Skiing! (2)

Jan. 7th, 2026 07:18 pm
lesbocannibal: (Default)
[personal profile] lesbocannibal
Ough I love skiing! I don't like talking about it much because I feel like Upper Middle Class Final Boss and I'm smart enough to shut up about it when I do rich people shit. But boyfriends have been telling me that skiing is Cool and I should talk more about it. So. Skiing.

Yes I am actually a hobby skiier, like I own equipment and have been skiing at a lot of different mountains in different states, although there's places with better snow I still want to cross off my list. I've been doing it since I was a kid, so it was really nostalgic for me to go back after manyyyy years of not skiing. I used to be hardcore about it in middle/high school, but fell off around when I started university. But I'd really love to ACTUALLY get back into it. Yesterday, I skiied my first black diamond trail in like, 6 years or something :) It was a little bit of a struggle since I was rusty and the conditions were a bit icier than I wanted. I did also wipe out at least once on the black trail + definitely a couple other times on blue trails... but man, I was having FUN! The past couple of times I went skiing, I was really taking it slow on greens and trying to enjoy the scenery more than anything, but yesterday I actually broke a sweat for the first time in a while and rediscovered that oh my god I LOVE going FAST!!! I collapsed on the hotel couch afterward lol. Even though I was rusty, I still think I was pretty good this go-around. I've definitely improved my parallel turns. 

I ended up with a huge bruise on like the side of my shin from when I fell and my leg collided with my opposite ski. Plus I just have bruises on my shins from pressing against my ski boots. My boots are a little small, which makes sense since I've had them since like. I don't know. Middle school??? So it's not out of the question that my feet would've grown. I think my helmet is also still a youth size and a bigger one would also be nice. Then again, will I even go skiing enough to warrant all new equipment????? I can probably trade in my current stuff to offset the cost, but. Man.

Anyway I drew my oc/sona (her name is just "cringe sickgirl") skiing... please let this image work, lol. I tried to make it look like she could conceivably be on the slopes, so she's wearing a helmet and has goggles and her hair is in unobtrusive twin braids as opposed to giant twintails like she usually has. Although I clearly took artistic liberties too. 

PSA to US people

Jan. 7th, 2026 01:06 pm
rydra_wong: Lee Miller photo showing two women wearing metal fire masks in England during WWII. (Default)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
As well as Venezuela, I think you might want to start phoning your representatives and screaming about how very much you do not think the US should invade and occupy Greenland.

I don't know how it's being reported on in the US, but it's looking extremely imminent over here:

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/06/trump-greenland-control-us-military
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/jan/07/france-and-allies-discuss-possible-response-to-donald-trump-us-invasion-of-greenland
https://news.sky.com/story/trump-is-likely-gambling-he-could-get-away-with-greenland-grab-as-nato-needs-us-more-than-he-needs-it-13491116

Supporting trans rights in the UK

Jan. 3rd, 2026 04:10 pm
rydra_wong: Lee Miller photo showing two women wearing metal fire masks in England during WWII. (Default)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
Because I happen to have a bit of RL knowledge and pulled this list together in a comment elsewhere.

In no order, and this is in no way intended to be comprehensive (if you've got other suggestions, please add them in the comments), but these are groups who I know are doing good work:

TransActual -- they've been taking the lead on campaigning after the Supreme Court ruling and are extremely on the ball: https://transactual.org.uk/

Gendered Intelligence -- support primarily focused on children and young people (up to 25), doing lifesaving work as so many trans kids and teens in the UK are really suffering right now, with the puberty blockers ban and also the overwhelming sense that the entire country hates them: https://genderedintelligence.co.uk/

The Trans Legal Clinic -- new organization providing free legal help for trans people in the UK; I know someone doing third-sector work who's met them and was incredibly impressed by them: https://www.translegalclinic.com

The Trans Safety Network -- a tiny group of people doing formidable investigative work: https://transsafety.network/

The Trans+ Solidarity Alliance -- impressively-organized political lobbying and briefing of MPs, again I think being done by a tiny group of people: https://www.transsolidarityalliance.com/

Not trans-led or trans-specific (unlike all the others I've linked), but the Good Law Project are fighting a bunch of the key legal cases at the moment, and they are working closely with trans-led groups: https://goodlawproject.org

They're much bigger and better-funded, though, so you might wish to send donations to the smaller groups for whom it'll make a lot more difference.

Also, if you're thinking of donating, some of these are legally charities (e.g. Gendered Intelligence) and some aren't because they're too "political" and are thus registered as CICs or suchlike (this is just relevant in terms of being able to use Gift Aid etc.).

Trans+ Solidarity Alliance and TransActual also have good info and advice on emailing your MP (including template letters), if you have the time/spoons free at some point.
pegkerr: (candle)
[personal profile] pegkerr
Christmas itself was pretty quiet for me. Delia was in Eau Claire with her fiancé's family, and the Onas gathered with Alona's family. They invited Eric and me to join them, but Eric wanted to keep things low-key because he was still recovering from his surgery. So I made roast duck for the two of us on Christmas Eve:



any my traditional Christmas breakfast on Christmas morning:



In my family, however, Christmas isn't over on the 26th of December. My extended family gathers between Christmas and New Year's day:



My brother, who lives in New York, has been faithfully bringing his entire family out for family week for decades. We gather in various configurations: some go out to movies. Some of my nephews and nieces went to one of my nephew's house to get a lesson in throwing pottery. We gathered with my mom for lunch one day in the party room of her assisted living facility. We gathered in the evenings to eat hors d'ouevres, cook food together, and play games. And as always, we gathered at my sister Cindy's house on New Year's Eve and spent the day together, feasting on Chinese take out and sharing memories. All of the nieces and nephews had stories to tell of their memories of family week. My brother-in-law remarked how splendid it is to see the rich and deep relationships that the cousins share with one another, which have been nurtured by our family traditions of getting together every year to enjoy one another's company.

This year we had the additional joy of two new babies joining the festivities. M is a genuine extrovert who obviously had a wonderful time flirting with everyone, and when Fiona and Alone arrived each evening, there were plenty of eager volunteers to cuddle with her.

We genuinely enjoy each other.

I hope you all had as splendid a holiday as my family and I did.

This is my last collage of the year, but I intend to continue next year.

Image description: Top: members of a family, men and women, smile at the camera. Below: a table covered with a red tablecloth set for Christmas breakfast. Right: an older woman holding a walker (Peg's mom) stands beside a younger woman (Peg). Lower right corner: four young woman smile. Left corner: a silver candlestick with a gold lit candle with two glittering snowflake brooches.

Christmas

52 Christmas

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Snowflake Challenge 2026: 1

Jan. 1st, 2026 07:40 pm
musyc: Close-up photo of black cat's face (Cats: Black cat face)
[personal profile] musyc
Snowflake Challenge: A mug of coffee or hot chocolate with a snowflake shaped gingerbread cookie perched on the rim sits nestled amidst a softly bunched blanket. A few dried orange slices sit next to it.

The icebreaker challenge!

*waves* Once again, I started off last year with a fairly regular posting and then disappeared for a few months. Really, it's what I do. I've declared a clean slate, starting fresh, etc and so forth.

Nothing's really changed in my online/fannish life since last year. Oh, except this past December was the final year of D/Hr Advent. I decided that fifteen years was a very good run for a fest, and it was time to end it. Things went well, and a lot of people said some very nice things to me about it, which made me a little teary-happy.

In personal news, I am now on both an anti-anxiety med (citalopram) and an ADHD med (atomoxetine). The citalopram has done great things for the anxiety, and I'm very satisfied with the results of it. For one example, my blood pressure was only a few points away from normal the last time I was at the dentist. For somebody who normally runs 20 points higher in a medical office (white coat syndrome!), that's practically a miracle.

I'm not especially pleased with the atomoxetine, but I assume the anxiety is most likely why my NP wanted to try me on a non-stimulant first. It hasn't really helped with any executive function, but I told myself to try it for at least four months. We're creeping up on that at the end of January, so I'll be talking to her again.

Otherwise, I did finish my personal goal of reading books last year, which was excellent! Final recap posting to come.

Cats are all doing well - Gidget was diagnosed with high thyroid and is now on medication, and Cinders had to have a few teeth removed - including one of her fangs, which has just made her resemble Toothless even more. XD Cecil is getting very spoiled about indoor life, even though he insists he is still a stray and not domesticated. Unless you have rotisserie chicken. XD And Maggie is diagnosis: fat. The youngest cat is most definitely the heaviest.

Looking forward to diving back into DW!

This year

Dec. 31st, 2025 04:42 pm
rydra_wong: Lee Miller photo showing two women wearing metal fire masks in England during WWII. (Default)
[personal profile] rydra_wong
* I supported one of my best friends who was in an abusive relationship, which got extremely scary before the end.

* I finished and posted the first fanfic I've written since the Epic Psychiatric Misadventures 16 years ago which reduced my brain to scorched earth, and I think it's one of the two best things I've ever written:

a word you've never understood (Prophet, post-canon, Adam/Rao, 9143 words)

* I started playing Dark Souls, and I beat Ornstein and Smough.

* I did some RL stuff which I can't talk about here without doxxing myself, but which was my tiny contribution to trying to make the UK suck less.

* I discovered I could go for a "run" (very slow run-walk intervals) ending up by a spot in a brook where I could quickly change and dunk myself, and this enabled the dunking to be viable much later into the year than you might think (context: my brain's idiosyncrasies means that a few minutes of cold water immersion is FREE DOPAMINE, so this is the bribe for the "run").

Other than that, the year's been a shitshow of injury, endless IC flare-ups and consequent pain and sleep deprivation, endless exhaustion, endless terror and worry about my friend, and the inevitable slide into depression by the end of the year as a result of all the aforementioned stressors. Hopefully it will be transient, and my meds cocktail and many many years of practice will suffice to haul me out.

sometimes dutifully falling and getting out, with perfect fortitude, saying “look at the skill and spirit with which I rise from that which resembles the grave but isn’t!”.

It's been a shitty year. I lived.

2025 52 Card Project: Week 51: Rest

Dec. 26th, 2025 12:47 pm
pegkerr: (Deep roots are not reached by the frost)
[personal profile] pegkerr
Eric had surgery last Friday and needed to have someone accompany him and stay with him for twenty-four hours afterward. The aftercare turned out to be a bit more intense than expected afterward, and so I ended up staying at his place all weekend to assist him.

We were very quiet together. It occurred to me on Sunday, as we sat together in his living room, drinking coffee and looking out the living room window at the winter landscape, that it was the winter Solstice. A year ago on the winter Solstice, I was hosting a solstice party. If I had been at home, I would have lit all my candles to mark the day. Being with him on that day as he was recovering seemed fitting.

The winter solstice is a time for deep rest and healing, for reflection and resilience.

He is feeling much better now and counts the surgery as a success.

Image description: A window with a winter view outside. A pair of feet clad in red and white striped socks are propped up on the windowsill beside a red mug with a steaming hot beverage. A hand holding a couple of pills hovers above the feet.

Rest

51 Rest

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