#& ​happy 10am on a tuesday

[masquenoire]

First day at my new job was great.

[natashaslittlegirl]

Romanoff's Assistant - Intoxicating

DO NOT COPY ANY OF MY WORK. MINORS DNI +18 ONLY.

Summary: you discovered Miss Maximoff's interest in you.

Boss ! Natasha Romanoff x Assistant ! Reader

Warnings: none

Natasha Romanoff's Masterlist RA Masterlist RA account Chapter IV aesthetic

Saturdays are quiet days at the office, or so it seems on your first Saturday at work. Miss Romanoff left the list of investors on your desk so you could start schedule the meetings for next week. Reviewing the names you find Wanda Maximoff, apparently your technique worked. You hope Miss Romanoff is happy. Wanda was one of those who donated and invested the most.

You walk over to Natasha's office, knocking twice to get in, waiting patiently as you hear her talking on the phone and hear her say something about you.

"You're not going out with my assistant, you're going to work with her too," who would want to go out with you? "No, I already told you no, I have to go, she is waiting at the door." and with that you hear a 'come in' to pass.

"Miss Romanoff, I'm sorry to interrupt you," you walk into her office closing the door behind you and walking over to her desk. "I wanted to know if I have to cancel all your appointments for next week to schedule the meetings with investors or do I try to accommodate both things in the agenda?"

"Don't worry, I was just talking to Wanda," so Miss Maximoff is the person who wants to go out with you, interesting "try to schedule both things on the agenda, if you see that it's too much you can pass some meetings of the investors who have less invested for the other week, understood?"

"Yes, Miss Romanoff. Miss Maximoff is the person who invested the most here, do you prefer that I call her for the first meeting?"

"Yes, and thank you."

"Thank you for what, Miss Romanoff?

"Because you convinced her, Wanda is a very difficult person to convince, I tried everything and you convinced her in one night, I see that you did your job perfectly."

"Thank you, Miss Romanoff. Do you need anything else?"

"Yes, I need more coffee please." she says holding the bridge of her nose.

"I'll be right back, Miss Romanoff."

You turn to walk out the door but every step you take you can feel Miss Romanoff's intense gaze behind you, it only stops once you close the door, you sigh and go to your wallet to take the company's card. You arrive at the cafeteria where Kate has your coffees ready. You sent her a message while you were in the elevator, advantages of being friends with a barista.

"Hello again, my beautiful barista."YouI greet her and she winks at you.

"Hello, my favorite customer, coffee again?" She passes you the drnks and you pass her the card.

"Yes, I have so much to tell you, when I get off work at noon I'll come so we can have lunch together."

"Okay, I'll wait for you to tell me all the gossip." she laughed and you walked back to the building. Once on the 27th floor, you hand Miss Romanoff her coffee and head back to your desk. You start moving her patients appointments as you also call investors, save the best for last, Miss Maximoff. You dial the number on the phone and wait for her to answer.

"Yes?" she says from the other side of the line with her angelic voice.

"Miss Maximoff? This is Y/N Y/L/N from Romanoff's company."

"Oh! Y/N dear, yes, what do you need?"

"We should set up day and hour for next week for a meeting with Miss Romanoff, if that's okay with you, or we can do it when you want." You hear a giggle.

"Can it be Monday at 2pm?"

"Of course, Miss Maximoff."

"Perfect, see you Monday, darling." you can't with that nickname.

"See you later, Miss Maximoff." You hang up the phone and write down the meeting in the agenda, you go back to Natasha's office to inform her how her next week turned out.

"Monday 2pm meeting with Miss Maximoff, Tuesday 5pm with Mr Banner and Miss Walters, Wednesday 10am with Mr Danvers and Thursday 4pm with Miss Larson. That would be it, Miss Romanoff." you leave the foil with everything written down on top of her desk for her to grab it.

"Thanks Y/N, everything is very well organized. I need you to prepare five folders with all the company information and the actions that are left for each of the meetings and one for us, is that clear?" She puts down the foil again and stares at you up and down, stopping her gaze on your legs, which are crossed and exposed, since today you are wearing a pencil skirt.

You clear my throat. "Yes, Miss Romanoff." you get up from the chair and head towards your office.

The rest of the morning passes quietly and suddenly it's time to go. You grab your stuff and head out to the cafe again. When Kate sees you arrive she tells you to wait for the last customers to leave so she can close the shop. Once closed, you both go out and go to the same Italian restaurant the other day, they have delicious food. You sit at that table by the window and as you wait for our food you start to tell Kate everything, from James dropping you off at the event to him dropping you off at your apartment again.

"Oh my god, Y/N, you were lucky that other people didn't recognize you, well didn't try to talk to you at least."

"yeah, that was the only thing I could think!"

"So, Miss Maximoff, huh? What happened to your crush on Natasha?"

"Natasha will never notice me." It wasn't something that worried you either, you was there to work, not to find a partner. Or that's what you tried to convince yourself to.

The waiter interrupts your conversation to bring the dishes, you ordered a chicken with mushroom sauce and puree, Kate ordered a vegetarian lasagna and white wine for both of you.

"Also, today I heard Miss Romanoff talking on the phone, she said 'you're not going out with my assistant, you're going to work with her too' and then she excused herself saying that I was waiting for her at the door and she hang up."

"And what does that have to do with Maximoff?" she said as she popped a piece of food into her mouth.

"Wait, that's where I'm going! It was Wanda who was talking to Miss Romanoff on the phone." Kate was taking a sip of her wine when you told her this and she spit it all out. "Kate! You're making us embarrassed"

"Sorry, I just didn't expect that, Y/N/N. Oh my god you have to use this to your advantage and I'm going to help you."

"And what could I get out of this?" You continue eating while Kate explains to you that you can use Wanda's interest in you to bring out Natasha's interest in you as well. "Kate, you're crazy, Natasha has no interest in me, I already told you!"

"She does, and she showed it when she saw you talking to that waitress, what was her name, Kira?"

"Kara, and no, Natasha showed nothing but anger at me being distracted instead of doing my job."

"Say what you want, but she was jealous and I'll prove my point to you if you do exactly what I say."

"Yeah, whatever, let's keep eating."

You two talked about random topics until you finished your meals, you said goodbye to Kate and went straight to your apartment. You lay down for a while with Lena and accidentally fell asleep. You woke up from hear the ringtone on your phone, who would call you on a Saturday at 8pm? how much did you sleep? You grab your phone seeing the person responsible for waking you up, Natasha, what?

"Yes, Miss Romanoff?" You say with a raspy voice from just getting up and hear a groan from her.

"I need you in the office, now."

"I'm coming, Miss Romanoff." what the hell does she want?

Natasha's pov

On Saturdays I always work after everyone leaves, doing paperwork, reviewing my patient's cases, the boring stuff.

This morning I was talking to Wanda on the phone, we've known each other since we went to college, she was my roommate during those years and some casual sex on those long nights of study.

We both graduated with honors, we formed our companies and continue with our friendship, in these years I wanted Wanda to associate with me so that the two companies grow to the maximum of it, but she never accepted.

I know her tastes, we have exactly the same in almost everything, clothes, decisions, cars and especially women. That's why I knew that Y/N could convince her, and she did. But now I have a little problem, and that is that Wanda wants to go out with her, she can't and I won't allow it either. I remember our call earlier today when he asked for your phone number.

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your call, my dearest friend?"

"Hello, my dear, I need you to do me a favor, please."

"What do you need, Wanda?"

"Could you give me Y/N's phone number?"

"This is a joke? You know I don't like jokes." I roll my eyes up.

"It's not a joke, honey, I really want her phone number to ask her out."

"You want to go out with her? You talked to her, like, twenty minutes."

"So? She intrigues me,  you know my taste, that's why you sent her to convince me and she did."

"Nope."

"Why?" she said panting.

"Because I say so," I take a deep breath and see Y/N knock on the door to enter "You're not going out with my assistant, you're going to work with her too."

"You want her for yourself, don't you? Come on Natasha, give me her number, please."

"No, I already told you no, I have to go, she is waiting at the door."

"Tell her I said 'hi'." I hang up and roll my eyes again. She doesn't take no for an answer.

Anyways, I continue with my paperwork, thinking about Wanda and Y/N irritates me, same as when I saw her talking to that waitress.

It's already 8pm and I've been looking for the folders I asked Y/N to make for the meetings for over an hour, but I can't find them. I decide to call her to ask where she left them.

"Yes, Miss Romanoff?" She answers my call with a raspy voice and I can only let out a groan.

"I need you in the office, now." I don't know where that came from.

"I'm coming now, Miss Romanoff."

A few minutes go by and I regret it but it's already late, Y/N must be coming by now. Why did I say that? I need to think more before I speak. The building is closed, and I have to go down to open it for her, so I take the key and go to the elevator. Once at the door, I see her walking in the same clothes as today, that skirt suits her so well.

She enters the building and we head towards the 27th floor, the air becomes heavy, thinking about Wanda and her, I let out a groan and Y/N asks if I'm okay, I don't answer and just wait for us to get to the office .

"What do you need me for, Miss Romanoff?" if she only knew what she does to me when she calls me that.

"Where did you leave the folders for the meetings, I spent more than two hours looking for them." I say dryly.

"Oh, excuse me, Miss Romanoff, they're on my desk, do you want me to bring them to you?"

"Yes, now."

She rushes out of my office and I watch as she bends down to look for the folders, oh god. She comes back with the five folders in her arms and leaves them in a pile on my desk.

"Sit," she sits down and crosses her legs, I can't help but look at them "I'm going to go over them, to see if you need to correct anything." I sit down too and grab the first folder.

"Yes, Miss Romanoff, do you need me to get you something, coffee, water, something to eat?" she asks attentively, to which I just shake my head.

"No thanks."

She nods and I keep going page by page, everything is detailed to perfection, I'm still irritated at the thought of my best friend wanting to invite her out.

"Come here, Y/N" I look up and chatch her staring at me, I see how she gets up from her chair to position herself next to me "I think I haven't told you, but if you're going to do your job I want it perfect" she nodded at me "see, this?" I point to the page and she leans in a little to get a better look. 

"Come closer" but the one with the best view is me, seeing her red lace bra through the undone buttons of her shirt.

"Yes, Miss Romanoff, do you want me to rewrite it?" she turns her head towards me and sees me looking at her cleavage, I pretend that nothing is happening and I look back at her eyes, I see how she blushes.

"You'll do it here so I can correct you if you're wrong again, understood?"

"Yes, Miss Romanoff." she take the folder in her hands and goes back to the chair in front of me, I hand her a blank paper and a pen so she can write it all again.  It takes half an hour to redo the entire page. She finishes writing and hands it to me to look at it, slooking at me expectantly while I read determinedly, it's perfect.

"Get up and come here," she does what I say and stands next to me again, I push her lower back so she ends lean to the page in the desk, I hear her just lets a sigh escape between her lips.

"What's wrong now, Miss Romanoff?"

"Nothing, it's perfect," I hear her swallow and got back up "You can go now. Monday I want you to come in earlier and put this on the computer to add to the folders, is that clear?" I say with authority and she nods.

"Yes, Miss Romanoff." I grab my stuff as she turns around and stare at her hips as they sway from side to side, I walk out after her and go into the elevator.

"I saw that you came walking, and it's already late, I'm taking you home." She looks at me surprised.

"Oh no, that's fine, Miss Romanoff, I can walk."

"I wasn't asking you, Y/N, I'm telling you," the elevator doors open, "walk."

"Yes, Miss Romanoff."

Y/N follows me like a little puppy to the building's garage which is now empty, only my Corvette is there. I unlock my door and climb in, opening the door from the inside for her to enter. 

The car fills with her scent and it's intoxicating, in a good way.

I touch the key ring for the gate to open and once we are in the street I start driving to her apartment, it's not that far from the building but it's late and it's also cold for a walk.

I casually observe her, she is looking out the window at the street lights. I look at her thighs too and I would like to put my hand on them just like I did at the event last night. I park in front of the door of her building, she thanks me and gets out of the car, I make sure she gets in and I head to my house.

I need to take a cold shower after all the thoughts that went through my head while thinking about her. It doesn't work as I expected and ended up going to sleep thinking about my assistant.

Previous Chapter / Next Chapter

[updatingranboo]

outline for everything* we know about ranboo's project subathon so far:

all streams will be starting around 10am pst/1pm est/6pm gmt! each will go 10-12 hours (some may be closer to 8-10 if ranboo has things they need to do off stream (like work on the founders cut)), depending on the timer number. ranboo will be ending stream to sleep because they don't want a bunch of time to be wasted with nothing happening!

use the tag "#ranbathon 2024" for clips and funny liveblogging!!

it will be a mix of irl with facecam and vtuber!

merch sales as well as subs and bits will be going to the subathon timer. some will also be going to charity :D

the subathon is meant to bring the community together, please be kind and welcoming to each other <3 BE SILLY!!

plans for each day: (things may change days depending)

wednesday 12/13:

-merch releases at ranboo.fashion -irl painting for the particles 4 palestine top donor -possible splatoon lobby (ranboo mentioned doing it early in the subathon, may not be this day) -possibly more game lobbies (also not finalized, ranboo said when they have lobbies they'll post them)

thursday 12/14:

-fnaf help wanted 2 marathon

friday 12/15:

-dnd oneshot dm'd by ranboo, with players charlie slimecicle, aimsey, and cellbit

saturday 12/16:

-possible start to omori playthrough

sunday 12/17:

-continuing omori most likely

monday 12/18:

-possibly finishing omori -indie horror games (possibly a different day, ranboo didn't mention when this would be)

tuesday 12/19:

-possibly reacting to the 8 hour long fnaf lore youtube video (with possible guest/s) (also could be a different day, ranboo said it would be "a few days after" the fnaf help wanted marathon)

wednesday 12/20:

-bonus day, may not be full 10-12 hrs depending on timer -"ranboo's walkathon" (walking on a treadmill until stream ends) ?

Goals:

-aimsey cuts ranboo's hair (will be happening early in the subathon) -chat decides what ranboo tweets -releasing clips of the founders cut -tattoo -"face reveal" -frisbee photo (definitive last goal) -and more that are surprises!

*all of this is subject to change depending but these are things that are hopefully happening!! there are lots of other things that will be filling in time that either haven't been said or im forgetting LMAO. happy boobing!!!

[patientlibrarian]

Tuesday September 3 - Tank Top Day is back!

Starting off with "the prowl":

and continuing with:

is it me or is it getting hot in here?!

and then:

gif by Patient Librarian

sorry about the quality of the video in this one. I just do have a 'thing' about the biceps.

After the apparent 'success' of the early commercial featuring Goran that I posted yesterday, here's another:

The quality is a bit rough but his face and his expression are wonderful! This one is obviously a bit later than the previous as his hair is darker. It was posted 9 years ago by El gyn on YouTube.

Hello everyone, everywhere, hope your day goes as you would wish it to.

I post every day, usually before 10am GMT (UK time) so please join me again.

Shamelessly self-promoting my latest stories on AO3 to anyone new who has found me. "Anyone for Tennis? (57886015) a ficlit in response to the Battleship Garcy 'Olympics' challenge, and "RESCUE Because as much as you need us - we need you more" (57487684) a multi-chapter story on Flynn's rescue from prison.' I only write "happy Garcy". Coming up very soon will be a response to the Battleship Garcy "Happy Birthday Garcia Flynn" challenge.

[savethegrishaverse]

For our next twitter party we want to wish the happiest of happy birthdays to our beloved Darkling actor Ben Barnes using the tag #HappyBirthdayBen! Come prepared with your best tweets, questions, comments, gifs, memes, and more. Let's make some noise! 🗣️

#SaveShadowAndBone and #SixOfCrowsSpinoff TWEETING PARTY 8/20 at 12PM! Come check it out here!

Remember to:

Only use three hashtags.

Enjoy and be engaging with your tweets! Keep sharing! Timezones under read more.

If you cannot attend, you can always schedule tweets ahead of time on desktop in order to help out still!

ALL TIMEZONES: Tuesday, Aug 20: 9am PST 10am MST 11am CST 12pm EST 2pm -03 5pm GMT 6pm CET 8pm MSK 9pm +04 10:30pm IST

Wednesday, Aug 21: 1am CST 2am JST 4am AEST 6am NZST

[ckhalloween]

THE MONSTER HAS BEEN DEFEATED

THE VILLAIN IS DEAD AND BURIED

THE STORY IS OVER...

BUT WAIT...

YOU THOUGHT COBRA KAI WAS REALLY DEAD?

the cliffhanger at the end of the movie. the promise of more to come. the looming never-ending nightmare sequels (of varying quality):

COBRA KAI LIVES: AN EMPTY GRAVE

For our final special prompt we are inviting Any Halloween Related Art related to Cobra Kai and/or The Karate Kid.

Didn't feel like that fic/fanart/edit/playlist/meta/etc you were creating quite fit any of this year's prompts? Still got that half-finished piece from last year? Got a last-minute draft or drabble you'd love to do?

The final weekend of Spooky Month up to and including Tuesday 31st, feel free to tag @ckhalloween23 with your various monsters, ghouls, psychological torments, and halloween fluff

You still have a couple of days to upload your Ghosts, and we welcome late entries for the previous weeks' prompts as well.

You can make fanart, fic, edits, playlists, meta and rambles, drabbles, and anything else you desire. Remember to tag it #ckhalloween23

If you're uploading to AO3, please add them to our collection or anonymous collection

Check out our FAQ and if you have any further questions, feel free to ask

ANOTHER REMINDER THAT WE WILL BE WATCHING THIS YEAR'S FINAL MOVIE BEETLEJUICE TOMORROW AT 10AM (EST) AND 9PM (EST) SO KEEP AN EYE OUT FOR MORE INFORMATION!!!

Prompt art was created by @desolateice

Main header and icon created by @hunkydorkling

Happy Halloween🎃🐍🥋

and remember...

[cuddlyfriendheaven]

On Tuesday, 5th March 2024 at 10am, I got top surgery!!! I’m so, so happy :’) here is my wonderful kitty cat who joined me and supported my though it! Oh, and of course my husband, and my family, who are incredibly supportive! 🥰 here he is!

My surgeon was absolutely amazing, and I know my incisions are going to be better than the embroidery I tried! 🥰

There’ll be no more updates until I’m healed! I’m excited to update once I’m better :D

[vintagelacerosette]

Tag game catch up ✨

I was tagged by these magnificent sweet peas Macy @celestialmickey Evie @energievie Ling @lingy910y Laurel @lupeloto Deena @suzy-queued Vey @look-i-love-u Emmet @grossmickey Deanna @deedala Ajax @transmickey Cross @crossmydna Melodie @sirrudo Nosho @creepkinginc Jay @surviving-maybe Harvey @mikhailoisbaby Paola @mishervellous Sisi @sisitrip Donna @sleepyfacetoughguy Kat @milkmaidovich Lyds @ardent-fox Lemon @depressedstressedlemonzest Carolie @shinygalaxyperson Ri @tanktopgallavich Jade @jademickian Michelle @mmmichyyy Arrow @arrowflier Meagan @softmick @solaq Anna @rereadanon Julia @juliakayyy Cherry @too-schoolforcool

Thanks yall 🥰

This weeks Tag game Tuesday

Name: Shermyn

Whereabouts in the world are you? Sydneeeey

Do you have any pets? My Roxy pup

What do you do for work? DMV but we actually help y'all lol

Favourite fruit? Rock melon or as mericans like to say cantaloupe 🍈

A pet peeve of yours: Music or vid in public places like doctor waiting room or in trains

Are you a fast walker or a slow walker? As many have said, bc of short legs it looks fast, but I'm just tryna catch up 😅

How do you usually wear your hair? Down & flowing & I try to make it fun with hair bows or fun clips 💕

Sunny days or rainy days? Sunny days ☀️

What time do you usually go to bed? 11pm-1am

What time do you usually wake up? Sunrise clock is at 6am but I go back to sleep depending on how late i sleep lol so 7am-8am. 9am-10am on days off lol

if you were a cartoon character, what would be your everyday outfit? My birthday dress but in the cartoon my outfit is magic so it can turn whatever I want it to be depending on the occasion but keeping them colours 🩷🩵💜 for example if I needed a business outfit it would turn into a dashing 3 piece suit 💖

Something you'd like to learn: How to write fic & to crochet

and finally, tell me something that made you happy recently: All the birthday messages from y'all (thank you) & seeing my friends for my birthday 🎂💕

Last week's tag game Tuesday✨️

Name: Myn

Age: 27

Pronouns: she/they

Your sun sign, MBTI type, and enneagram type (google them if you’re not sure!): Leo, & Nines (ok screaming bc this was the first time i did thay & can i say accuracy wtf 😭)

How tall are you? 151cm/4"11 aka cute sized by

What colour are your eyes? Dark brown

The last time you saw a movie in theaters (bonus: what was it?): Barbie movie!! It was terrific & hilarious (if i did this one time the answer wouda been Birds of Prey haha great Margot films)

Favourite dessert: Love all dessert rn I'm craving for crepes 😋

Outer space or the ocean? Now I woulda said ocean before but just Good Omens season 2 means me want outta space 🚀

You’re in a McDonald’s drive thru, what are you ordering? 10 pack nugget meal with medium strawberry milkshake & sweet & sour sauce for the nugs

Are you good with plants? Probs not bought some basil & my dad ended up take care of it idk if they still alive 🥲

Would your current self and high school self get along? Sure but she'd berate me asking wth girl thought you'd be an animater 😅

A food you can’t stand:

Something you’d do if money were no object: Have an lavish retreat trip somewhere exciting to meet all the you amazing gallabitches in the fandom, where we can have fanfic writing sessions, craft sessions & even have a meet & greet with Cam & Noel. Oh my! Am I making a dashcon for gallavich? 😆

The last app you opened on your phone: Amazon prime bc of Good Omens s2

and finally, compliment yourself! You are incredibly resilient, creative & full of light. 💖

Picrew

Concert ABC

Five comfort characters

1. Mickey Milkovich from Shameless

2. Lacus Clyne from Gundam Seed

3. Kaylee Frye from Firefly

4. Wylan Hendricks from Shadow & Bone

5. Brooke Davis from One Tree Hill

List five songs that someone else introduced me to that have made their way into my regular rotation

Last line written of fic

“Ok! Small Gallaghers, it's time to get moving and into the car, or I'll be getting chatty kathy up my as again” A familiar voice cuts through the tender moment and causes Ian to shoot up like he’s been electrocuted with Liam still in his arms.

(Ngl i haven't touched my fics in forever 😅)

Fanfic trope tier list

[moonlight26posts-blog]

In Calvert County, MD: 🆘 Urgent Rescue Needed for Hand Stand! 🆘 - Calvert County Animal Shelter - Maryland.

We are reaching out with an urgent plea for 6 month old Hand Stand who has been in the shelter for a whopping 38 days! This brave pup have not only survived Parvo but has shown incredible resilience and strength. A shelter is no place for her to grow up, especially when the loud and chaotic environment is taking a toll on her.

If you can foster Hand Stand for a rescue and save her life, please email foster@charlietotherescue.org and we can contact local rescues to help!

This sweet pup is struggling with the shelter's noise and chaos. Hand Stand needs a loving home where she can receive the care, guidance, and stability she deserves.

This puppy already overcome the odds by surviving Parvo, but now she needs immediate rescue placement, fosters or adopters who can provide the love or forever home she needs.

Please contact us as soon as possible if you can adopt or rescue Hand Stand. Your support will transform her life and give her the chance to grow up happy and healthy.

She is altered, up to date on age appropriate vaccinations and heartworm negative.



We are operating extremely over capacity!! Even pulling one dog would save a life!

The puppies and many other dogs in need are available and can be seen on our website www.calvertcountyanimalshelter.com.

Jamie Hash

Volunteer and Rescue Coordinator

jamie.hash@calvertcountymd.gov

410-535-7387

Rescue Pick-Up Hours:

Monday – Saturday from 10am – 4pm

Adoption Hours:

Tuesday - Saturday from 10am - 4pm

5055 Hallowing Point Rd. Prince Frederick, MD 20678

Linda L. Kelley Animal Shelter

[fletchernetwork]

findingxfletcher: US adding you to the roster for our global In Search Of The Antidote tour in 2024. so happy to be back on the stage and traveling across the country to see your faces singing back these songs. i have dreamt my entire life of playing some of these venues. i graduated at Radio City and used to live down the street from the Greek and have seen so many favorite artists there. little cari is bugging that fletcher will see you there in the fall. tickets on sale next friday march 22nd at 10am local time (same day the album drops ❤️‍🔥) if you want early access through the presale on tuesday, text ANTIDOTE to 732-605-5362

[nancypullen]

Thursday

Howdy do. It's Thursday here in Dullsville and I've decided to go full steam ahead with fall decor. Why not? Just gonna' do what makes me happy and maybe Mother Nature will see it and usher in some true autumn weather. We've had some really pleasant days lately, it was actually FIFTY degrees on Tuesday morning! I think our high today is 76 which is just fine with me. A little rain wouldn't hurt, but I feel like that's asking too much. I'll just be content that the brutal summer heat seems to have moved on. So....FALL! Remember the candlesticks I was going to paint and distress? I'm building a centerpiece around them, not sure where it's headed yet but I like the before and after.

That's the dollar store pumpkin I covered with napkins, and the little $1 pumpkin stack got some fresh paint. Easy and cheap! Tonight I'm headed to The Foundry for a mosaic class. I've taken these mosaic classes a couple of times before, it's pretty straight forward - you're basically just paying to use the supplies. She always has boxes of tile, glass, china, and of course the nippers to cut it all. The instructor is super sweet, so it'll be fun to create and chat. Tonight's class will make a 14x5 house number or welcome sign. This is the example given.

I plan to make a house number with a Halloween vibe. Our house number is 504, so I can make the 5 and 4 with black tiles and make the 0 an orange pumpkin. We'll see if that works. I've never been able to get to the grouting stage in class. I always have a big plan and not enough time. I'm keeping it simple for this project, so maybe tonight is the night I finish!

Tomorrow I'm scheduled for a COVID shot at 10am. I also have a 1pm plant pick up at the arboretum. Every spring and fall they have a big native plant sale and I always buy a couple of things to support them. This fall I'm just getting some rudbeckia (Black-eyed Susan) and some blue mistflower.

It's supposed to attract bees and butterflies, crossing my fingers but not counting on it. In a quest to lure more wildlife to our yard we added yet another bird feeder. This one clamps onto the railing of the back porch and allows us to watch the birdies from the sofa. The cats are loving it too. It's been nice enough to have windows and doors open lately, so Phoebe is on duty.

Of course, the squirrels found it right away. They never miss a snack. I zoomed in with my phone to snap that from the living room.

This one too - Phoebe had him in her crosshairs.

I think a birdfeeder is better than tv. The sounds are certainly more enjoyable. The new feeder is covered in finches every day now and with the windows open it's lovely to hear their chatter. They sound like they're terrible gossips. A Caroline Wren entertained us yesterday afternoon, they have such pretty songs. Yep, that's who I am now, a crazy cat lady who looks forward to meeting new birds. I own it. I've been reading about people who develop relationships with crows, trading trinkets and stuff like that, and I've never wanted anything more in my life. When I drive between Denton and Easton (which I have to do for just about anything) and I see a crow near a corn field I want to roll down my window and scream, "Come to my house, I'll give you stuff!" Crows remember faces (so do hummingbirds!) so maybe one will land in the backyard soon and recognize me from the road. This is all normal to think about, right? Alright, time for me to go beat my hair into submission, then throw something together for Mickey to eat while I go glue mosaic tiles to a board in hopes of having a little fun. The class is 5:30 to 7:30 and I'm usually the only person who stays to help clean up, so I may be out until 8 o'clock!

Sending out tons of love, take what you need and pass it on. Stay safe, stay well. XOXO, Nancy

[aturnoftheearth]

looked at the clock and saw 10:30 and got so excited thinking “omg happy brother it’s 10am on a tuesday tuesday!!!” girl it’s thursday

[willcodehtmlforfood]

(sadly paywalled

"Mohammed Marikar’s typical commute to his office in the City of London takes three and a half hours. On a bad day, it is more than four.

The senior director at RBC Wealth Management is one of a growing breed of “super-commuters”, many of whom moved out of town during the pandemic to increase their living space in more affordable regions, and now travel long distances to their workplace for part of the week.

The proportion of commuters globally doing a journey of 90-120 minutes at least once a week has risen from 2.4 per cent in 2020 to just over 4 per cent in 2024, according to Euromonitor. Those with a commute of more than 120 minutes rose from 2.7 per cent to 3.4 per cent.

Marikar and his wife, who runs her own business, moved with their four children from Eastcote, north-west London, to north Wales in 2022. Instead of his previous daily commute of 75 minutes, Marikar gets up at 5am on a Tuesday morning and is at his desk at about 10am — working a later shift so he can overlap with colleagues in Toronto. He returns to Wales after work on Thursday. On Mondays and Fridays, he works from home.

Marikar sometimes ponders the wisdom of his move when stuck in gridlock traffic, but on balance is happy. “You notice a difference in the air. There’s a lot more we can do at the weekends with the kids.” Even when they lived in London, making it home for dinner was pretty rare.

Love Whelchel now travels to his job in New York from Miami, having moved from New Jersey. He typically spends a fortnight at home and then a week commuting. Although he is away more he says the time he does have with his family is better quality. “It’s given me some balance and focus. This has been an amazing time to spend with my teenage son. When I was commuting in New York, I barely saw him.”

Some employers are attempting to ease the financial burden on long-distance commuters beyond allowing them to work part of the week from home and offering rail season ticket loans. For Marikar, the game changer has been his company’s electric car financing arrangement paid through salary sacrifice — an increasingly popular benefit among employers — that spurred him to switch from trains, which can cost up to about £350 a week, to driving, which is just under £50. “The journey is longer. [But] I don’t need to stick to train times. If a train is [delayed] I’m not stuck.”

Adam Wyman, employment partner at law firm Travers Smith, says companies tend not to incentivise commuting but will reimburse travel and accommodation for some high performers. “Businesses that have a skills gap are looking more widely than before. They can recruit someone in another country and pay for them to come to the office where and when.” He also observes a post-pandemic trend for some companies to provide discretionary packages for staff they want to retain who are moving to other countries to be closer to family."

[mrktimes]

YOUR WEEK IN MERROCK JUNE 2 - 8, 2024

Happy pride month, Merrockites! June has kicked off with some warm temperatures and fun things happening this week. School's out for the kids, you can make some donuts, celebrate your best friend and -- it's Pride Weekend! We hope to see everyone out and about enjoying themselves.

FORECAST:

Sunday: 72°F / 54°F - mostly sunny

Monday: 70°F / 50°F - partly cloudy

Tuesday: 66°F / 50°F - mostly sunny

Wednesday: 68°F / 54°F - partly cloudy

Thursday: 65°F / 53°F - showers

Friday: 66°F / 57°F - showers

Saturday: 70°F / 56°F - sunny

BIRTHDAYS THIS WEEK:

June 4th -- Alice Zhao

June 4th -- Skylar Hartman

June 7th -- Jordan Fields

ON THE BULLETIN BOARD:

June 5th -- last day of school

June 7th -- national donut day

June 8th -- best friends day

June 8th & 9th -- PRIDE WEEKEND (ooc June 6th-10th)

LOCATION SPOTLIGHT:

PUBLIC POOL -- the public pool in the suburbs is open for the season! Along with the standard pool (complete with slides and diving boards), there's also a kiddie pool and splash pad, and plenty of space to lounge in the sun. Don't forget to check out the snack bar! Hours are 10AM to 8PM for everyone, and 8PM to 10PM for adult swim, daily.

THE FUN SPOT:

Do you plan on attending pride weekend? What do you most look forward to each year, and what does the event mean to you?

[patientlibrarian]

Tuesday September 10 - Tank Top Tuesday

OH my poor baby looks like he wants to cry!

Hello everyone, everywhere, hope your day goes as you would wish it to.

This is my entry to the Battleship Garcy "Happy Birthday Garcia Flynn" challenge: just the right size for coffee break reading.

Summary: After the downfall of Rittenhouse, Garcia and Lucy start their married life together.

================================================

I post every day, usually before 10am GMT (UK time) so please join me again. Find me on AO3 for my other stories.

[savethegrishaverse]

Happy holidays Grishaverse! No matter what you celebrate, we wanted to spend the next Twitter Party celebrating our very own #SanktNikolai! Come join us, chat with your friends, and enjoy the company as we talk all about the Rakva Crew and our favorite privateer (as well as some holiday cheer!)

#SaveShadowAndBone and #SixOfCrowsSpinoff TWEETING PARTY 12/25 at 12PM and 8PM EST! Check it out here!

Remember to:

Only use three hashtags.

Enjoy and be engaging with your tweets! Keep sharing! Timezones under read more.

If you cannot attend, you can always schedule tweets ahead of time on desktop in order to help out still!

1ST PARTY, ALL TIMEZONES:

Monday Dec 25:

9am PST

10am MST

11am CST

12pm EST

2pm -03

5pm GMT

6pm CET

8pm MSK

9pm +04

10:30pm IST

Tuesday Dec 26:

1am CST

2am JST

4am AEST

6am NZST

2ND PARTY, ALL TIMEZONES:

Monday Dec 25:

5pm PST

6pm MST

7pm CST

8pm EST

10pm -03

Tuesday Dec 26:

1am GMT

2am CET

4am MSK

5am +04

6:30am IST

9am CST

10am JST

12pm AEST

2pm NZST