![[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
Puzzle Hawkriver Hollow
Sep. 11th, 2026 07:17 pmI think of holidays (including snow days) as puzzle days so I started this one on Labor Day (Monday). It took me four days to finish it even though it's only 300 pieces (Hawkriver Hollow, Buffalo Games, Charles Wyscoki). It's funny how things change. I distinctly remember a time when I wouldn't have wanted to re-do an old puzzle, I'd only want a new one. And when I was thinking about it this week, I only wanted to re-do one I had, not get a new one. The colours are very autumn. At least one Halloween one and another autumn one have survived my many decluttering campaigns. I may open one of them.
Word: Litham
Sep. 9th, 2026 09:09 pmToday's word comes from a fic...
litham.
a mouth-veil which the Tuareg and other West and North African (namely Sahelian) nomads, particularly men, have traditionally used to cover the lower part of their face.
litham.
a mouth-veil which the Tuareg and other West and North African (namely Sahelian) nomads, particularly men, have traditionally used to cover the lower part of their face.
Views & News
Sep. 8th, 2026 03:13 pm1. I think it's safe to say my new addiction is Squardle (https://squaredle.app/).
2. I signed the family up for the Turkey Trot again. (Thanksgiving 5k) And I downloaded the Zombie, Run 5k app and did the prologue today. I thought it might give me some inspiration for Halloween fics as well as fill the gap of 'stuff to listen to' while I'm training since I'm no longer listening to BTS. I am still listening to agust D (I have done the mental gymnastics to convince myself that's okay. It's a bit like switching to methadone, but, hey, it's working at the moment).
My big goal is to jog the whole thing. I would really, really love to do that, regardless of my time and speed, I think I would cry big baby ugly tears if I could work myself up to that level.
3. I only have 2 more squares for the book bingo!
4. I picked up the cards I ordered. Waiting on a few bits, but I may get too impatient and start making cards on Friday.
5. I am very close to finishing my monthly housework campaign. Just the kitchen, front entrance, and my car to clean. Got a lot done this past weekend.
6. The weather is cooler in the mornings, and I am enjoying that.
7. Minor's physical therapy evaluation is Thursday.
Yesterday was the birthday of Sonny Rollins. Have some happy jazz.
2. I signed the family up for the Turkey Trot again. (Thanksgiving 5k) And I downloaded the Zombie, Run 5k app and did the prologue today. I thought it might give me some inspiration for Halloween fics as well as fill the gap of 'stuff to listen to' while I'm training since I'm no longer listening to BTS. I am still listening to agust D (I have done the mental gymnastics to convince myself that's okay. It's a bit like switching to methadone, but, hey, it's working at the moment).
My big goal is to jog the whole thing. I would really, really love to do that, regardless of my time and speed, I think I would cry big baby ugly tears if I could work myself up to that level.
3. I only have 2 more squares for the book bingo!
4. I picked up the cards I ordered. Waiting on a few bits, but I may get too impatient and start making cards on Friday.
5. I am very close to finishing my monthly housework campaign. Just the kitchen, front entrance, and my car to clean. Got a lot done this past weekend.
6. The weather is cooler in the mornings, and I am enjoying that.
7. Minor's physical therapy evaluation is Thursday.
Yesterday was the birthday of Sonny Rollins. Have some happy jazz.
October prompt list - work in progress
Sep. 7th, 2026 05:02 pmThank you to everyone for the prompts. Here's the list I'm building. (In no order)
1. [insert title]: a horror story
2. magic gone wrong, magic gone wright
3. the veil between the living and the dead
4. pumpkin carving 101
5. popcorn balls
6. witches' brew
7. the hungry sea
8. there's something in the cellar
9. ghostly excursions
10. in the forest at midnight
Also I am thinking of using categories I used for Advent a couple of years ago:
1. arts & crafts
2. music & song
3. poetry & prose
4. food & drink
5. symbols & traditions
1. [insert title]: a horror story
2. magic gone wrong, magic gone wright
3. the veil between the living and the dead
4. pumpkin carving 101
5. popcorn balls
6. witches' brew
7. the hungry sea
8. there's something in the cellar
9. ghostly excursions
10. in the forest at midnight
Also I am thinking of using categories I used for Advent a couple of years ago:
1. arts & crafts
2. music & song
3. poetry & prose
4. food & drink
5. symbols & traditions
Collage Journaling: September cottage
Sep. 6th, 2026 08:43 amOne I started with client Crafty Lady and finished this morning.
Ask: halloween prompts
Sep. 4th, 2026 08:07 pmSadly, Spook Me is not happening this year. But I love Halloween too much to not celebrate it.
I am going to make a list of 31 prompts. I know many of you also love this season so if you have ideas, please send me (via DW message or down in the comments or via my email if you have it) prompts for Halloween/Hallowe'en. I tend to prefer spooky to sweet, but a mix is good.
I'm going to collect:
1. words (especially strange/rare/archaic words)
2. images/art
3. videos/gifs
4. songs (I especially like ones without lyrics)
5. quotes (I love quotes!)
6. recs for fic, books, films, recipes, etc.
7. poems
8. personal anecdotes of hauntings/ghosts/eerie stuff
9. links to articles or interesting tibits
I will try to get a list ready by the middle of September so I can let it brew. Maybe a theme will suggest itself.
I am going to make a list of 31 prompts. I know many of you also love this season so if you have ideas, please send me (via DW message or down in the comments or via my email if you have it) prompts for Halloween/Hallowe'en. I tend to prefer spooky to sweet, but a mix is good.
I'm going to collect:
1. words (especially strange/rare/archaic words)
2. images/art
3. videos/gifs
4. songs (I especially like ones without lyrics)
5. quotes (I love quotes!)
6. recs for fic, books, films, recipes, etc.
7. poems
8. personal anecdotes of hauntings/ghosts/eerie stuff
9. links to articles or interesting tibits
I will try to get a list ready by the middle of September so I can let it brew. Maybe a theme will suggest itself.
Views & News: say do you remember? edition
Sep. 1st, 2026 10:35 pmHappy September!
1. The only thing noteworthy today is that I took Minor to the doctor to get some evaluation of his knee pain and now I have prescription for 6 sessions of physical therapy for him.
2. Also, I went to the dentist and puzzled over the hygienist complimenting my saliva. :/
That's about it. Tomorrow I have Back to School Night at Minisculus' school. Lots of mom-ing going on.
[helps if you hit the post button. duh.]
1. The only thing noteworthy today is that I took Minor to the doctor to get some evaluation of his knee pain and now I have prescription for 6 sessions of physical therapy for him.
2. Also, I went to the dentist and puzzled over the hygienist complimenting my saliva. :/
That's about it. Tomorrow I have Back to School Night at Minisculus' school. Lots of mom-ing going on.
[helps if you hit the post button. duh.]
The State of the Ficcery: August 2026
Aug. 30th, 2026 03:43 pmGosh. What a month. Of things happening, not happening, unhappening.
I would like to be better at reflection. Looking back. Learning from mistakes, from the past, from anything.
The happening.
The best thing that happened was hosting![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bethctg and going to the BTS concert with her. A highlight of the year and, really, of the past five years.
I don't take photos of myself except for administrative purposes (IDs, mandatory profile photos, etc). There are no photos of me and boys, for example, or their father after Minor was born, but I felt so good about myself with her and with what we were doing that I did take a selfie on the way home from the concert. This is a very big deal. I even took a photo with her. And let her take a photo of me (which I deleted later, but still). A former coworker texted me about the concert and I actually sent her the selfie. This is something I have never done in my life. I will take it as a sign of healing.
Andbethctg got to chat about things and I talked about things I've never talked about, and it was really nice.
The unhappening and not happening.
And then, gosh, the Chris Brown incident and I just dropped it all. Like 48 hours after having the time of my life. And I haven't gone back. I still listen to agust D's music, but I haven't listened to any BTS music since the incident and have blocked them 99% from my algorithm. I was in Target and rolled by a sign and stopped and went back. V is spokesmodel for Champion athleticwear. It was like seeing an ex at the mall. I just went 'huh. and went on my way. I don't really understand my own reaction. I suppose everything really does have a season. Maybe I will be back one day? Probably not.
I was going to start another soap opera but that's not happening. So, among the unhappening, is the ficcery.
Word Count for August: 1864 (I guess it's better than July which was ZERO!). I need 60k to reach my GYWO goal. Spook Me/Halloween, Kinktober, NaNoWriMo (maybe if I think of an idea) and/or Xmas.
More happenings
I stood up for myself on Wednesday with my client the Hoarder and told her I had reached my limit (for the shift). I was proud of myself for setting a boundary even though she tried to cross it after I set it.
And I have been doing this weight loss program for 6 months and haven't lost any weight yet. So I took a deep breath and submitted a request for help in the helpline. It was really difficult but I did it.
So I am getting better at setting boundaries, better at asking for help instead of just suffering in silence, better at letting go of things that no longer serves me, and a teeny tiny bit more comfortable in my own skin.
Gosh.
We'll see what September brings.
I would like to be better at reflection. Looking back. Learning from mistakes, from the past, from anything.
The happening.
The best thing that happened was hosting
bethctg and going to the BTS concert with her. A highlight of the year and, really, of the past five years. I don't take photos of myself except for administrative purposes (IDs, mandatory profile photos, etc). There are no photos of me and boys, for example, or their father after Minor was born, but I felt so good about myself with her and with what we were doing that I did take a selfie on the way home from the concert. This is a very big deal. I even took a photo with her. And let her take a photo of me (which I deleted later, but still). A former coworker texted me about the concert and I actually sent her the selfie. This is something I have never done in my life. I will take it as a sign of healing.
And
bethctg got to chat about things and I talked about things I've never talked about, and it was really nice. The unhappening and not happening.
And then, gosh, the Chris Brown incident and I just dropped it all. Like 48 hours after having the time of my life. And I haven't gone back. I still listen to agust D's music, but I haven't listened to any BTS music since the incident and have blocked them 99% from my algorithm. I was in Target and rolled by a sign and stopped and went back. V is spokesmodel for Champion athleticwear. It was like seeing an ex at the mall. I just went 'huh. and went on my way. I don't really understand my own reaction. I suppose everything really does have a season. Maybe I will be back one day? Probably not.
I was going to start another soap opera but that's not happening. So, among the unhappening, is the ficcery.
Word Count for August: 1864 (I guess it's better than July which was ZERO!). I need 60k to reach my GYWO goal. Spook Me/Halloween, Kinktober, NaNoWriMo (maybe if I think of an idea) and/or Xmas.
More happenings
I stood up for myself on Wednesday with my client the Hoarder and told her I had reached my limit (for the shift). I was proud of myself for setting a boundary even though she tried to cross it after I set it.
And I have been doing this weight loss program for 6 months and haven't lost any weight yet. So I took a deep breath and submitted a request for help in the helpline. It was really difficult but I did it.
So I am getting better at setting boundaries, better at asking for help instead of just suffering in silence, better at letting go of things that no longer serves me, and a teeny tiny bit more comfortable in my own skin.
Gosh.
We'll see what September brings.
Collage Journaling: the Met
Aug. 28th, 2026 05:43 pmVeering into scrapbook territory more than I usually do. I had a cancelled shift on Tuesday, so I collaged with the map of the Metropolitan Museum of Art that I saved from my day trip to NYC at the beginning of August.
I failed to mark it and now I can't find it, but today's word comes from I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons by Peter S. Beagle, which is the DW bookclub book for August and it's the verb form of... ...
hod
to bob up and down on horseback, as an inexperienced rider may do; to jog.
It's tagged 'intransitive, Scottish, and obsolete.'
That sounds about right. I distinctly remember it was a verb form. More info from Wkitionary:
Probably an alteration of hot (“(Northern England, Scotland) large basket for carrying earth, etc.”), from Middle English hott, hote, hotte (“large basket or pannier for carrying earth, etc.; unit of measure for grain; hut or shed (perhaps originally of wattlework); lump of dirt (?)”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman and Old French hote, hotte (“large basket carried on the back”) (modern French hotte (“carrying basket”)), from Frankish *hotta (“basket”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *hud- (“to shake”) (see further at etymology 1), ultimately an onomatopoeia of the swaying movement of such a basket (compare Middle Dutch hotten (“to jolt; shake”)).
This is a hod (noun) carried over the shoulder.
hod
to bob up and down on horseback, as an inexperienced rider may do; to jog.
It's tagged 'intransitive, Scottish, and obsolete.'
That sounds about right. I distinctly remember it was a verb form. More info from Wkitionary:
Probably an alteration of hot (“(Northern England, Scotland) large basket for carrying earth, etc.”), from Middle English hott, hote, hotte (“large basket or pannier for carrying earth, etc.; unit of measure for grain; hut or shed (perhaps originally of wattlework); lump of dirt (?)”) [and other forms], from Anglo-Norman and Old French hote, hotte (“large basket carried on the back”) (modern French hotte (“carrying basket”)), from Frankish *hotta (“basket”), perhaps from Proto-Germanic *hud- (“to shake”) (see further at etymology 1), ultimately an onomatopoeia of the swaying movement of such a basket (compare Middle Dutch hotten (“to jolt; shake”)).
This is a hod (noun) carried over the shoulder.
1. The boys are back in school. Minisculus is less than enamored with middle school but that's to be expected.
2. For the first time, I might be in danger of not meeting my 150k GYWO word count goal. I am hoping Hallowe'en and Xmas will help. I am just not interested or inspired. I finished my soap opera in mid June and did a ficlet for Watson's birthday, but that's about it.
3. Minor got blackmailed by someone on a messaging app wanting $50 to not spread doctored photos to his friends. What a world. I didn't even know the app he is using. But he handled it himself. Apparently the app administrator(s) located the blackmailer account in Iran!
4. I signed Minisculus up for art (meaning drawing, painting, etc) without realizing it was a 1 quarter course, not a full year course (chorus for Minor had been a year-long so I thought all fine arts courses were) so they filled in the rest of the quarters with other things. Now he has Theatre (!!! If there is a child in the universe less inclined toward performance it is my second born). And then there is what we used to call Home Economics and now they call Family and Consumer Science and then General Music. We'll see how it goes.
5. So there is a gap left by my dropping of the BTS fandom, and I am filling it with some online puzzles which I found via @snowynight's post: https://snowynight.dreamwidth.org/323738.html
The one I like best is called Squardle which is a word search. https://squaredle.app/
I also play Quordle (solving 4 wordles at once): https://www.merriam-webster.com/games/quordle/#/
And clues by Sam, which is a logic puzzle: https://cluesbysam.com/
[sorry for the formatting. DW is being weird today or I forgot how to do stuff or both]
Also filling the gap is this woman who takes care of a pair of capybaras named Cheesecake and Pumpkin (among other animals) in Florida (warning: pun/dad joke)
2. For the first time, I might be in danger of not meeting my 150k GYWO word count goal. I am hoping Hallowe'en and Xmas will help. I am just not interested or inspired. I finished my soap opera in mid June and did a ficlet for Watson's birthday, but that's about it.
3. Minor got blackmailed by someone on a messaging app wanting $50 to not spread doctored photos to his friends. What a world. I didn't even know the app he is using. But he handled it himself. Apparently the app administrator(s) located the blackmailer account in Iran!
4. I signed Minisculus up for art (meaning drawing, painting, etc) without realizing it was a 1 quarter course, not a full year course (chorus for Minor had been a year-long so I thought all fine arts courses were) so they filled in the rest of the quarters with other things. Now he has Theatre (!!! If there is a child in the universe less inclined toward performance it is my second born). And then there is what we used to call Home Economics and now they call Family and Consumer Science and then General Music. We'll see how it goes.
5. So there is a gap left by my dropping of the BTS fandom, and I am filling it with some online puzzles which I found via @snowynight's post: https://snowynight.dreamwidth.org/323738.html
The one I like best is called Squardle which is a word search. https://squaredle.app/
I also play Quordle (solving 4 wordles at once): https://www.merriam-webster.com/games/quordle/#/
And clues by Sam, which is a logic puzzle: https://cluesbysam.com/
[sorry for the formatting. DW is being weird today or I forgot how to do stuff or both]
Also filling the gap is this woman who takes care of a pair of capybaras named Cheesecake and Pumpkin (among other animals) in Florida (warning: pun/dad joke)
And a favorite jazz station on YT put out a new video this weekend: Vinyl in the Attic: Afternoon Jazz Vinyl Session
More fun with my Friday client Crafty Lady. I like the first one.
Because I woke up to the sound of rain
---
Praise the Rain by Joy Harjo
Praise the rain, the seagull dive
The curl of plant, the raven talk—
Praise the hurt, the house slack
The stand of trees, the dignity—
Praise the dark, the moon cradle
The sky fall, the bear sleep—
Praise the mist, the warrior name
The earth eclipse, the fired leap—
Praise the backwards, upward sky
The baby cry, the spirit food—
Praise canoe, the fish rush
The hole for frog, the upside-down—
Praise the day, the cloud cup
The mind flat, forget it all—
Praise crazy. Praise sad.
Praise the path on which we’re led.
Praise the roads on earth and water.
Praise the eater and the eaten.
Praise beginnings; praise the end.
Praise the song and praise the singer.
Praise the rain; it brings more rain.
Praise the rain; it brings more rain.
---
Praise the Rain by Joy Harjo
Praise the rain, the seagull dive
The curl of plant, the raven talk—
Praise the hurt, the house slack
The stand of trees, the dignity—
Praise the dark, the moon cradle
The sky fall, the bear sleep—
Praise the mist, the warrior name
The earth eclipse, the fired leap—
Praise the backwards, upward sky
The baby cry, the spirit food—
Praise canoe, the fish rush
The hole for frog, the upside-down—
Praise the day, the cloud cup
The mind flat, forget it all—
Praise crazy. Praise sad.
Praise the path on which we’re led.
Praise the roads on earth and water.
Praise the eater and the eaten.
Praise beginnings; praise the end.
Praise the song and praise the singer.
Praise the rain; it brings more rain.
Praise the rain; it brings more rain.
My reserve for David Rosenfelt's new book on audiobook just came through and I think it will be a nice tonic for stressful times. This is the Andy Carpenter, defense attorney and dog shelter owner, series. The book is called Dead Men Don't Play Fetch. It's predictable, a case involving a dog somehow, everything gets resolved, a cast of weird lovable characters. And Grover Gardner narrating.
Also, I wasn't planning to participate this month because I couldn't find the book at the library in any form but I was browsing through Barnes & Noble yesterday after back-to-school clothes shopping with Minor ($$$!) and saw August's book there and thought, 'well, okay.' It's Peter S. Bealge's I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons.
Also, I wasn't planning to participate this month because I couldn't find the book at the library in any form but I was browsing through Barnes & Noble yesterday after back-to-school clothes shopping with Minor ($$$!) and saw August's book there and thought, 'well, okay.' It's Peter S. Bealge's I'm Afraid You've Got Dragons.
Word: Torc
Aug. 19th, 2026 06:35 amWednesday's word is...
...torc.
a collar, necklace, or similar ornament consisting of a twisted narrow band, usually of precious metal, worn especially by the ancient Gauls and Britons.
--
This came to me by way of an article in the latest edition of Archeology magazine which one of my clients (aka oil futures guy) reads. The article was entitled "A Change in Fashion" by Daniel Weiss (Hoards of lavish gold and silver neck rings buried on an English hill reflect dramatic social change.).
And here's an article from 10 years ago from the British Museum blog: How do you wear a torc?.
...torc.
a collar, necklace, or similar ornament consisting of a twisted narrow band, usually of precious metal, worn especially by the ancient Gauls and Britons.
--
This came to me by way of an article in the latest edition of Archeology magazine which one of my clients (aka oil futures guy) reads. The article was entitled "A Change in Fashion" by Daniel Weiss (Hoards of lavish gold and silver neck rings buried on an English hill reflect dramatic social change.).
And here's an article from 10 years ago from the British Museum blog: How do you wear a torc?.
1. My sons go back to school on Monday. I did back-to-school shopping for Minisculus (backpack, new shoes, an outfit for the first day) on Sunday. These days, I don't buy actual supplies like notebooks and pencils until the first week of school because middle and high school aren't like elementary school with a set list for the whole grade and every teacher is different.
Today I am going with Minor to do the same.
2. I've got a new client, an Italian lady, very nice. We had bad weather last Monday and her poor husband had to cling to a crepe myrtle to avoid getting blown away in a tornado.
3. Oh, gosh. I hate to even write about this but I hope anyone who reads it will be gentle. I am so, so, so grateful thatbethctg and I went to the BTS concert when we did. We had a great time. I enjoyed myself without reservations or hindrance. I had no idea at the time how my feelings would change.
( Read more... )
Today I am going with Minor to do the same.
2. I've got a new client, an Italian lady, very nice. We had bad weather last Monday and her poor husband had to cling to a crepe myrtle to avoid getting blown away in a tornado.
3. Oh, gosh. I hate to even write about this but I hope anyone who reads it will be gentle. I am so, so, so grateful that
bethctg and I went to the BTS concert when we did. We had a great time. I enjoyed myself without reservations or hindrance. I had no idea at the time how my feelings would change.( Read more... )
