there) because one of the questions on the application was ‘are you willing to demonstrate your work’ & my answer to that is HELL YEAH I WILL. I even found a nice hunk of rusty steel wire while we were getting set up, which wound up getting used in the piece I got mostly done over the course of the day.

[ My beat-up old workbench; it’s made from pallet wood. On it is an old mouse pad covered with blue fabric, various pieces of metal, a couple jewelry tools, and a small, flat jewelry anvil with a spiral piece of copper sitting on it. ]

I sat there & worked on stuff for a while, Loiosh nommed on gooshyfud & collected a lot of love from passersby, Jasper took a couple packed orders to the post office. After a while I had to move my work setup to the other side of the tent to get out of the sun. Loiosh took a nap, then woke up & was wiggly, so I stuffed him in the stroller & took him for a walk. Did you know Salida has a circus? I did not know this! Loiosh flopped in their booth for a good twenty minutes & was the happiest cat in the world. We stopped in at Milagros to grab a mixed berry smoothie & some ice & then headed back to the booth, where I ALMOST had the thing I was working on finished up when it was time to tear down. (The rest took about six minutes Monday morning.)

[ A faery home decor piece hangs against a white background; it’s roughly triangular, point down, the top of the triangle curved upward. The spiral wire from the last image is part of it, along with a number of silver-colored and purple beads. ]

Tearing down took, like, fifteen minutes, which I LOVE, because everything was just hanging on boardlike objects which could just be stuck directly in the van. I wish I could do this with the soap!

& then I drove home & went basically immediately to bed.

originally posted on Patreon; support me over there to see posts a week early!