Mary Quite Contrary

✔ Read 45 min. per day.
✔ Drink something while reading. (Water.)
✔ Log reading/thoughts on DW.
✔ Read an owned, unread book.

I had a fair bit of reading time when traveling to & from Cute Girlfriend's place today.

Current reading: "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century", by Timothy Snyder
Minutes read: 61
Pages read: 68
Progress: 100%

( Read more... )

So, this is based on the book, "Feral Self-Care: 100 Ways to Liberate and Celebrate Your Messy, Wild, and Untamed Self" by Mandi Em. The book, as the subtitle suggests, contains 100 self-care ideas over the course of 6 categories. As I read the book, I marked with post-it notes the "ways" that I would like to try out over the next year.

The goal is to follow one "way" each week in 2026.
( the prompts )

✖ Read 45 min. per day.
✔ Drink something while reading. (Coffee.)
✔ Log reading/thoughts on DW.
✔ Read an owned, unread book.

I focused on trying to finish cross-stitch gifts today instead of reading. Still ended up reading more than I expected to, though!

Current reading: "Feral Self-Care: 100 Ways to Liberate and Celebrate Your Messy Wild Self", by Mandi Em
Minutes read: 31
Pages read: 21
Progress: 76.8%
( Read more... )

✖ Read 45 min. per day.
✔ Drink something while reading. (Coke.)
✔ Log reading/thoughts on DW.
✖ Read an owned, unread book.

My parents came over for the usual family Chrismas Eve shenanigans.

Current reading: "Monster & the Beast, Volume 3", by Renji
Minutes read: 39
Pages read: 201
Progress: 100%

( Read more... )

✔ Read 45 min. per day.
✔ Drink something while reading. (Coffee & soda.)
✔ Log reading/thoughts on DW.
✔ Read an owned, unread book.

Maybe the third time's the charm?

Currently reading: "Feral Self-Care: 100 Ways to Liberate and Celebrate Your Messy Wild Self", by Mandi Em
( Read more... )

Currently reading: "The Stonewall Reader", by the New York Public Library
Minutes read: 17
Pages read: 18
Progress: 81.25%

( Read more... )

I finally remembered to take photos AND upload them. 😱

Alexis' Holiday Gift
Alexis, a volunteer friend at work, is a total romantasy girlie, but likes this kind of merch especially. So when I saw this pattern, I knew I needed to stitch it for her. (I may end up stitch the central image for myself too, just because it's neat.)

In terms of the pattern, I have complaints about how a) the pattern only came as a single page, and b) how the symbol used for black looked too similar to other symbols used in the pattern, so I kept having to pick out mistakes. Guess what? Having a 2-page pattern with larger symbols WOULD HAVE HELPED A LOT WITH THAT.



Pattern Source: Link


Mike's Holiday Gift:
Mike, another volunteer friend from work, is a kitchen wizard and always brings in baked goodies on Saturdays. He's also hilarious and  a computer instructor at an elementary school, so this pattern was perfect for him. (Alexis helped me narrow down the project idea list from 20 patterns to this one.)



Pattern Source: Link

✔ Read 45 min. per day.
✔ Drink something while reading. (Tea.)
✔ Log reading/thoughts on DW.
✔ Read an owned, unread book.

I've been dog-sitting during my weekend, so it was a good time to restart my reading challenge.

Toshi-dog is ridiculous - she barks at everything, takes puppy Prozac, was a COVID puppy, and can't be left alone for more than 3 hours. She likes routine, but due to some human health issues a few months ago, some of her routines have gotten screwy. Things are exacerbated by this being the first overnight without her humans since...the last time I overnight sat for her back in October 2024. 

She's a sweetie, but I'm happy to go home to my cat now.

Current reading: "On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century", by Timothy Snyder
( Read more... )

Current reading: "Marsha: the Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson", by Tourmeline
( Read more... )

Especially with my work/stress load at this time of year, getting a solid 45 minutes of reading in isn't always happening. So, I'm making a rule adjustment in hopes of being able to get through 75 days of JUST reading every day.

New Rule:
As long as 10+ minutes of reading happens, I can count the day as official. If I read less than 10 minutes, then I have to restart from Day 1. 🙃

✔ Read 45 min. per day.
✔ Drink something while reading. (Soda.)
✔ Log reading/thoughts on DW.
✖/✔ Read an owned, unread book.

Since I missed reading yesterday, I tried to read twice as much today.

Current reading: "Marsha: the Joy and Defiance of Marsha P. Johnson", by Tourmeline
Minutes read: 51
Pages read: 32
Progress: 32.4%

( Read more... )

Current reading: "Monster and the Beast, Vol. 2", by Renji
Minutes read: 27
Pages read: 176
Progress: 100% FINISHED

( Read more... )

Current reading: "Feral Self-Care: 100 Ways to Liberate and Celebrate Your Messy, Wild, and Untamed Self", by Mandi Em ( Read more... )

Go to a concert	-	Read 50 books	30 days of yoga	Start painting again
Get a tattoo	-	Complete a large x-stitch project	Finish a zine	Work on witchy shit
Go to the coast	IOW Hangout	40th Birthday!	Read more books I own	Work at RCR for 1 year
See TWAMPs once a quarter	-	Visit the Japanese garden	-	Get a new piercing
Hang out w/ witch pals more	Pay off Susan loan	Update Etsy store	Take Toby to the vet	-

This was my first year of Life Bingo and it shows. I didn't figure out goals for all 25 spots at the beginning of the year and then, unsurprisingly, I never went back and finished filling the spots.

I'm still hoping to finish 2 squares - Read 50 books & Read more books I own (having 50+% of my books read this year be from my own shelves).