bitchwhoyoukiddin

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

If you see this you’re legally obligated to reblog and tag with the book you’re currently reading

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

GUESS WHO ORDERED THIS????

AND HAD IT """"""""""""""""""""DELIVERED""""""""""""""""""" TO HER PORCH??????????

AND IS TRYING TO FILE A FUCKING CLAIM WITH THE USPS BUT THE WEBSITE KEEPS RECYCLING???????????????????????????????????????????????

I BET YOU CAN'T GUESS.

UPDATE: Apparently USPS left it on the truck and brought it the next day. HUZZAH!

Was no one gonna talk about this here?????

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

Happy Labor Day. Today I learned about probably the first strike to happen IN SPACE.

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

Everything I know about gardening I learned against my will.

I know an inordinate amount about gardening. Tbf, I was raised (poor) by a 3rd generation immigrant whose parents were raised farming and who kept an extensive garden to feed their kids over winter because the cold chain is not yet 90. Mom also kept a 1/4 acre garden when I was tiny because labor was free and she could trade veggies (canned and fresh) for eggs and dairy and babysitting.

Hell, I have very clear memories of picking beans and peas and berries when I was tiny because I was closer to the ground.

That said, I am Not Built For American Gardening. I have the skin of an Irish maid (sallow and easily burned) and am DELICIOUS AND ALLERGIC to all venomous bugs in the American Midwest.

I mention ANY of this because mom still keeps a huge garden, though these days it is mostly herbs, grapes, tomatoes, potatoes, and flowers. I went over today and it’s early harvest, so she had me following her around to grab free food. She grew me yellow tomato varietals (I have an acid issue with the reds), so I grabbed some mint, parsley, and ten tomatoes. Mom had me check the potato crop, but they were too small (we agreed she needed more compost mixed in with the dirt next year). I also grabbed six bunches of grapes to take to work and prove that grapes DO actually taste like grape juice. I almost took some rhubarb, but my fridge is stuffed atm, so I need to eat that down first.

After ~25 minutes walking around beds and cutting stuff, I am absolutely covered in bites from my shins to my toes and my elbows to my finger tips. 😖

This is why I dead stared my parents when they tried to force me to weed as a 12-20yo. Given that I participated in all other manual labor (including the gross stuff) and was a huge people pleaser, they actually let me hold that boundary. Tho, coming back from camp with 90+ mosquito bites, sun burned, and crying at 12 also might have something to do with that. (And the sunstroke. And sun poisoning.)

Didn’t get me out of hedge trimming, chicken care, or lawn mowing tho. 😑

All I know is my quinoa tabbouleh is gonna kick ass tomorrow.

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

Art!

I have not done any binding for over a year. There are reasons (did you know it takes a whole lot of work? Especially when you are not mid-hyperfocus?) but that changed last month!

I finally buckled down and printed out a few novels that I enjoyed. It’s a 4-book series and I just randomly decided to format them for printing. Which. Y’all. SO MUCH WORK. (Yes, even w/the “tricks” from the fan binding archive.)

Well, I also measured, cut, and folded the signatures and marked them for sewing. Today I punched the holes for sewing and finished the first novel. I even glued the spine! I also started sewing the signatures for the second book, but took a break because (shockingly) it takes a lot of time to sew the spine?

I am glad I have the next few days to take my time and work. I finally get to use the craft space I set up and… just didn’t use? Eh.

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

I know shark week is coming when all I want in the universe is a giant (22+oz) steak, mashed potatoes that are more dairy than potato, braised cabbage, and creamed spinach. Bonus points for yeasty, slightly sweet rolls slathered in salted butter, but I hold it down for my GF girlies (gender neutral).

(I am accidentally vegetarian/vegan, like 80% of the time?)

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

word

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

Was no one gonna talk about this here?????

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

Reblog and put in the tags what the first fandom you ever read fanfic for was

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

Book recommendations, slightly later than mid-year!

The stuff mentioned below is all trad-pub stuff because I've been going for easy access and reading stuff I own. Here's a short top-5 of the books I've read this year. I've only finished 24, which is pretty low for me? But I've been on a huge non-fiction kick, and those traditionally take me longer to process. Also, the stinkers tend to be 400+ pages. Well, the ones I've read have anyway.

Numbered list of faves so far:

Invitation to a Banquet: The Story of Chinese Food by Fuchsia Dunlop

This is a beast of book that is 100% the tag line but also incredibly more complex. Dunlop is a chef and writer who's spent ~30+ years interacting with food in China in a host of different ways. This is her trying to explain the complexity and interwoven history and reality of food in China. It touches on agriculture, history, preservation methods, modernization, and a whole host of other topics. It's the book that's impacted me most in helping me articulate more fully things I've felt/thought for a while in regards to modern food culture in the US and personally. It's also a book that I heavily recommend reading in tandem with or near the next book.

2. Frostbite: How Refrigeration Changed our Food, Our Planet, and Ourselves by Nicola Twilley

This book was specifically written for me. (It was not.) I have desperately wanted some kind of written work that discusses refrigeration and how it's directly impacted US food culture for decades. Mind, this is a book with a much wider scope and I am 100% not mad about it. This basically runs through a history and speculation of the development of refrigeration and what that might look like going forward. The author did a ton of in person research and traveled from the giant cold housed dotting the landscape in the US to food labs in Rwanda, cold storage businesses in China, and infrastructure planners in India. This gives such context to ItaB AND Twilley even cites Dunlop and one of the more discussed people in ItaB. Basically, with these two books my little nerdy brain spent a month squealing delightedly.

3. Chop, Fry, Watch, Learn: Fu Pei-Mei and the Making of Modern Chinese Food by Michelle Tien King

This is also an excellent parallel/follow up read to the first two books. On its surface, it's a biography and history of Taiwan's longest serving television chef, Fu Pei-Mei. In reality, it's the author contextualizing who Fu Pei-Mei was, what her career and even existence meant in the wider tapestry of post-revolution China and Taiwan, and why her existence and work meant the the global politics of her life. It's also taught me more about Taiwan than I'd previously known and I'm really grateful for it! It's also incredibly well-written and moves like a dream. If you want a fun read that will teach you a whole lot of stuff while also giving you a good time, this is a contender.

4. Murder by Memory by Olivia White

Speaking of fun reads, this is a cozy murder sci-fi short novella. There's murder, there's knitting envy, there's a gay idiot nephew, there's a memory library and there's an elderly (in spirit) nosy lady detective. This is a fun delight and, apparently, the first in a series. That said, it's also an excellent, finished read if series are not your thing. I had a delightful afternoon with it where I cuddled my girls, drank some tea, and had a very nice time.

5. Ace: What Asexuality Reveals About Desire, Society, and the Meaning of Sex by Angela Chen

I finally picked this up and was really glad I did. This is a book that has been banging around for a while and the language I regularly see used is that it's a good "introduction" to the concept of asexuality. And that it's asexuality 101. Which, yes, that is part of the book. But what surprised me and made me really glad that I picked this up is the way it brings up thinking about allosexuals and sex and sexuality in a broader context. And maybe it's just my ace ass not picking at those ideas more (or not realizing I should), but this actually gave me a lot to think about when it comes to my assumptions and thoughts regarding sexuality in general. I also really appreciated the author's framing. Specifically that she frames the work around her own experience as an ace person and uses that to illustrate that she has so much to learn and her own biases and assumptions to confront. Basically, societal conditioning runs deep and everyone (including the person writing the book on it!) needs to be vigilant about examining it.

Honorable Mentions: Pictures at a Revolution: Five Movies and the Birth of the New Hollywood by Mark Harris, Cher: The Memoir, Part 1, and Cocaine & Rhinestones: A History of George Jones and Tammy Wynette by Tyler Mahan Coe.

Anyway! Just had some fun getting my feelings out! And the only one of these I have not read in audiobook form is Murder by Memory. Thumbs up on all the readers!

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

This made me CACKLE and yes, I ordered a tin.

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

Dimension 20: Time Quangle Episode 3: A Candied Coup

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

i’m curious what arbitrary and specific flavors people dislike are. rb and tag a Taste you simply don’t fuck with. for flavor reasons not texture reasons. for me? i do not like elderflower or caraway for whatever reason

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

Finally listening to some Orville Peck.

I am honestly sad The Bill never got to listen to any of his stuff (that I know of) because he'd enjoy the hell out of his music.

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

I think the funniest thing that's happened to me in months was when I was squee-dumping on @mylittleredgirl about how much I enjoyed 9-1-1 and, when describing it as "The gay firefighter show where Angela Bassett gets a bag while making out with Peter Krause(TM)", I could feel her double-take from five states away when she replied "...ANGELA BASSETT IS ON THAT SHOW?"

Apparently y'all put Buck and Eddie standing next to each other (and being Like That, which I will confirm, they are Like That) on her dash so much Angela Bassett's lead star status didn't get communicated.

I love you, Tumblr people who are excited about men legit being in a work situationship that is justified in canon, but I also really need y'all to remember the subtitled name of the show is actually "The gay firefighter show where Angela Bassett gets a bag." Preferably while making out with Peter Krause*.

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

Playlist shuffle!

@bethanyactually and @ponyregrets both just did this and I love nothing more than inflicting my musical taste on unsuspecting mutuals.

Note: I don't actually make playlists and just use the shuffle feature on whatever mp3 device I am using (bless u, busted iPod from 2011). Raw dog your musical experience and embrace joy, ig.

All Turn to Fire pt1 - The Builders and the Butchers.

Under the Influence - Elle King

Coal Mine Fall (Live) - The Builders and the Butchers

New Year's Day - U2

Way Down We Go - Kaleo

China - Tori Amos

Let The Music Play - Shannon

Glass Slipper - The Dresden Dolls

Submarines - The Lumineers

On My Way - Foxes

[bitchwhoyoukiddin]

Eight months later and the fucker requires regular pop/cracking so that the ankle will settle correctly and allow me to walk without pain. To get it to do that, I have to stretch it for ~10 minutes in a particular way.

FUCK JOINTS

Guess who stepped on concrete wrong and hyperextended her ankle?