Today had sunshine, pork chops, cake and a firetruck

It also had Thai peppers, a new tea strainer (that's really, really large), Thai eggplants, a Japanese maple syrup Swiss roll cake, some crazed last minute demands from work that I was able to meet, one less day until Mission Surprise Mom, some very nice spaghetti squash (with butter and maple syrup - hey, more maple syrup!) to go with the pork chops and salad, and, all in all, was a better day than it could have been.

The firetruck was in a funeral home parking lot. It was surrounded by many uniformed Chicago firefighters, and bedecked in bunting, and I felt vaguely guilty at being very annoyed that I couldn't get out of the parking lot because of it because, hey, it was a departed firefighter being honored, no doubt about it, but yeah, still, annoyed.

(I'd been there to offer my respects to a colleague whose parent had died, then had to sit in the parking lot to have a mobile conversation with my boss, who needed to fill out a form on how I do one of my regular beat duties because TPTB apparently needed it, which parking lot delay led to my being trapped by firefighters and bunting-bedecked ladder trucks and where did this sentence start, anyhow?)

Once I got out, though, I realized I was close to the local Korean humongo-mart,(which may be one of my favorite places these days) and that's where I headed, to get the foodstuffs and the tea strainer. I was a happy shopper - happy enough that, when I got home to yet another request for information from my poor editor, I only kvetched a brief while.

And sunshine, there was, indeed, a world of sunshine. And that was very good.

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( Just To Save Bandwidth )</div>( ... )</div>
This entry was originally posted at http://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/222394.html?mode=reply, where there are currently comments. You can comment there or here; I watch both.

I Can Haz Proper Cutz Nao!!

Yes I can! I am the proud fixer of the stupid LJ "scissors icon" cut denoter on my journal. I know that sounds rather silly, since I was directed to the fix by other people (thanks sallymn  andljgeoff , for pointing me in the right direction), but here's the thing. Although the patch was already and ready to paste into the space awaiting it in the CSS coding area , and I knew I could use it, because my journal is in the right LJ style, I needed to find the right code for my journal's background color, because I don't have a plain white background.

And no one had said where I could find that.

Well. Did I let that dissuade me? Not at all. I figured out where to go to look for the coding, figured out (sort of) what the hell "layers" and "children" were, then clicked through to where I figured the color codes were. I couldn't find anything that looked like my shades of green, despite knowing I was in the right place. And then I thought it through some more, and realized I'd been looking at the proper code as I sat there. I tried it out, and - yay! - it worked.

So, even though I'm sure I've used the wrong terms to explain what I did, and even though I still retain my membership in the Sub-Luddite Club, I erased the damned scissors, and I am proud. Excuse me, while I shake my head at myself. Heh.

And speaking of shaking one's head at oneself, I've had a couple of weird dreams lately.( And I shall proceed to tell you at boring length about them. )


No I didn't get much more written on "Hearts and Moons," why do you ask?
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I Had So Many Things To Say

But I couldn't find the time or the inclination. It's been one of those days weeks months ah, fuggit, one of those periods of times.

Still, a few things make a post, don't they? Let's see.

Birthdays! There are, and were, birthdays!

Many past happy returns of the now-bygone day tojames_davis_nicoll (18th May), who almost single-handedly keeps me informed and amused about a plethora of fannish and general things. His cats, too; my world would be a little less richly wonky without James' cats, and his occasional contretemps with brassy squirrels.

Happy birthday, too, to robling_t (just yesterday, 26th March); may your Muse be beneficient this year, and may life be good to you.

Nor can I forget to wish all the best in the coming year to mostlikely2 (22nd March), one of the people still most apt to challenge the way I think, and one of the writers who can move me to tears of joy.

Other Things!

( Yes, other link-heavy things! )
This entry was originally posted at http://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/218780.html?mode=reply, where there are currently comments. You can comment there or here; I watch both.

Happy Birthday ...

... tofilkerdave . Hope your day, and the coming year, is filled with music, family, and time to take wonderful pictures of the world around you.

This entry was originally posted at http://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/218115.html?mode=reply, where there are currently comments. You can comment there or here; I watch both.

Sun and Sedentary Pleasures

I got up today, and didn't get out of my jammies until First Born came to visit around 2 p.m. And I didn't really feel guilty; the sun was shining through the south windows, the cats were generally happy, and the only fly in the ointment was BB having to deal with a low level cold. My mother called and we had a lovely chat, my brother later called and we had a brief chat as well. In between, BB, FB and I caught up with each other.

(The poor lamb is dead tired; ever since returning from London, he's been involved in a play where the director has, for reasons known only to god and the devil, decided on a seven-day-a-week rehearsal schedule. So it's been up at 6, work until 6, go directly to rehearsal, get home at 11 and to sleep at midnight, wash, rinse, repeat. On paper, it doesn't sound too bad for a month and a half. In reality, he's got bags under his eyes and he looks exhausted. But the play starts Thursday, so there's an end to it - although he promptly signed up to do a teeny-tiny bit with Red Moon Theater as a one-off. It's good to see him reviving his theater work, but ... health, my son, health!)

And of course, all the while, I sat here at the 'puter and perused the world beyond the screen, which always makes me happy. Now, if I could just get back on the fic horse. The beast is here, and in the corral, and happy to see me. I believe it's even saddled. I just have to get the step-stool and clamber on.

While I'm rambling about next to nothing ... you may be breathless with excitement to learn that BB and I watched Cowboys and Aliens last night. It was great and good fun, totally illogical, and, as BB pointed out, very Spielbergian, despite being Jon Favreau's baby.

• Kid? Check.
• Dog? Check.
• Kid and dog in danger? Check.
• Enigmatically good preacher? Oh, definitely, check. (Clancy! Brown!)
• Bad guy turned hero for no reason than because the script says so and the actor's good enough to pull it off? Check.
• Rotten secondary main character (Ford's wonderfully scenery chewing Colonel Dolarhyde) who is turned into a relative cream puff by coming into close proximity to aforementioned kid? Check.
• Completely unworkable and illogical aliens, both good and bad? Check, and check.
• Merciless, theivin', smelly, sneaky, cowardly, murderous outlaws and snivelling brat of a bully (Dolarhyde's son, Percy) turned into better people by the end of the movie, courtesy of fightin' said eeeevil aliens along side native Americans right out of central casting, all singing and drinking together in Doc's (yes, Doc's. Oh, the cliches, and oh, how I loved them)? Check, and again, check.

So, yeah, what a completely sugary piece of forgettability. But it made me smile. Perhaps in part because Daniel Craig was wonderful eye-candy His eyes. They're so ... blue. He holds himself with a stillness that stays with you, even in a piece of ephemera like this.

And finally we come to the birthday wishes:

To jessalrynn, (25th Feb.) many happy returns of the day. May all the rough spots be smoothed out, may the vicissitudes of money and muse and family and life in general transform themselves into good things for you in the coming year!

To maruad, (25th Feb.), may the coming year be artistically fertile and may we continue to enjoy your often wise and witty comments here online. You are always a pleasure!

And finally, to rosa_acicularis , (26th Feb.) Happy Birthday tomorrow, to someone I always love to read, whether it's fic or commentary.



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In Which I Battle Inertia, and May Not Be Losing.

I don't have that many new and wonderful things to report, really. Little things, mostly.

Like Passports Canada finally being able to get my money for my new passport. Now all I have to do is wait (interminably, it seems) for the passport to arrive. If it isn't here in another week or week and a half, I'll start bugging them about it.

( Work-related navel-gazing. )

Like running across this at Boutique Sally Ann* and knowing - immediately - that I had to have it. Even if there was no krafayis in the window because it was just someone's student art project. Yes. Yes, I am that much of a dork. And I'm glad. Proud. (Also, I love the colors. BB scanned the canvas and emailed the image to me, so I had to resaturate it a bit  to get the colors back to what they actually look like in 3D, but, yeah, nice and bright and cheery.**) It's been sitting on my desk. I'm going to put it on the wall above the desk, next to the Dalek victory poster. Yes. Yes, I am.

( Art. Sublime Art. And Foolish. )

Hmm. One housekeeping thing. One rather surprisingly serious thing. One Who thing. There's a nice balance for the evening.

Oh, hell. Forgot some belated birthday wishes, to some very interesting, nice people:

Happy belated birthday, (20th Feb.), to wiggiemomsi , whose cheerful online presence is always appreciated; and to misscam , (20th Feb.) whose trenchant comments on life, fandom, Norway and everything else are equally appreciated . Hope your various days were excellent!





</user></user>* That's the Salvation Army thrift store to those of you who aren't aficionados of The Best Place In The World To Get Everything From Clothing and Shoes to ... well ... everything. I must do a post on my love affair with the Sally Ann someday.

** Decided, on the basis of a comment over on LJ by the delightful maruad, to add this concerning the art above: According to a site I visited, Van Gogh described the painting ""The Church at Auvers," which he painted in 1890 only a few months before his death, thusly to his sister: "A large painting of the village church, executed so that the building appears purplish against a sky which is the deep and simple blue of pure cobalt; the windows seem stained with ultramarine; the roof is part violet, part orange. In front, there are flowers growing in the grass and some sunny, pink sand."
      In looking at that description, and at pictures of the actual painting, it becomes clear to me that whoever painted my little painting (I'm thinking acrylic on canvas; definitely canvas, but I could be wrong on the paint) loved brighter - some would say more garish - colors. The sky is closer to turquoise than cobalt, and the other colors are similarly altered. I don't mind; the colors of the rather not very good copy appeal to me, as beautiful as the original is. Here's an image of the original, or at least closer to the colors of the original: ( Yet another cut, to save bandwidth. )</div> This entry was originally posted at http://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/217539.html?mode=reply, where there are currently comments. You can comment there or here; I watch both.

How Wonderful! People Were Born!

And I know a few of them, and want to wish them all the best on their birthdays. They're coming up, mostly, but I am horrible about these things (as I have mused and whinged about in the past); I'd rather give you advance wishes than no wishes at all, because you're all notable people of great worth, and I am very happy to have met you here on these Intarwebz.

So happy birthday, cygnia (18th Feb.)! You don't drop by often, but when you do, I'm always pleased to read what you have to say — and usually end up with a big grin on my face.

Happy birthday to you, too, wendymr! (18th Feb.) You helped bring me into the vibrant, friendly and creative world of online Doctor Who fandom. You encouraged me (in ways direct and indirect) as I very nervously took up writing fiction again after years away from it, and I can never thank you enough for that. We may disagree on eggnog, but I look to you to avoid putting North Americanisms in my work, and for truly interesting insights into the confusing world of Brit/American language barriers. May the coming year be filled with great fanfic, friends and everything else you want!

Happy birthday to marence , (18th Feb.) who shares my fascination with Doctor Who, River, and adventures into meta. May your year be free of pain, full of joy and loads of great reading and conversation!

And to trobadora , (19th Feb.) who is a lively participant in many an enjoyable DW discussion, many happy returns of the day. I look forward to seeing you more around these parts!

Nor can I forget jrittenhouse (19th Feb.). Many happy returns of the day, sir. I wish you a year that is as filled with happiness and peace as possible; it's more than time for that!


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Sherlock: A Question of Time. Or Possibly Geometry

( Watch the next series? Of course I'm going to watch the next series. ) This entry was originally posted at http://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/215935.html?mode=reply, where there are currently comments. You can comment there or here; I watch both.

Story: Matched Set
Author: kaffyr
Characters:</user> Donna Noble, the Tenth Doctor
Rated: G
Word Count: 281, per Google docs
Edited by: Unedited; all mistakes are mine.
Summary: The Doctor is subjected to an ... unsettling ... radical makeover.
Author's Notes: This was a stocking stuffer for livii in the 2011 fandom_stocking. As a former redhead myself, I empathize with Donna's amusement.
Disclaimer: As much as I wish it were otherwise, no Whoniverse characters are mine. They are the sole properties of the BBC and their respective creators. I intend no copyright infringement, and take no coin. I do, however, love them all, and thank the BBC for letting me play in their sandbox.

*****************************************************


At first she thought he'd been sulking since they escaped — which would have been no surprise, since the Doctor's sartorial pride had presumably been sorely wounded. After a while, though, she realized he was stealing glances in various reflective surfaces in the console room and ... wait, was he ... primping?

Donna simultaneously rolled her eyes and grinned.

"So, spaceman."

"What?" He looked at her almost guiltily.

"Isn't there something you can do about it?"

He made a little moue, and shrugged. "Weeeeell, yes, certainly I'll do something about it. On the other hand, it was done as an honor to you."

She snorted. "Just because members of the Aeolinian High Court travel in color-coordinated pairs doesn't mean they can kidnap and do extreme makeovers on a couple of off-planet visitors. And since you got the worst of it, I'd think you'd agree."

"Be fair, now, they thought we were visiting royalty, not just any old Earth girl — "

"Oi! Watch it with the 'old,' Mars boy."

" — any young and extremely attractive Earth woman and her Time Lord."

"My Time Lord? Not bloody likely," she muttered, with only the barest hint of regret.

"Of course not!" he agreed, too quickly. "Still — and not to repeat myself, but it's a point worth making — this was done to honor you." He hesitated, slightly glum. "Since they apparently don't think much of brunettes."

Donna quirked a smile. "Yeah, well, I can't accuse them of bad taste for liking redheads, I suppose."

She wasn't going to tell him how oddly attractive he looked as a ginger. She would rather have died.


-30-

</user></user> This entry was originally posted at http://kaffyr.dreamwidth.org/214937.html?mode=reply, where there are currently comments. You can comment there or here; I watch both.