![[sticky entry]](http://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/entry/sticky_entry.png){kind=small}
I love puzzles! And other DW users do, too. Here are some that have been suggested and/or recommended (in no order):
1. Exit game puzzle
2. Jigsaw puzzles
Physical puzzle brands: Re-marks, Cavallini, Galison with art by Michael Storrings, White Mountain and Ravensburger
Online jigsaw puzzles: https://thejigsawpuzzles.com/
3. Sudoku
Variant sudoku and rat maze sudoku as described on the Cracking the Cryptic Youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@CrackingTheCryptic
jigsaw sudokus (with tricky shapes)
3doku
4. The Simon Tatham collection of puzzles, 40 different puzzle games, including a nonogram game
[nonogram=picture logic puzzles in which cells in a grid must be colored or left blank according to numbers at the edges of the grid to reveal a hidden picture]called "Pattern", which contains randomly-generated nonogram puzzles from any size that the player wants.
5. Yeardle for history buffs.
6. Waffle, a word game
7. kenken= an arthimatic and logic puzzle where the objective is to fill a grid with digits so that no digit appears more than once in any row or any column. KenKen grids are divided into heavily outlined groups of cells –– often called “cages” –– and the numbers in the cells of each cage must produce a certain “target” number when combined using a specified mathematical operation (one of addition, subtraction, multiplication or division).
8. Logic puzzles at Griddlers net: https://www.griddlers.net/home
9. Quordle
10. Squaredle
11. Quad nerdle
12. Connections, which is part of the NYTimes family of games: https://www.nytimes.com/crosswords
13: the AARP also has a collection of games: https://www.aarp.org/games/category/all-games/
14. Octordle
Collage Journaling: Yoga
May. 29th, 2026 10:31 pmI am happy with this. I tried to be more mindful in my color choices and follow my YT guide more closely. These were yoga stickers on clearance at Michael's so I got them.
will the world die a little By Halina Poświatowska
Translated from the Polish By Ryan Mihaly & Karolina Zapal (short note from the translator's if you're keen to know more
czy świat umrze trochę [Polish]
will the world die a little
when I die
I watch him going going
dressed in a fox collar
I could never be
a thread in that scarf
I was always here
he wasn’t
and yet
it’s nice to think
the world will die a little
when I die
Translated from the Polish By Ryan Mihaly & Karolina Zapal (short note from the translator's if you're keen to know more
czy świat umrze trochę [Polish]
will the world die a little
when I die
I watch him going going
dressed in a fox collar
I could never be
a thread in that scarf
I was always here
he wasn’t
and yet
it’s nice to think
the world will die a little
when I die
Word: Trypophobia
May. 27th, 2026 06:34 amWednesday's word is...
...trypophobia.
Trypophobia is a condition where individuals experience strong feelings of disgust, discomfort, or fear when seeing clusters of small holes or bumps, such as those found in honeycombs, lotus seed pods, sponges, or certain fruits like strawberries and papayas. While commonly referred to as a "fear of holes," most people with trypophobia primarily feel disgust rather than true fear. The term was first coined in 2005 on an online forum and combines the Greek words “trypa” (hole) and “phobos” (fear).
...trypophobia.
Trypophobia is a condition where individuals experience strong feelings of disgust, discomfort, or fear when seeing clusters of small holes or bumps, such as those found in honeycombs, lotus seed pods, sponges, or certain fruits like strawberries and papayas. While commonly referred to as a "fear of holes," most people with trypophobia primarily feel disgust rather than true fear. The term was first coined in 2005 on an online forum and combines the Greek words “trypa” (hole) and “phobos” (fear).
All of Agatha: the final cases
May. 25th, 2026 05:17 pmThis is the final entry in a series about my quest to read all of Agatha Christie's works in UK publication order. It was begun in January 2021 and ended in May 2026.
It's taken me five years but here I am: the final cases.
Postern of Fate [1973] This is the last Tommy & Tuppence, and unlike the other two, it was written near the time it was published. Tommy & Tuppence are an elderly couple now, living in a house with a past and some of the furnishings left behind have clues to a past case of espionage and murder and disappearances and unresolved questions. And their old gardener gets murdered because he knows too much. It wasn't so bad, but I might've thought that because I knew it was the last.
Curtain [1975] Like Sleeping Murder, Christie wrote this in the 1940's and put it in the vault. And I liked it. Of course, there are many cringe-worthy bits (Hastings has a daughter who would probably be diagnosed as on the autism spectrum now but of course is treated rather awfully). Nevertheless, I think it was a good end to Poirot. He goes back to Styles. Hastings is a dim dick as usual. But loyal and a good narrator.
Sleeping Murder [1976] This was written in the 1940's too and published the year Christie died. A young couple is drawn to a house in which the wife of the couple lived briefly as a child (and witnessed a murder in). Repressed memories come flooding back and soon Miss Marple's on the case and sorts it all out. Obsessive love. Lots of suspects. Solid.
And that's it. I did two collages. I am not really happy with them (I sort of went overboard with the pink flowers) but I was even less happy with the color scheme of the Curtain postcard so I decided to go back to Styles.
It's taken me five years but here I am: the final cases.
Postern of Fate [1973] This is the last Tommy & Tuppence, and unlike the other two, it was written near the time it was published. Tommy & Tuppence are an elderly couple now, living in a house with a past and some of the furnishings left behind have clues to a past case of espionage and murder and disappearances and unresolved questions. And their old gardener gets murdered because he knows too much. It wasn't so bad, but I might've thought that because I knew it was the last.
Curtain [1975] Like Sleeping Murder, Christie wrote this in the 1940's and put it in the vault. And I liked it. Of course, there are many cringe-worthy bits (Hastings has a daughter who would probably be diagnosed as on the autism spectrum now but of course is treated rather awfully). Nevertheless, I think it was a good end to Poirot. He goes back to Styles. Hastings is a dim dick as usual. But loyal and a good narrator.
Sleeping Murder [1976] This was written in the 1940's too and published the year Christie died. A young couple is drawn to a house in which the wife of the couple lived briefly as a child (and witnessed a murder in). Repressed memories come flooding back and soon Miss Marple's on the case and sorts it all out. Obsessive love. Lots of suspects. Solid.
And that's it. I did two collages. I am not really happy with them (I sort of went overboard with the pink flowers) but I was even less happy with the color scheme of the Curtain postcard so I decided to go back to Styles.
In celebration of Miles Davis' birthday which is tomorrow (26 May) have his version of an old standard.
Happy (belated) Birthday ACD!
May. 23rd, 2026 07:01 pmMy sister reminded me that yesterday (22 May) was the birthday of none other than our beloved Sir Arthur Conan Doyle! Huzzah! Here's a collage.
And a poem I wrote years ago.
I, Sir Arthur by okapi
I, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
would rather be boiled in a vat of hot oil
than have a true Renaissance vocation
reduced to him, that tiresome creation.
Why, oh, why is this world so remiss?
Won’t you recall who brought skiing to the Swiss?
And the war! Which? Why, the Boer!
You’d think that the world might
since it made me a knight.
What about bodybuilding? And Portsmouth United?
But do let’s forget when my cricket kit ignited
[Ball to matches in pocket. I went up like a rocket.]
I solved crimes! I wrote history!
I even went looking for Agatha Christie!
So many answers to so many calls,
save for those cottage girls and their damned paper dolls!
And, uh, that once I nearly poisoned myself.
Oh, why doesn’t Professor Challenger sit as proud on the shelf?
Oh, well. If you must
remember me thus
I suppose
I’ll lie in repose
he who created the world’s greatest sleuth, or so the world claims,
he who begat Sherlock Holmes
and his loyal chronicler
James.
And a poem I wrote years ago.
I, Sir Arthur by okapi
I, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
would rather be boiled in a vat of hot oil
than have a true Renaissance vocation
reduced to him, that tiresome creation.
Why, oh, why is this world so remiss?
Won’t you recall who brought skiing to the Swiss?
And the war! Which? Why, the Boer!
You’d think that the world might
since it made me a knight.
What about bodybuilding? And Portsmouth United?
But do let’s forget when my cricket kit ignited
[Ball to matches in pocket. I went up like a rocket.]
I solved crimes! I wrote history!
I even went looking for Agatha Christie!
So many answers to so many calls,
save for those cottage girls and their damned paper dolls!
And, uh, that once I nearly poisoned myself.
Oh, why doesn’t Professor Challenger sit as proud on the shelf?
Oh, well. If you must
remember me thus
I suppose
I’ll lie in repose
he who created the world’s greatest sleuth, or so the world claims,
he who begat Sherlock Holmes
and his loyal chronicler
James.
For No Clear Reason By Robert Creeley
I dreamt last night
the fright was over, that
the dust came, and then water,
and women and men, together
again, and all was quiet
in the dim moon’s light.
A paean of such patience—
laughing, laughing at me,
and the days extend over
the earth’s great cover,
grass, trees, and flower-
ing season, for no clear reason.
I dreamt last night
the fright was over, that
the dust came, and then water,
and women and men, together
again, and all was quiet
in the dim moon’s light.
A paean of such patience—
laughing, laughing at me,
and the days extend over
the earth’s great cover,
grass, trees, and flower-
ing season, for no clear reason.
Word: melittology
May. 20th, 2026 06:53 amMy WWF calendar tells me today is World Bee Day so today's word is...
...melittology.
The study of bees.
--
I haven't any bee stickers now, but I had some, once upon a time.
And of course:
...melittology.
The study of bees.
--
I haven't any bee stickers now, but I had some, once upon a time.
And of course:
Views & News: Heat Wave edition
May. 19th, 2026 04:54 pm1. It's hot. 95 F (35 C). It will be hot tomorrow and then we should get some thunderstorms and cool things off.
2. Work is okay. Minor is working now, too, refereeing little league soccer games on the weekends. Minisculus got accepted onto a new soccer team for next year. This is a different club from the one he's been on for many years. It was time for a change. His father and I have been arguing for weeks what kind of change that should be, and this is the compromise.
3. If you're in the US and have ever heard of the Postcrossing (postcard pen-pal system): Postcrossing is getting their own stamp! Exciting.
4. New background noise YT channel. This is one of the most popular.
2. Work is okay. Minor is working now, too, refereeing little league soccer games on the weekends. Minisculus got accepted onto a new soccer team for next year. This is a different club from the one he's been on for many years. It was time for a change. His father and I have been arguing for weeks what kind of change that should be, and this is the compromise.
3. If you're in the US and have ever heard of the Postcrossing (postcard pen-pal system): Postcrossing is getting their own stamp! Exciting.
4. New background noise YT channel. This is one of the most popular.
Interestingly, when I opened the Inspector Rebus (Scottish police procedural series by Ian Rankin) jigsaw I got for my birthday there is a QR code to a spotify playlist to listen to while you put together the puzzle.
And it makes (a bit of) sense because 60's and 70's rock music is a motif throughout the entire series. Rebus loves music, has a vinyl collection, songs and lyrics are woven in every plot, he teases Siobahn and others about their taste in music.
I think it's a great idea. Here are two from the playlist (also titles in the Inspector Rebus series).
And it makes (a bit of) sense because 60's and 70's rock music is a motif throughout the entire series. Rebus loves music, has a vinyl collection, songs and lyrics are woven in every plot, he teases Siobahn and others about their taste in music.
I think it's a great idea. Here are two from the playlist (also titles in the Inspector Rebus series).
1. Monday was superproductive, Tuesday I was productive, Wednesday was okay, not as productive but still okay, and yesterday I tipped into the pit of despair. :/ Now I have to decide to wallow or crawl out. It could go either way, really.
2. I had a fine birthday and Mother's Day and end to my me-week. I got some summer pajamas and some new slippers with strawberries on them (which I picked out myself of course). I took a oversized coffee table art book to my client on Wednesday and we looked through it and he enjoyed it. Win.
3. I finished the Rebus anthology, and 4 of the 5 cards I'm doing for 3 Weeks 4 Dreamwidth.
4. BTS is part of the halftime show for the World Cup final! Just for funsies I googled ticket prices (it's at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey in mid-July) and tickets start at $9000. The best seats run from $50k to $80k. Makes my concert tickets look pretty good by comparison. The lads are on to California having had a blast lucha libre style in Mexico.
5. The best thing is I cranked out 2400 words on my soap opera yesterday. I've got less than a month to wrap it up.
---
I did these on my birthday. I know the first is incomplete, there should be something in the top left space, but I didn't have anything that really spoke to me so I suppose it's a metaphor (waiting to fill the gap).
I used up the last of my coffee stickers, too.
2. I had a fine birthday and Mother's Day and end to my me-week. I got some summer pajamas and some new slippers with strawberries on them (which I picked out myself of course). I took a oversized coffee table art book to my client on Wednesday and we looked through it and he enjoyed it. Win.
3. I finished the Rebus anthology, and 4 of the 5 cards I'm doing for 3 Weeks 4 Dreamwidth.
4. BTS is part of the halftime show for the World Cup final! Just for funsies I googled ticket prices (it's at Metlife Stadium in New Jersey in mid-July) and tickets start at $9000. The best seats run from $50k to $80k. Makes my concert tickets look pretty good by comparison. The lads are on to California having had a blast lucha libre style in Mexico.
5. The best thing is I cranked out 2400 words on my soap opera yesterday. I've got less than a month to wrap it up.
---
I did these on my birthday. I know the first is incomplete, there should be something in the top left space, but I didn't have anything that really spoke to me so I suppose it's a metaphor (waiting to fill the gap).
I used up the last of my coffee stickers, too.
[I am really only keen--but very keen--on the line in bold. I think it would make a good Hallowe'en prompt.]
Dear Barbershop, by Chris Slaughter
Is this a barbershop? If we can’t talk straight
in the barbershop, then where can we talk straight?
—Eddie Cedrick
I come from you: every argument, debate and dare—
every hand-me-down bet that taught me to run
from nothing while fading the world down small enough
to doubt. No one else understands the gravity
in the way a chair turns after a fight, and blood stains
hair and hard wood floors. Music somehow tells the story
better than us, mirrors turn away, but I saved
the dirt from my nails. I’m not hard currency
to you—anymore. I’m no longer steady handed and perfect for slang.
You say, with every chair in the shop full “What happened to you man?
You even look at customers like they’re not good enough anymore”
—but I’m made from discussion, contradiction, and cheap cognac. Cussing
in every sentence just to get points across the room. I’m a glass bottle
on the ledge of some mantle that built a ship inside of itself (and the ghosts
it holds).
I’m against the same grain as I’ve always been, believe in
the same sharp line and burn. I’m the same crazy bastard
that called the pizza man a racist, with mute Omar by my side
waving his arms—don’t forget what hurts
what makes our blood agree, how women come in alone
with their boys and listen to us go on about presidents, one-night stand sex,
and Kobe’s fade-away; they listen to us throw nigga and bitch around
like natural terms of endearment— I just want my name back.
Dear Barbershop, by Chris Slaughter
Is this a barbershop? If we can’t talk straight
in the barbershop, then where can we talk straight?
—Eddie Cedrick
I come from you: every argument, debate and dare—
every hand-me-down bet that taught me to run
from nothing while fading the world down small enough
to doubt. No one else understands the gravity
in the way a chair turns after a fight, and blood stains
hair and hard wood floors. Music somehow tells the story
better than us, mirrors turn away, but I saved
the dirt from my nails. I’m not hard currency
to you—anymore. I’m no longer steady handed and perfect for slang.
You say, with every chair in the shop full “What happened to you man?
You even look at customers like they’re not good enough anymore”
—but I’m made from discussion, contradiction, and cheap cognac. Cussing
in every sentence just to get points across the room. I’m a glass bottle
on the ledge of some mantle that built a ship inside of itself (and the ghosts
it holds).
I’m against the same grain as I’ve always been, believe in
the same sharp line and burn. I’m the same crazy bastard
that called the pizza man a racist, with mute Omar by my side
waving his arms—don’t forget what hurts
what makes our blood agree, how women come in alone
with their boys and listen to us go on about presidents, one-night stand sex,
and Kobe’s fade-away; they listen to us throw nigga and bitch around
like natural terms of endearment— I just want my name back.
Word: Anglepoise
May. 13th, 2026 07:04 amWednesday's word come from the Inspector Rebus short story anthology I just finished, not a word we use across the pond...
...anglepoise.
a type of desk lamp with a jointed arm and counterbalancing springs that hold it in any position to which it is adjusted. It's a trademark.
"There was no overhead lighting in Sir Walter Scott's study, but there were numerous floor lamps, desk lamps, and anglepoises."
...anglepoise.
a type of desk lamp with a jointed arm and counterbalancing springs that hold it in any position to which it is adjusted. It's a trademark.
"There was no overhead lighting in Sir Walter Scott's study, but there were numerous floor lamps, desk lamps, and anglepoises."
Music Monday: Arirang - lofi fan mix
May. 11th, 2026 10:22 pmBTS has just finished the third of three shows in Mexico City and they've been great performances. Reports are that crowds of 70,000+ ARMYs are outside the stadium having a block party (on top of the 40k ticket holders). I finally did some collage with the materials from my Arirang albums. Here is the front and back of a card. And I am in the last month of my BTS soap opera and since I cannot fic with music with lyrics playing, I have found this lofi of Arirang to have in the backgroud.
I can't embed. So it's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTzLt-1WZvE&list=WL
I can't embed. So it's here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTzLt-1WZvE&list=WL
Puzzle: Chairs!
May. 11th, 2026 06:02 pmOne of my favorite ways to observe any holiday is with a jigsaw puzzle so yesterday, Mother's Day, I did this one. I bought it at the yard sale fundraiser for the music program boosters of Minor's high school (I got 2 for $1). I can't say I recommend it because the pieces don't lock very well at all (so one bump of a knee and your hard work is ruined). Nevertheless, it served its purpose. I did it in one sitting. 350 pieces. Artbox.
Into the void & Paris collage
May. 8th, 2026 01:15 pm1. After eating in the dark for 4 months, maintenance finally came and fixed the lights in the dining area and the boys' bathroom. Huzzah.
2. I survived my 12 hour shift yesterday and have another 12-hour shift tomorrow with the same client. Sadly, my hospice client died so I only had one today so I am doing more collaging, working on the cards for the folks who requested them from my 3Weeks4Dreamwidth offer.
3. I bought myself flowers for Mother's Day. They had so many, many varieties at the grocery store that I knew the boys' father would be overwhelmed and so I picked my own. I wasn't going to do any shopping this week but the boys won't have bread for sandwiches on Monday if I didn't get some.
4. BTS is amazing. They are in Mexico City and they met with the President of Mexico and 50,000 ARMY filled the zocalo to greet them when they stepped out on the balcony of the presidential palace.
Here's one of the collages I did on Tuesday. While collaging today, I am listening to Death at the Sanitorium by Ragnar Jonasson. Icelandic cold case mystery. I tried a few minutes of Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman but noped out of it. A fat widow talking about how difficult much she misses her husband and how difficult it is to get her large posterior in an airplane wasn't the vibe I wanted. Scandi noir for the win!
2. I survived my 12 hour shift yesterday and have another 12-hour shift tomorrow with the same client. Sadly, my hospice client died so I only had one today so I am doing more collaging, working on the cards for the folks who requested them from my 3Weeks4Dreamwidth offer.
3. I bought myself flowers for Mother's Day. They had so many, many varieties at the grocery store that I knew the boys' father would be overwhelmed and so I picked my own. I wasn't going to do any shopping this week but the boys won't have bread for sandwiches on Monday if I didn't get some.
4. BTS is amazing. They are in Mexico City and they met with the President of Mexico and 50,000 ARMY filled the zocalo to greet them when they stepped out on the balcony of the presidential palace.
Here's one of the collages I did on Tuesday. While collaging today, I am listening to Death at the Sanitorium by Ragnar Jonasson. Icelandic cold case mystery. I tried a few minutes of Murder Takes a Vacation by Laura Lippman but noped out of it. A fat widow talking about how difficult much she misses her husband and how difficult it is to get her large posterior in an airplane wasn't the vibe I wanted. Scandi noir for the win!
3Weeks4Dreamwidth: E is for elegy
May. 7th, 2026 07:14 amUntil 14 May ![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
pitchblackrenegade is offering a line of poetry as prompt/inspiration from one of their favorite poems. Ask for it here: https://pitchblackrenegade.dreamwidth.org/12309.html
Mine was:
It is enraptured by approaching sleep
—from "Before sunset" by Mirra Lokhvitskaya, translated by Temira Pachmuss
pitchblackrenegade is offering a line of poetry as prompt/inspiration from one of their favorite poems. Ask for it here: https://pitchblackrenegade.dreamwidth.org/12309.htmlMine was:
It is enraptured by approaching sleep
—from "Before sunset" by Mirra Lokhvitskaya, translated by Temira Pachmuss
Happy Birthday to me!
May. 6th, 2026 09:53 pmIt's been a fine day. I got nice gifts and well wishes and a purple cake!
Views & News: Still 50 edition
May. 5th, 2026 05:26 pm1. Because of work and another scheduled commitment tomorrow, and two 12-hour shifts later in the week, I decided that today would be my lazy, do-what-I-want day, so I had my session with jazz man, came home and collaged, on an off, from about 10 am to 4 pm. I made one regular card, a double-sided postcard card, one 2-page spread and two 1-page spreads. And I listened to Curtain (Poirot's final case) on audiobook on YT. And had scrambled eggs and then later, a BLT, and two cups of coffee. And the fried plantains I found at Wegman's (because today is also Cinco de Mayo).
It was good.
2. What is the word for being annoyed at how much romance, romantic relationships, marriage, fidelity and infidelity, etc. consume popular media/art/conversation? Whatever it is, I have come down with a bit of that. Like, can we talk about something else? Anything else.
3. I got an oversized book at the library about the Hirshhorn Museum and I am looking forward to leafing through that. I love those kind of books even though I will never own a coffee table to put them on!
4. Now I am going to read and scan some of these spreads and enjoy my last day of being 50.
It was good.
2. What is the word for being annoyed at how much romance, romantic relationships, marriage, fidelity and infidelity, etc. consume popular media/art/conversation? Whatever it is, I have come down with a bit of that. Like, can we talk about something else? Anything else.
3. I got an oversized book at the library about the Hirshhorn Museum and I am looking forward to leafing through that. I love those kind of books even though I will never own a coffee table to put them on!
4. Now I am going to read and scan some of these spreads and enjoy my last day of being 50.
