I have been meaning to write up the books I read this year...but I'm horrifically lazy about describing books, so I've been putting it off. So, now I'm taking the opportunity for a year-end book list, with minimal commentary.

Shadow and Bone, Leigh Bardugo
Siege and Storm, Leigh Bardugo
These are the first two books of the Grishaverse. I found this universe quite intriguing but eventually got distracted early in the third book, Ruin and Rising, and failed to finish it. Oops?

The Confidence Men: How Two Prisoners of War Engineered the Most Remarkable Escape in History, Margalit Fox
Well-researched story from WWI, full of details about the history of confidence men and spiritualism as well as the relevant events of the war and the lives of the protagonists -- and the relevant bits of the war took place in the lesser-known Middle East theater. The only non-fiction book I finished this year.

The Night Diary, Veera Hiranandani
Wonderful children's novel about a 12-year-old girl and her family displaced from their home in the partition of India in the late 1940s, told in the form of the letters to her dead mother that the young protagonist writes in her diary. I discovered i through reviews when looking for good books to give my niblings for Christmas and decided to read it myself.

The Forever Sea, Joshua Phillip Johnson
Wow, OK. One of the freshest, most inventive takes on fantasy world-building that I've ever read. Highly recommend!

The Last Graduate, Naomi Novik (Book 2 of the Scholomance)
Ho,ly. Shit! Naomi blew my mind with both extant books in this series. (I read the first book when in was published in Fall 2020.) Run, don't walk.

Ghost Talkers, Mary Robinette Kowal
Standalone historical speculative fiction novel set during WWI. A team of mediums aids the British war effort by receiving intelligence from British soldiers recently killed on the front lines.

Shades of Milk and Honey, Mary Robinette Kowal
Glamour in Glass, Mary Robinette Kowal
Without a Summer, Mary Robinette Kowal
Valour and Vanity, Mary Robinette Kowal
Of Noble Family, Mary Robinette Kowal
These 5 novels comprise MRK's Glamourist Histories series. Set in a Regency England (with forays to a handful of other countries) in which magic is employed primarily for decorative and entertainment purposes. Compelling characters, a dash of romance, and a great deal of action, intrigue, and social commentary make for a highly enjoyable read. I could not put them down.

His Majesty's Dragon, Naomi Novik*
Throne of Jade, Naomi Novik*
Black Powder War, Naomi Novik*
Empire of Ivory, Naomi Novik*
Victory of Eagles, Naomi Novik*
Tongues of Serpents, Naomi Novik
Crucible of Gold, Naomi Novik
Blood of Tyrants, Naomi Novik
League of Dragons, Naomi Novik
*Re-reads. OK, so. I had fallen behind on the Temeraire series, having last re-read books 1-4 when book 5 came out. It's been so great to revisit these beloved characters and events and forge forward through the final 4 books of the series. I'm still reading League of Dragons, but I expect to finish this weekend, so I'm counting it with my 2021 reads. You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Tags: 2021, books, reading

OK, so. I love quesadillas! I've been eating a lot of frozen burritos and chimichangas on my new watching-the-carbs-for-diabetes-control eating plan because convenience! Also, one frozen breakfast burrito or chicken chimichanga clocks in at just about my carbohydrate target range for a meal (30-40 g). But I need to watch my sodium, too, so I want to incorporate more homemade rather than processed foods. BUT! I have limited time and kitchen space, so whatever I do has to fit within those limits.

As background, let me tell you about a trick I learned years ago from my grandmother for preparing easy, delicious baked boneless chicken breasts in foil packets. Just rip off a generous piece of aluminum foil and spray it with cooking spray. Place a chicken breast in the center. Fold up the short sides of the foil to meet, fold them over with a 1/2 inch or less crease, and continue to fold down until a packet-like object is formed. Fold or curl up the other two edges to seal. Bake on a baking sheet...ohhh, this is the fuzzy details part. 375F? 400F? 425F? for 30-45 minutes depending on your oven and the size of the chicken breast. A few test runs and you'll figure it out! Just be sure to carefully unpeel the foil (there's hot liquid in the bottom of the packet, so watch out!) so you can cut into the center of your chicken breast to test for doneness after baking, and then you can seal it back up and bake longer, if needed. ETA (days and days later): I should have added that I buy the individually frozen breasts, and follow the package instructions re: temperature and time to cook from frozen (bake time adjusted for my convection oven).

Now, the beauty of this cooking method is you can season the chicken breast as much or as little as you like -- or even add extras like veggies or (thinly-sliced) potatoes or what-have-you to cook in there with the chicken (cooking time may need to be adjusted, of course, if you're adding a ton of extra stuff). I've done just plain chicken breast, maybe with a little salt and pepper. I've also done a handful of frozen mixed vegetables underneath the chicken (they steam up really well). Of course you could just slather on some BBQ sauce or Italian dressing or really any marinade or sauce you like for flavor. The internet is full of suggestions and recipes, as well. Apparently, people also use the foil packet method for salmon or other fish or whatever else, too. I don't like fish, but knock yourself out.

Now, that said...when I first tried to make prepare chicken breasts this way recently for quesadillas I just did plain chicken breasts, but that was way too bland and dry in the quesadilla. I guess there's a reason all the internet quesadilla recipes involve sauteeing the chicken in a skillet with veggies and tomatoes and seasonings. I hope to reach stovetop cooking capability eventually, but at the moment, my glass cooktop is storage and working space in my zero other counter space studio apartment microkitchen. However, I noticed that I had a previously unopened jar of salsa in my cupboard, so last week I tried spooning a few dollops of salsa in my foil packets underneath and on top of each chicken breast, as well as shaking on some chili powder and cumin. Once cooked and cooled enough to handle, I transferred the contents of the packets into a large gladware-style container and shredded the chicken with two forks. At first I thought there was too much liquid in the packets (the salsa was pretty runny and of course some liquid cooks out of the chicken), but I ended up needing it all to make a sufficiently saucy quesadilla filling once I added some shredded cheese to the shredded chicken.*

You can certainly prepare your quesadillas in a pan or on a griddle or quesadilla press. But it's much more convenient for me to bake them in the oven, given my kitchen set-up. I'm not 100% where I saw this on the internet (can't find the exact recipe again), but I lined my heaviest baking sheet with foil, sprayed it with cooking spray, and put it in the oven while I preheated to 425F. Once the preheat cycle was done I grabbed it out and quickly assembled my quesadillas on it. Low carb tortillas sprinkled shredded cheese on one half of each low-carb tortilla (pre-shredded cheese with Mexican seasonings, for convenience and a little added flavor), spooned on some of the chicken filling, sprinkled more cheese on top, folded over, sprayed each top side with cooking spray and popped them back in the oven. I bake for 11-12 minutes in my convection oven. I think I adapted that from 15 minutes of regular oven cooking time. Using a heavy baking sheet and putting the tray in the oven while it preheats helps to lightly crisp the bottom side of the quesadilla. I do not have a broiler function in my oven, so I can't control the browning by cooking under the broiler, then flipping and broiling the other side.

I suppose you could do full-on top and bottom tortillas if you really wanted to have full round quesadillas instead of the folded versions, but I find the folded single-tortilla version easier to handle. I eat them with sour cream. The tortilla wraps I bought are just 11g of carbs each, so I can have several for a meal.

I seal up the container of filling and stash it in the fridge for a couple more quesadilla meals in the next few days.

This story brought to you by the second week in a row of readying for these quesadillas. Foil packets of chicken currently cooling on the counter. I'll shred the chicken in a few minutes while I watch the Penguins-Panthers game.

*ETA a note: Last week I had already pulled the chicken breasts out of the packets to shred and ended up adding back the reserved liquid to the filling mixture when it looked a little dry. This week, knowing I would need it all I just dumped everything out into the container. So now I'm finding that it's impossible to efficiently shred the meat in all that liquid, so I'm pulling each breast out onto a plate to shred and then dumping it back in the liquid to marinate especially the inside bits in the flavor.

ETA 2: A note about quantities...obviously the above is more of a process ramble than a succinct recipe, but I noted tonight that using three chicken breasts and an 8oz bag of pre-shredded cheese yielded enough for 6 of the folded-over half quesadillas I describe. I used about 2 oz of cheese in the filling mix and 2 oz to sprinkle inside the three quesadillas I cooked tonight. I put the rest of the filling mixture in the fridge and sealed up the rest of the cheese to use with it. Of course, I measured nothing -- that's all estimating after the fact based on package size and how much I had left over. The (16 oz?) jar of salsa has held up through two rounds of cooking this amount of filling and has a bit of salsa left, but I'll need a new jar for a complete third go.

ETA 3: Did I say 6? It turned into more like 11 over the next couple of days. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ But now I'm out and I need more cheese and another package of tortillas to make more.

ETA 4: Made them again on 10/19 with Pace Chunky Salsa Medium and, wow! So much better than the watery store-brand salsa. You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Tags: cooking

Hello. Here's an update on my life; you're welcome.

I concluded my work-from-home stint in late July when the city called us all back to our workplaces and created a new (provisional) alternative work arrangements policy. First I had a shit-ton of vacation scheduled in June and July, so I was pretty darn relaxed. Except also I was hospitalized in late June for anemia. That freaked out my lifelong BFF Emily, who immediately arranged to fly out for my birthday weekend in July to take me out for dinner and also clean my entire flipping apartment because I so did not have the energy and because she is awesome like that. Seriously, if you can get you a BFF who has housekeeping superpowers I highly recommend it! And a seemingly endless supply of goodwill. And I hadn't seen her since 2016, so it was great to just spend time in the same place, catching up and chatting. She took me out for dinner at a nice restaurant by the lake. And she left me with a much more livable apartment. I still have a few final touches to put on it, but those seem manageable now. Well, soon. I have time off at Thanksgiving is what I'm saying.

Work has been OK. We're still not back to full normal and I'm not sure when we will be, but I'm adjusting. The departmental selection duties I assumed in early summer are coming along and are starting to feel manageable, so that's good. I've been getting a ton of off-desk time to work on it, which I'm not sure is sustainable long term, if we are ever to return to something more like normal, including re-opening the subject-area reference room that is my home department. But I think I have enough of a handle on how to do the job now that I can handle it even with less specially allotted time.

I've been playing catch-up on a lot of healthcare stuff, as well, in recent months. I switched to a new hospital system (the local academic medical center attached to the local medical college) and I love my new providers. I've buckled down on my diabetes self-care, seeking out and following a dietician's advice in a sustained way...and my blood sugar levels have gone from catastrophic to well-managed. And I've lost 10 pounds as a bonus.

I also got into a reading habit late in the pandemic that has carried through. I may follow this post up with one about the books I've read over the past six months. Oh, and one about my new easy-prep low-carb baked chicken quesadilla recipe that I invented for myself.

OK, thanks for reading. See you again soon! You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Tags: life, personal

OK, friends, it's gonna be a ramble, but here I am. Still breathing.

( cut for rambleCollapse ) You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Hello, team. Here, have an update from me, even if it's really boring...

I am now officially done doing contact tracing for the city health department. My last day was on Friday of this past week. I've been called back to the library for this coming week, returning to the building on Wednesday. Monday and Tuesday I'll do library work from home. I'm glad for this step back toward regular life, even if it's going to be weird and different there for quite a while yet. Masks for everyone, plexiglass shields at reference desks. A face shield to wear when I go out from behind the plexiglass barriers. Our hours have changed and some of our departments won't be open.

I'm torn between the shop therapy excitement of all the new masks I've ordered to wear to work for the foreseeable future and the dread of not knowing what to expect and of the likelihood that, at least to start out with I'll likely be forced to work the majority of my time at my two least favorite reference desk assignments because those are the service points that will be open. *Deep breaths* It's OK, I'm glad I still have a job, especially one that pays as well as this one does. I'm lucky to have it; we'll get through this. As usual my co-workers will be a big help, even if they have to remain six feet away and have 2/3 of their face hidden. And this is my realtruejob, which I was desperate to get back to at times. I did finally adjust to the temporary contact tracing gig -- and I even got pretty good at it, I think -- but it was still always temporary. I'm glad for what I learned from the experience, but I'm equally glad that it's over.

I have been enjoying all the NHL hockey in August. So many games, sometimes all day long through the qualifying round. And since I was working from home I could throw all the games and related coverage up on the TV and watch while I worked, muting when I had to be on calls. The number of games slowed during the first round of the playoffs, and there will be even fewer games now that we're in round 2. Convenient with my return-to-work schedule.

My Pittsburgh Penguins got eliminated in the qualifying round (there's always next year!), so I've been rooting for my secondary squads, some of whom are now playing one another (with more of that inevitably to follow), or picking through my feelings to cheer on whoever I like better in any given match up.

I'm continuing to enjoy watching The Expanse now that there's some free time this weekend around the hockey. So good! You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Tags: covid life, hockey, life, tv

The lovely kass gave me three words to use as writing prompts, and so I share the following thoughts:

1. Bookshelf
Bookshelves are for filling, obviously. That is, except when they are for emptying. One city of residence ago I had a flat on the second floor of a great old Victorian house and the front room had an entire wall of built-in bookshelves. Not fancy or anything -- more built ONto the wall not INto the wall. But it was a lot of shelf space. I don't think I quite filled the shelves, but I acquired rather more books than I actually needed or wanted to read because I could just keep putting them on those shelves. And then when it came time to move out of that apartment I went rather bonkers from stress (not solely due to the books) and ended up leaving several boxes worth of cast-offs for my father and sister to come dispose of after I'd left the state. IIRC, I think I also left a narrow freestanding bookcase tucked into the bedroom closet of that apartment that held dozens of Harlequin and Silhouette romances -- all purchased in periodic binges at the Super Kmart store 10 miles up the highway on the fringes of a more populous city. I didn't have fanfic yet, you see...

I know I brought some of the living room books with me to my new state because I still have some books from that time in college (three living spaces before the 2nd floor flat) when I joined QPBC. I saw them when I was getting ready for my latest move, into this tiny studio apartment that doesn't have room for bookshelves. The one and a half bookcases that I was using in my previous apartment are empty ad sitting in storage, along with several boxes of books, most of which are headed for Half Price Books or some charitable donation as soon as I can find time and energy to sort that out. I plan to save out only the most important books that I will want read again, plus any volumes of particular sentimental attachment -- I think I still have a couple childhood talismans that define me. The empty bookshelves are definitely going on to a new home where they can be filled with someone else's books. I might have room in this apartment to keep the much shallower wooden media case -- in the old place it held my DVD collection, but if I keep it it would hold a smaller mixed collection of DVDs, CDs, and books. I might make space for it on the wall between my bed and the (angled) TV cart, pretty much in the space created by the aforementioned angle.

In a different mood this could have been an entirely different meditation on "bookshelf," like telling you all the story of that time that I rewrote the library shelving training guide at my first job out of undergrad and had to invent terminology for elements of the library book stacks -- two decades of working in libraries later and I still find it preposterous that there's no standard term to refer to a single vertical section within a long row of shelving. It's standard practice in libraries and bookstores to go down that vertical section of shelves before moving up and over to the next one; repeat, repeat, etc to the end of the row, then jump the aisle and so forth. Right? In my training manual I declared them to be called Thomases, with an option on short ones to be referred to as a "Tom" or "Tommy." After all, as long as my staff was clear on terminology among ourselves, we could call it whatever we want, right? I mean, that's how language works! And so it was...at least until I left for library school.

2. Plate
More post-moving trauma here. I think I still have the set of plates and dishes that I bought at the Corningware Corelle Revere outlet store when I lived in the 2nd floor flat that I mentioned above. I didn't like any of the patterns, but I became rather enamored of a very simple, plain white set of dishes, especially the very round shape of the bowls and tea cups. I can't recall using them since I moved from Ohio to Wisconsin 15 years ago. Perhaps I did in my first or second apartment here. I tried to save the boxes I believed might still hold these plates when I moved last month, even as I was abandoning lots of whatever. See, I have a dishwasher in this apartment. That means I might actually consider using my real dishes again.

New apartment, fresh start, whole new world of possibilities. But not unless and until I deal with...

3. Box
Boxes, totes, bins, crates. They line my walls here in this room. They're crammed into every nook and corner of my storage unit. Tomorrow after I go see Spider-Man: Far From Home I will visit my storage area with a pack of new file boxes to unearth the plastic moving totes I rented from U-Haul, transfer the contents, and return the rentals only a week and a half late.


It's going to take a while to sort out my life and stuff, but I like where things are headed.


If you would like three words from me to prompt your own post, please hit me up in comments.

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Tags: life, meme, moving

I've been putting off posting until I felt more...centered, I guess. I am not there yet, but I decided to post anyway in case I never get there. Or not never, just not any time soon. I am trying to embrace this whole work in progress aspect of life.

So, yeah, I'm close to the end of my two week June vacation, during which I'd hoped to entirely sort out my post-moving mess. That didn't happen. I'm still living among too many boxes and totes full of assorted belongings. I did manage to unpack my ridiculously large collection of socks and underwear. You know that thing where instead of doing laundry for a couple months I just kept buying new packages of socks and underwear? Right. So, I have a lot of those things now is what I'm saying.

As my attention span permits, I have been reading and marathoning TV, which I'll admit are perfectly acceptable vacation activities for relaxation (perhaps even better for my mental health than being productive would have been). I watched all 5 seasons of Schitt's Creek because some of my friends are obsessed with it and/or vidding it and it's a quick watch. I was reluctantly charmed by the central characters, and I was informed by a friend's vid draft that there would be emotional payload in the form of an adorable male/male relationship if I just stuck with the show, so I powered through my embarrassment squick to receive my prize.

In books, I read Honor Bound, the second book in the Honors series by Rachel Caine and Ann Anguirre. I could describe the series, but instead I'll embed the trailer video for Honor Among Thieves, the first book in the series, since it pretty much tells you all you need to know to pique your interest:



I will remark that I devoured the first book when I discovered it last year, and that the second book does a great job of expanding both the found family and adventure aspects of the first, while exploring new settings and characters. I look forward to the third book, which is due out in early 2020.

Next up on my reading list was Ann Leckie's Imperial Radch trilogy, but I had a hard time getting into it in my scattered state of mind, so I ran across the street to the library (you guys, I live right across the street from the library now!) to check out another YA SF series by Rachel Caine, The Great Library. I cruised right through the first book, Ink and Bone, and I'm on to the second, Paper and Fire. I'll try the Leckie again later, as I've heard great things about it and I got far enough in to get a taste for why it's so interesting.

In other news, I realized last night that I'm due back to work on Tuesday instead of Monday next week, so that's an exciting bonus day that I had forgotten about.

I have been steadily nesting, despite the domestic chaos here. Apparently Brita water pitchers have stepped up their tech since the last time I bought one.

I have also ordered a longer coaxial cable in hopes that I'll get more over-the-air channels if I put my TV antenna in the window, even if my windows face the wrong direction. Did I mention that I live in an ugly cement monster of a building? Seriously, imagine a 12-story tall cement bunker. It's hideous, but it's home. Inside was completely gutted when they turned the former office building into sleek, modern apartments a couple years ago. But outside? Fugly. And the structure is not conducive to TV reception. I tested with a shorter cable next to the TV on an interior wall and I could get my favorite station, but *fingers crossed* for the antenna in the window when the new cable arrives.

Mostly I want to sleep. It's a struggle to keep a daylight schedule. I haven't been able to fall asleep most nights until 4am. I've been awake for a few hours today -- long enough to read a chapter of my book, eat some leftovers, and write this post -- but I could fall asleep right now if I let myself. And I might. I know it won't help me get to sleep any earlier tonight if I nap this afternoon, but the truth is that the only thing that's going to snap me out of this 4am-noon sleep schedule is returning to work next week, when I'll have to get up in the morning and I'll have demands on my time and attention all day long that will force me to power through the day...and then I'll be exhausted enough to sleep by midnight. In 15-17 years when I retire I wonder what my sleep schedule will look like?

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Tags: life

Hello, internet friends. I know, I know: I don't write, I don't call...I only show up to talk about me at points of crisis or excitement. I swear I think anout you all the time. I'm pretty good about reading my LJ and DW flists. Less so tumblr, although sometimes I trip and fall onto somebody's tumblr and then log in to add them there and take five minutes to cruise my tumblr roll (is that what it's called? enh, close enough)

The excitement this time is that I'm in the hell of getting ready to move...
into an apartment building that is across the street from my workplace. A tiny studio on the 7th floor. I have never lived above the second floor anywhere, even in college. I am excited for my commute to be crossing the street. I am excited to transition to a car-free lifestyle. I am excited by the prospect of the smartphone-controlled video call entry system and the laundry room conveniences, which include cashless payment options and a remote load-finish notification system. And only have to keep up a small space that is basically a spacious bedroom with a kitchen in it and an attached bathroom. And the combination microwave/convection oven. And the full-size refrigerator. And all of the important things I really need and none of the hassles I don't. And I bet I can sleep until 15-20 minutes before I have to be on desk at work. And I can be back in my jammies 15 minutes after closing. And if I forget my lunch or my meds, I can pop across the street at will to grab whatever. I mean, I'm super stressed about sorting though all my shit from the past decade and a half to condense myself to less than half the space at more than twice the cost...but once I get through it this move is going to be so good!

So good! And maybe I'll have more time for fannish engagement and projects and other fun times!

Today I made arrangements to pick up my keys late next week, and I requested a quote from movers for Memorial Day. I have the info I need to set up electrical service, so I'll call about that in the next few days. Busy, busy, busy!

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Tags: hope, life, moving

Everything short of the bathtub is newer and nicer. A taller toilet with two flush settings, new sink and vanity, new medicine cabinet, new wood laminate floor. The clean lines and modern design make a very small room feel much more spacious, and I look forward to fitting it out with some new bathroom storage pieces and other accessories.

On the downside, many of my bathroom things are gone. No one told me the vanity and medicine cabinet were going, so I didn't know to remove my belongings from those spaces. I'm out an electric toothbrush, some pill cases, a pair of tweezers, a plastic cup, a bottle of Alleve, a half-empty box of Kleenex, and who knows what else that I haven't specifically noticed yet (Probably some toilet bowl cleaner and other cleaning products from the cabinet beneath the sink). As exchanges go, I'll gladly take the nice new bathroom and move on. All that stuff is very replaceable, and I just want this whole experience to be over...except for the redecorating! I have a new bathmat and towels that I've been sitting on for a few weeks.

ETA: I found some of my stuff tucked in boxes in the living room, so the losses are less than I originally thought.

Did I mention that the new toilet FLUSHES???

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Tags: domestic stuff, life

Oh, joy! I came down with a stomach bug on Thursday night/Friday morning, so I grabbed a very comfy stay at an AirBNB with a private bedroom and bathroom. It was less than 5 miles from where I live, so my commute to work was much the same as usual during that time. A handyman is scheduled to come over on Tuesday morning to fix up the bathroom, including laying new tile over the existing tile, so I have to get up at early and scrub the floor. The bright spot of mt evening tonight (up to a few minutes from now, when I get to sleep in my own bed, yay!) was that the bathtub unclogged easily when I plunged it. Yeah, if I didn't mention before, the bathtub didn't empty after my shower on Thursday...for no logical reason. Whatever. I have a plunger. Possibly I should own two plungers?

I'll talk to the handyman in the morning to see if he thinks he'll be done in a day or whether my bathroom will be torn up for a while. Look, I just want my life back, OK?

You can also read this entry on Dreamwidth ( comments)

Tags: life