Ominous music sting for the right shoulder
Dec. 16th, 2025 01:07 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
cimoreneMy right shoulder has been making itself felt with a very small uncomfortable pain since I finished the first triplet sweater last Thursday. (Or before.)
You may remember that last spring I knitted way too much and did Something to it. When I consulted the health center advice, it said that barring certain more severe symptoms, you should rest it and take painkillers and just give it time and that it could take three months to feel better. So I did, and it didn't keep hurting after that. So I haven't talked to a doctor about it.
And that's why I was trying SO HARD to not knit too much when I started knitting again last month. I tried to knit only a few hours a day, though I did get into hyperfocus and knit for five hours a couple times. A couple of weeks ago I hit upon the idea of making myself read one complete paperback book per day to constrain how much time I could spend knitting. I thought it was going pretty well, but just the last few days I noticed this minor discomfort... I hoped it would go away with a few days of rest. But I've kept free of knitting, sewing, and even drawing and writing for five days now, and taken paracetamol even though it's not really that painful, more like mild discomfort.
But it's still like this! I'm afraid to start knitting in case it sproings again! And I'm even worried that targeted stretches might make it worse instead of better!
You may remember that last spring I knitted way too much and did Something to it. When I consulted the health center advice, it said that barring certain more severe symptoms, you should rest it and take painkillers and just give it time and that it could take three months to feel better. So I did, and it didn't keep hurting after that. So I haven't talked to a doctor about it.
And that's why I was trying SO HARD to not knit too much when I started knitting again last month. I tried to knit only a few hours a day, though I did get into hyperfocus and knit for five hours a couple times. A couple of weeks ago I hit upon the idea of making myself read one complete paperback book per day to constrain how much time I could spend knitting. I thought it was going pretty well, but just the last few days I noticed this minor discomfort... I hoped it would go away with a few days of rest. But I've kept free of knitting, sewing, and even drawing and writing for five days now, and taken paracetamol even though it's not really that painful, more like mild discomfort.
But it's still like this! I'm afraid to start knitting in case it sproings again! And I'm even worried that targeted stretches might make it worse instead of better!
Sock yarns
Dec. 15th, 2025 01:08 pmcimoreneWearing wool boot socks over your normal socks is standard in winter. For this purpose it doesn't matter how rough or itchy the socks are.
But wearing warm and cozy socks against the skin is different. It's best if they are wool because of its superior warmth, breathability, and anti-smelly properties, but not every sock yarn is good for the purpose. For instance, the popular Schachenmeyer Regia Pairfect, dyed to make two identical socks including the self-striping Pride socks, is a bit scratchy.
Merino "luxury" sock yarns are pretty popular - merino being the finest and least scratchy of sheep wools - especially hand-dyed ones, which were so trendy about ten years ago that small dyeing businesses were springing up like mushrooms and ill-advised ugly projects made with spatter-dyed wools (it looks fine on socks but the colors do unfortunate things on sweaters and other large canvases) were similarly all over Ravelry. Merino is smooth and silky, but it feels a little like cotton because the fiber is so fine and so tightly spun, so as a result the socks are not fuzzy or cozy.
Alpaca is the best fiber to add the fuzziness to a cozy sock, but it's not as stretchy and elastic as sheep's wool. Wool socks made without elastic already don't always stay up well, depending on a lot of factors, but alpaca by itself is limper, so the challenge is how to blend alpaca and sheep's wool.
I have raved in the past about the sock wool Spøt by Sandnes, which made wonderfully fuzzy thick socks and is now discontinued. But their elasticity was so bad that they couldn't be worn out at all.
My newest socks are made with Drops Nord, another alpaca blend, which I am currently very happy with. It's 45% alpaca, so it's likely that the texture of the fabric makes a big difference. My socks are cabled, and that might be holding their shape. Ribbed and stockinette socks are the worst at staying up.
But wearing warm and cozy socks against the skin is different. It's best if they are wool because of its superior warmth, breathability, and anti-smelly properties, but not every sock yarn is good for the purpose. For instance, the popular Schachenmeyer Regia Pairfect, dyed to make two identical socks including the self-striping Pride socks, is a bit scratchy.
Merino "luxury" sock yarns are pretty popular - merino being the finest and least scratchy of sheep wools - especially hand-dyed ones, which were so trendy about ten years ago that small dyeing businesses were springing up like mushrooms and ill-advised ugly projects made with spatter-dyed wools (it looks fine on socks but the colors do unfortunate things on sweaters and other large canvases) were similarly all over Ravelry. Merino is smooth and silky, but it feels a little like cotton because the fiber is so fine and so tightly spun, so as a result the socks are not fuzzy or cozy.
Alpaca is the best fiber to add the fuzziness to a cozy sock, but it's not as stretchy and elastic as sheep's wool. Wool socks made without elastic already don't always stay up well, depending on a lot of factors, but alpaca by itself is limper, so the challenge is how to blend alpaca and sheep's wool.
I have raved in the past about the sock wool Spøt by Sandnes, which made wonderfully fuzzy thick socks and is now discontinued. But their elasticity was so bad that they couldn't be worn out at all.
My newest socks are made with Drops Nord, another alpaca blend, which I am currently very happy with. It's 45% alpaca, so it's likely that the texture of the fabric makes a big difference. My socks are cabled, and that might be holding their shape. Ribbed and stockinette socks are the worst at staying up.
I'm not even sure if pathetic is the word...
Dec. 12th, 2025 11:03 amcimoreneThat week of ultimately unhelpful jobseeker course three weeks ago not only wrecked my energy for cleaning, any projects, and my daily stretching and exercise routines, it also left me with too little energy (focus? Even with methylphenidate!) to update my pet photos or interior design blogs on Tumblr. Or to shop for holiday presents for my parents and sister.
I have enough energy to spend that time on the computer, but just not to focus on what to post/buy. 😭 I am planning to try again today. Wish me luck.
I have enough energy to spend that time on the computer, but just not to focus on what to post/buy. 😭 I am planning to try again today. Wish me luck.
In the Words of Gandalf
Dec. 11th, 2025 01:59 pmlydamorehouse ... Mason did NOT PASS his first attempt at getting a driver's license.
On the flipside, he seemed in decent spirits about it. It seems that he did the the exact same thing that Jas (his partner) did wrong on their first test--he turned left from the far lane. Apparently, the tester did not seem to feel like a lot of other notes were necessary and told him to practice a bit more and come back in a week. All and all, for a fail, not bad at all.
Our of curiosity, for those of you who drive, did you pass the first time? Do you have any funny stories about spectacular fails?
I feel like I might know a few people who did, but most of my immediate friends did not. I failed three times, I think? I'm not exactly sure, but I know it took me slightly longer than a lot of my peers. My memories are pretty fuzzy about my tests. The thing I remember the best is that I wore a black beret (don't judge. It was the 80s) to my final test and I took my hands off the wheel while driving to adjust it and somehow I still passed. Apparently, the tester felt that showed confidence rather than foolheartiness.
I'm still not great at keeping both hands on the wheel.
On the flipside, he seemed in decent spirits about it. It seems that he did the the exact same thing that Jas (his partner) did wrong on their first test--he turned left from the far lane. Apparently, the tester did not seem to feel like a lot of other notes were necessary and told him to practice a bit more and come back in a week. All and all, for a fail, not bad at all.
Our of curiosity, for those of you who drive, did you pass the first time? Do you have any funny stories about spectacular fails?
I feel like I might know a few people who did, but most of my immediate friends did not. I failed three times, I think? I'm not exactly sure, but I know it took me slightly longer than a lot of my peers. My memories are pretty fuzzy about my tests. The thing I remember the best is that I wore a black beret (don't judge. It was the 80s) to my final test and I took my hands off the wheel while driving to adjust it and somehow I still passed. Apparently, the tester felt that showed confidence rather than foolheartiness.
I'm still not great at keeping both hands on the wheel.
It's Wednesday?
Dec. 10th, 2025 01:24 pmlydamorehouse Okay, once again, I have failed to keep on keeping on with the blog. But, the vibes of Wednesday called to me, so here I am (as is becoming typical.) I have no idea what it is about Wednesday that provides time for me to think, "Oh, right, DW," but it does seem be The Day it Happens.So here we are.
Today, Saint Paul is blanketed in snow. I note this as it applies to several things I want to talk about.
First, my car, which is in the shop. It has not, in fact, failed me in any serious way. But, Mason is taking his drivers' license test tomorrow and our car needs to pass inspection. One of the things it needs to have? Two working front lights. What does it NOT currently have? YOU GUESSED IT. I was almost not able to bring the car in today because firstly, Troy is booked up weeks in advance due to all the holiday driving/travel that people do. I was able to plead my case with him and we agreed that if I dropped my car off ASAP in the morning, he'd just pop that new light into it at some point in between the regular work. If he has time, he'll make things more profitable for himself by giving me an oil change (which I told him to feel free to do, because Troy prices very failrly and a single light change is going to cost me almost nothing.)
But secondly? The sky opened up and DUMPED snow on us. I don't know the official number of inches, but we crested at least 4 inches (10.16 cm for my metric friends) because Saint Paul declared a Snow Emergency.
For out of town people, a "Snow Emergency" isn't really an emergency as in "OH GOD EVERYTHING IS SHUT DOWN," but more, "Hey, Saint Paulies, time to move your car to one side of the street or the other so that the plows can come through!" It's also the day when snow emergency workers, like ticketers, go to work.
You may recall from previous episodes that last snow season (2024-March 2025), I worked as what Saint Paul Public Works colloquially referred to as "taggers." Our official title might have been "ticketers?" But, our job was to drive around the city and write out parking violation tickets, get cars towed, etc., so that the plows could come through and do their thing.
I am hired for the snow season (2025-26), however the job has changed. We are now "runners" and will be no longer writing tickets. That job is now in the hands of retired and reserve police officers. What does a runner do, you ask? Let me describe it and you can tell me if you think this job will be any fun. A runner will ride along with a police officer, brush the snow from license plates, and stick tickets in windows.
Yep.
There is a reason they did not interview me for this job, nor ask for a resume.
However, it feels like a job that really doesn't need to exist, doesn't it?
The saddest part is that I LOVED being a tagger. It's sad because everything I previously loved about that job, the police officers now do. I believe I wrote about this at length before, but basically the things I used to love about the job are all very silly. No one likes handing out parking tickets. However, there were some "fun" things that absolutely played into that part of every kid who used to make siren noises and run around pretending to be a cop. (And yeah, ACAB, but when I did this, I was 5 okay??) Like, in the old job we used to get to use the radio to call in vehicles in need of towing, etc, and we got to use a code that included our temporary badge number. RADIOS, y'all. They're just fun. Because you get to say, "Over." Or in our case, "Clear." Once trained, we got to go out, alone, in company car with heated seats and (sometimes!) heated steering wheels. We got to put on the flashing lights. We got to wear a safety vest. We got to learn the somewhat arcane process of handwriting tickets in those old booklets you sometimes see if you watch 1970s cop shows. DUMB STUFF. But, like, it made the job tolerable, you know?
But the fun part was never, ever: go out in the cold and stick the ticket on the windshield.
Is the pay good? I mean, it's OKAY. But the shifts are TEN HOURS. It's never less than that.
Also, speaking of ACAB? I'm not particularly thrilled at the idea of spending ten hours in a squad with a cop. What are we even going to talk about? The last ICE protest I went to? Because "say, were you there?" could get pretty awkward, pretty quickly.
By chance, I had to turn down this snow emergency. As noted, Mason has his big test tomorrow and I need to be available to drive him out to the test facility. I do not try to work the late shift because I'm pretty sure Saint Paul would not pay me for sleeping in the squad car, and I can not do 8pm to 5 am. I'm too old for that shift. Luckily, there's usually also a day shift.
I'll let you know what it's like when I finally do one, though. Maybe I'll be surprised and there will still be awesome things.
Today, Saint Paul is blanketed in snow. I note this as it applies to several things I want to talk about.
First, my car, which is in the shop. It has not, in fact, failed me in any serious way. But, Mason is taking his drivers' license test tomorrow and our car needs to pass inspection. One of the things it needs to have? Two working front lights. What does it NOT currently have? YOU GUESSED IT. I was almost not able to bring the car in today because firstly, Troy is booked up weeks in advance due to all the holiday driving/travel that people do. I was able to plead my case with him and we agreed that if I dropped my car off ASAP in the morning, he'd just pop that new light into it at some point in between the regular work. If he has time, he'll make things more profitable for himself by giving me an oil change (which I told him to feel free to do, because Troy prices very failrly and a single light change is going to cost me almost nothing.)
But secondly? The sky opened up and DUMPED snow on us. I don't know the official number of inches, but we crested at least 4 inches (10.16 cm for my metric friends) because Saint Paul declared a Snow Emergency.
For out of town people, a "Snow Emergency" isn't really an emergency as in "OH GOD EVERYTHING IS SHUT DOWN," but more, "Hey, Saint Paulies, time to move your car to one side of the street or the other so that the plows can come through!" It's also the day when snow emergency workers, like ticketers, go to work.
You may recall from previous episodes that last snow season (2024-March 2025), I worked as what Saint Paul Public Works colloquially referred to as "taggers." Our official title might have been "ticketers?" But, our job was to drive around the city and write out parking violation tickets, get cars towed, etc., so that the plows could come through and do their thing.
I am hired for the snow season (2025-26), however the job has changed. We are now "runners" and will be no longer writing tickets. That job is now in the hands of retired and reserve police officers. What does a runner do, you ask? Let me describe it and you can tell me if you think this job will be any fun. A runner will ride along with a police officer, brush the snow from license plates, and stick tickets in windows.
Yep.
There is a reason they did not interview me for this job, nor ask for a resume.
However, it feels like a job that really doesn't need to exist, doesn't it?
The saddest part is that I LOVED being a tagger. It's sad because everything I previously loved about that job, the police officers now do. I believe I wrote about this at length before, but basically the things I used to love about the job are all very silly. No one likes handing out parking tickets. However, there were some "fun" things that absolutely played into that part of every kid who used to make siren noises and run around pretending to be a cop. (And yeah, ACAB, but when I did this, I was 5 okay??) Like, in the old job we used to get to use the radio to call in vehicles in need of towing, etc, and we got to use a code that included our temporary badge number. RADIOS, y'all. They're just fun. Because you get to say, "Over." Or in our case, "Clear." Once trained, we got to go out, alone, in company car with heated seats and (sometimes!) heated steering wheels. We got to put on the flashing lights. We got to wear a safety vest. We got to learn the somewhat arcane process of handwriting tickets in those old booklets you sometimes see if you watch 1970s cop shows. DUMB STUFF. But, like, it made the job tolerable, you know?
But the fun part was never, ever: go out in the cold and stick the ticket on the windshield.
Is the pay good? I mean, it's OKAY. But the shifts are TEN HOURS. It's never less than that.
Also, speaking of ACAB? I'm not particularly thrilled at the idea of spending ten hours in a squad with a cop. What are we even going to talk about? The last ICE protest I went to? Because "say, were you there?" could get pretty awkward, pretty quickly.
By chance, I had to turn down this snow emergency. As noted, Mason has his big test tomorrow and I need to be available to drive him out to the test facility. I do not try to work the late shift because I'm pretty sure Saint Paul would not pay me for sleeping in the squad car, and I can not do 8pm to 5 am. I'm too old for that shift. Luckily, there's usually also a day shift.
I'll let you know what it's like when I finally do one, though. Maybe I'll be surprised and there will still be awesome things.
Sandnes skeins are definitely designed to pull from the outside and it's inconvenient!
Dec. 10th, 2025 02:43 pmcimoreneI was just getting really annoyed thinking about how it is not hard at all to wind your own center-pull yarn cake, so why can't mass-produced yarn balls pull from the center? (They can - there are some brands that do - but most of them don't work very well.) I got annoyed enough to just try a websearch for my question and found this forum discussion:
Oh, what. Oh, UGH, that's so annoying! That makes sense, I guess. It just annoys me.
This is a very basic question, but
"...do you prefer pulling yarn from the inside of a skein or the outside? And why? I usually pull from the inside, but the other day I decided to try the outside for a swatch. I have been used to “untwisting” yarn as I knit, but this time it was ridiculous. I ended up winding the skein into a ball from the inside before trying again. (I have a ball winder, but don’t usually use it for hand knitting projects.) [...]"
[Responder B]: "You're correct, it all has to do with the twist of your yarn. Most commercial yarns are meant to be pulled from the inside, but there are so many yarns out there, that is not a rule set in stone. You obviously added more twist when you tried using your yarn from the outside. A yarn butler would help that problem because it allow the skein to roll off the skein rather than it unrolling and slipping off the end which adds a twist. Some low twist yarns or singles yarn you have to be very careful with otherwise you will completely untwist it and it will pull apart while working. Yarn bowls can be helpful with controlling twist as well."
Oh, what. Oh, UGH, that's so annoying! That makes sense, I guess. It just annoys me.
- Pulling from the center seems more convenient in every respect to me, so why would you design it deliberately the other way? Obviously this isn't self-evident and there must be a lot of people who think it makes more sense or is more convenient to pull from the outside. I hate when my strong preferences are outliers like this because everything is working against me.
- what the hell is a 'yarn butler'? What an annoying term. I could google it but I didn't.
- I know about yarn bowls and I always found the concept a little annoying too, because I carry my knitting around in a bag and the bowl is hard, larger than my bag usually, and also frequently breakable. I typically put the skein in my knitting bag and that usually prevents it from rolling all over the place, although obviously it doesn't have the little loop to catch the working yarn and so isn't as effective as the yarn bowl concept.
SAD whining
Dec. 10th, 2025 02:13 pmcimoreneIt happens every year at this season that when the sun never comes up properly all day it feels like I have never woken up properly either, but it's always just as frustrating and I'm never prepared. Sigh. Time just comes unglued, because it's overcast all the time and it's only daylight (wan gray daylight) between 9 and 4 at best. A week could be a day long or a month long. It's like I'm dreaming, but not as pleasant, because my hands or feet are usually cold during the day.
Sunlamps have never been very noticeably useful for me, which is extremely depressing, but also not bad enough for me to completely give up on them. The worst part is that regular outdoor exercise probably would help but it's completely unattainable. You might as well tell me that a hundred pushups is the cure.
Sunlamps have never been very noticeably useful for me, which is extremely depressing, but also not bad enough for me to completely give up on them. The worst part is that regular outdoor exercise probably would help but it's completely unattainable. You might as well tell me that a hundred pushups is the cure.
TV, bird tv, fire tv
Dec. 8th, 2025 02:20 pmcimoreneI intend to watch the three released episodes of Heated Rivalry so I can know what everyone (my wife) is talking about, but I haven't got to it yet. I am obviously spoiled by Tumblr posts but I haven't watched the bits between the gifsets.
I rewatched Derry Girls over the last two weeks while attempting to knit this nephew sweater (made it to first sleeve cuff again, finally!). That show is so good, and it's so frustrating, because there's nothing more that's like it! All the main adult actors are also so good, but none of them have a long back catalogue of other comedy to watch! And of course the writer, Lisa McGee, needs time to write more things.
I have a long list of things I've been intending to watch and rewatch, but it feels like I don't have enough emotional bandwidth, or attention, or something, for starting new long things that are going to be dramatic.
So I've been watching a ton of non fiction instead:
➡️very old Folding Ideas and Hbomberguy videos
➡️Mentour Pilot's back catalog of aviation disaster explainers (previously I was familiar from watching overwaxjism's shoulder)
➡️Defunctland episodes that aren't too Disney-focused (a mention on Tumblr reminded me and I've only seen a few before)
➡️KyleHatesHiking videos about true crime, accidents, and missing persons cases related to hiking and outdoor sports (recommended by my sister last week)
➡️BobbyBroccoli science scandal documentaries (there's a new movie on Nebula, but otherwise I've watched them all before)
Meanwhile Wax is filling our bird feeders (seed and tallow ball) sometimes multiple times a day and the bird traffic is constant. Sipuli will sit by the window watching them like tv. Tristana is happy to sit in a chair facing the woodstove and watch the fire like it's a tv, sometimes for hours.
I rewatched Derry Girls over the last two weeks while attempting to knit this nephew sweater (made it to first sleeve cuff again, finally!). That show is so good, and it's so frustrating, because there's nothing more that's like it! All the main adult actors are also so good, but none of them have a long back catalogue of other comedy to watch! And of course the writer, Lisa McGee, needs time to write more things.
I have a long list of things I've been intending to watch and rewatch, but it feels like I don't have enough emotional bandwidth, or attention, or something, for starting new long things that are going to be dramatic.
So I've been watching a ton of non fiction instead:
➡️very old Folding Ideas and Hbomberguy videos
➡️Mentour Pilot's back catalog of aviation disaster explainers (previously I was familiar from watching over
waxjism's shoulder)➡️Defunctland episodes that aren't too Disney-focused (a mention on Tumblr reminded me and I've only seen a few before)
➡️KyleHatesHiking videos about true crime, accidents, and missing persons cases related to hiking and outdoor sports (recommended by my sister last week)
➡️BobbyBroccoli science scandal documentaries (there's a new movie on Nebula, but otherwise I've watched them all before)
Meanwhile Wax is filling our bird feeders (seed and tallow ball) sometimes multiple times a day and the bird traffic is constant. Sipuli will sit by the window watching them like tv. Tristana is happy to sit in a chair facing the woodstove and watch the fire like it's a tv, sometimes for hours.
Knitting a (Medium) Man Sweater
Dec. 5th, 2025 04:03 pmcimoreneMedium Man is a large size. It has more fabric in it than Small Woman (the size of me). It doesn't have more fabric than a sweater for waxjism, but she is too warm-blooded to wear sweaters really, so the last time I knitted one for her was over 10 years ago.
It's a lot of knitting. It's going. There are setbacks.
There are gauge issues. And challenges of imagination.
( Knitting Talk )
waxjism, but she is too warm-blooded to wear sweaters really, so the last time I knitted one for her was over 10 years ago.It's a lot of knitting. It's going. There are setbacks.
There are gauge issues. And challenges of imagination.
( Knitting Talk )
Dry eyes in the house
Dec. 4th, 2025 04:00 pmcimoreneYesterday Wax had to quit work early and drive into Turku to see a doctor because it felt like something was poking her in her left eye but there was nothing there! And then she had to get up early and go to Turku today to see a specialist. She got some eyedrops prescribed, but there's nothing majorly wrong with her eye. It's just that her eyes are too dry. Apparently when your eyes are too dry one of the things that can happen is that they stick to your eyelids when you're asleep and if they're too stuck, when you open your eyes a few cells from the cornea can get torn off it and stay stuck to the eyelid, which creates a little micro hole in it and feels like you're being constantly stabbed in the eyeball. Isn't that great?
When we were talking about this last night I said, "You know, for a bunch of years, like maybe five to ten years ago, I felt like my eyes were too dry all the time and I was putting saline drops in them frequently, but a few years ago instead it started being like they overcompensate and make a lot of tears and now my eyes are more likely to be running when I've been asleep or lying down..." and with her new knowledge she was able to devastatingly inform me that this is just a sign of my eyes being dry, and even though it makes them hurt less, the tears are the wrong kind of moisture or something and not actually helping the eye themselves. So apparently in addition to the drops Wax needs for the inflammation and pain, we both have to start moisturizing our eyes now.
The other quixotic thing that happened this week was that my sister forgot about Brexit. Again.
To be specific: last year my sister ordered me a holiday present from a UK etsy shop that cost more than the minimum you can import without paying import taxes now (which I think is like under 20€ - it might even be 10?). As a result I got a text informing me that a package I didn't know about previously was at Customs, and in order to free it I had to fill out an online form indicating exactly what it was (which is a hassle in itself because they're in a taxonomic tree list) and provide a receipt or proof of purchase, in this case, the email receipt from the webshop that my sister had to forward, which obviously sort of spoiled the surprise. With a small present the amount you have to pay to release it from jail is only a few euros typically, but it is a hassle and it spoils the surprise.
And then this week she FORGOT THAT THAT HAD HAPPENED and ordered me a present from another UK shop.
(My parents & sister and I have pretty much given up on mailing back and forth anything larger than a padded envelope due to the delays and the fact that postage for the regular-sized boxes we typically used to send has gone up to generally over 100€.)
When we were talking about this last night I said, "You know, for a bunch of years, like maybe five to ten years ago, I felt like my eyes were too dry all the time and I was putting saline drops in them frequently, but a few years ago instead it started being like they overcompensate and make a lot of tears and now my eyes are more likely to be running when I've been asleep or lying down..." and with her new knowledge she was able to devastatingly inform me that this is just a sign of my eyes being dry, and even though it makes them hurt less, the tears are the wrong kind of moisture or something and not actually helping the eye themselves. So apparently in addition to the drops Wax needs for the inflammation and pain, we both have to start moisturizing our eyes now.
The other quixotic thing that happened this week was that my sister forgot about Brexit. Again.
To be specific: last year my sister ordered me a holiday present from a UK etsy shop that cost more than the minimum you can import without paying import taxes now (which I think is like under 20€ - it might even be 10?). As a result I got a text informing me that a package I didn't know about previously was at Customs, and in order to free it I had to fill out an online form indicating exactly what it was (which is a hassle in itself because they're in a taxonomic tree list) and provide a receipt or proof of purchase, in this case, the email receipt from the webshop that my sister had to forward, which obviously sort of spoiled the surprise. With a small present the amount you have to pay to release it from jail is only a few euros typically, but it is a hassle and it spoils the surprise.
And then this week she FORGOT THAT THAT HAD HAPPENED and ordered me a present from another UK shop.
(My parents & sister and I have pretty much given up on mailing back and forth anything larger than a padded envelope due to the delays and the fact that postage for the regular-sized boxes we typically used to send has gone up to generally over 100€.)
Forty Years
Dec. 3rd, 2025 01:26 pmlydamorehouse Like a lot of queer people, Shawn and I are sort of flexible about the day we call our anniversary. We both dated other people as we figured out our love and how the hell it was going to work. It was a messy time, but we were together as "roommates" in college since December of 1985--somewhere in there we both left our assigned roommates for each other, so it's kind of our U-Haul day. Or, as I sometimes like to joke, the day I moved in and forgot to ever move out.
So, yeah, if you do the math, we have been together a STAGGERING number of years.
We usually, officially, celebrate on the first of December, but this year a dear friend who comes for Friendsgiving arrived life-threateningly infected and so we spent that day with him at United Hospital. Someone else might say that our anniversary was "ruined," but that would be a lie. What would have ruined our anniversary is if our friend had died. So, you know, the hospital was right where we all needed to be! No regrets. None whatsoever.
But, I don't want forty years together to go unremarked. So, today I ordered some flowers for Shawn that I hope will be delivered to her office before she leaves for the day at 3:00 pm. I'm going to maybe make something special for dinner tonight. Who knows? But, hopefully, we can think back on that trip to Target for holiday gifts back in 1985 and feel like it was all worth it.
So, yeah, if you do the math, we have been together a STAGGERING number of years.
We usually, officially, celebrate on the first of December, but this year a dear friend who comes for Friendsgiving arrived life-threateningly infected and so we spent that day with him at United Hospital. Someone else might say that our anniversary was "ruined," but that would be a lie. What would have ruined our anniversary is if our friend had died. So, you know, the hospital was right where we all needed to be! No regrets. None whatsoever.
But, I don't want forty years together to go unremarked. So, today I ordered some flowers for Shawn that I hope will be delivered to her office before she leaves for the day at 3:00 pm. I'm going to maybe make something special for dinner tonight. Who knows? But, hopefully, we can think back on that trip to Target for holiday gifts back in 1985 and feel like it was all worth it.