2025 Snowflake Challenge: Day 15

Challenge #15

Talk about an unexpected joyous moment you experienced last year.

Short answer: fannish crafting & gifting

Long answer:

In thinking back on the year and trying to come up with an answer to this challenge, I had the unexpected realization that true joy for me comes when I physically make something for someone else (related to fandom). I got the most satisfaction last year from assembling treat bags for people attending the SUGA movie (more probably than the actual movie itself. I think the first movie was better, less editing and making him look less glossy [pun intended, Yoongi, which is SUGA's real first name means 'gloss' in Korean]). I also got joy from making junk journals for my DW friends. In the first case, it was a fandom I don't share with smallhobbit [Sir Matthew Bourne dance productions] but I know that she enjoys it very much and there's very little fannish items available so making that, gathering supplies, curating and arranging things, and assembling gave me a lot of joy. One part of the junk journal I made for debriswoman was about detectives, so the fandom interest overlapped with mine, also one part of the advent calendar for bethctg was Jin of BTS, which is another overlap [but it isn't physically possibly for me to love Jin as much as she does :)] but I also included items for books she likes which I don't have fannish interest in (e.g., Stephen King's IT and the Ramona books by Beverly Clearly) so it doesn't really matter if it is MY fandom but I really like making things physically that are fannish. The items are all appreciated but the joy is not contingent on that. There is joy in actually putting them together and thinking it through. So a few photos of the treat bags and the junk journals in the cut.

( Lots of photos )

The State of the Ficcery: January 2025

Word Count for January: 30,777

Reading: 4 books, which I will post about soon. GK Chesterton's work on Saint Francis of Assisi, a Jane Austen mystery, The Pale Horse, and an anthropology book on the history of sugar.

I have a tall TBR for February. I don't think realistically I will get to all of them. But I also am going to do one of my all-time favorite books of all books: A Carribean Mystery for All of Agatha.

Writing: The big accomplishment was completing my WIP, the BTS animal hybrid story I began last year at Lunar New Year.

I will keep going with the soap opera.

Poetry: I wrote 3 poems (2 of which I have posted). I am reading more poetry, but I want to be a bit more systematic about it in February.

Crafting 7 spreads. I did the Snowflake challenge. 1 jigsaw puzzle (the Scotland one). In February (to go with A Carribean Mystery) I will be doing a Miss Marple puzzle.

The big thing in February will be Valentines. I will be working on those this weekend. It also happens to be the birthday of jhope of BTS [18 Feb] and Edward Gorey's birthday, too [22 Feb].

25 in '25: This is a challenge I stole from smallhobbit, and I am interpreting it as '25 new-to-me things which make me S-T-R-E-T-C-H' and for January: 1. I hemmed two pair of pants for the first time ever in my half century of living and 2. I mixed the essential oils I got for Christmas in a spray form. For February, I am going to try a new supermarket (ALDI for US friends, which I have never been to) and not sure what else.

Heath & Fitness: 16 days of yoga! Unfortunately, the scale went in the wrong direction. But TODAY the pediatrician put Minisculus on a Caloric Moderation program (ha!) and so I am going to be implementing the 7 steps (1 step every 2 weeks) and maybe that will be a good thing. Step 1 is scheduled meals and snacks (so no free-range snacking).

Putting the phone in the kitchen before I go to bed was the new habit. The one I am trying for February is no screen + eating (drinking is still ok) and this includes phone.

Of course, the boys' father losing his job is the big personal catastrophe, but even before that, the snow definitely put me in a bad state (and, of course, fascism). The snow itself is beautiful but being trapped and fearful for so many days was not a fun thing. Keeping my regular schedule of shopping and chores is more important to my mental health than I knew.

It's already February now, so I'd better get this up! On y va!