Bask in the glow

Brookside Gardens of Light

Visited Brookside Gardens for their Gardens of Light for my wife’s birthday. The lights were beautiful. But the attraction that made me gasp was the bubbles sticking to the tree branches from the children’s area. Magical little bulbs in the night. Some of them were filled with mist that puffed out a tiny cloud when popped. 🫧

Illuminated flamingo-shaped lights stand by a pond at night, casting vibrant purple reflections on the water amid a dark, tree-lined background.

A light display features a wolf-shaped figure and trees adorned with white lights, set against a night background.

A single illuminated bubble in sharp focus against a blurred backdrop of multicolored lights adorning bare tree branches at night.

Multicolored lights blur background behind a bubble on a twig, creating a bokeh effect in a lit garden at night.

If you are a child of Looney Tunes or Monty Python please enjoy Hundreds of Beavers.

www.hundredsofbeavers.com

How much money is a commute into an office worth?

A two-tiered, oval window bird feeder holds assorted papers, set against a sunset view through a screened window, with a silhouette of a house outside.

Finally installed my in-window bird feeder. Added to a second story window to hopefully prevent the squirrels fromm parkouring into it.

Will it work? Only time will telll tell.

“I can’t keep loving the potential of a thing when the actual thing is making me miserable most of the time.” - a video about a video game

This line has stuck with me. It’s a good reminder to stop loving things for what they could be and start loving what is worth it today. Potential isn’t reality.

Taylor Swift is having the absolute most fun clowning with her fandom and Reputation (Taylor’s Version).

And it’s hilarious and awesome. And I’m here for it. 🤡

It snowed* today.

*flurries, but it counts

So I’ve been in the head space of SNOW DAY! I want my cereal, a warm blanket and air for Price is Right.

A hand holds a two-toned leaf, red merging into yellow, against a blurred background of a sidewalk and grass.

Between two three hour meetings I found this leaf on my short walk.

A tiered fountain cascades water, surrounded by flagpoles, trees, and a person walking in Roanoke, VA.

A fountain shimmering in the sun in Roanoke, VA.

Michelle Kingdom, Michelle Kingdom, For Safe Keeping, 2022, Embroidery on linen from the The Never-Ending Thread. An Embroidery Exhibition at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA.

Embroidered figure rests amongst white flowers on a dark background, conveying introspection or melancholy, framed for display.

A person rests their head on their hand, embroidered with thread among white lilies on a black background, creating a textured, contemplative scene.

A detailed embroidery of a human face and flowers, with high textural contrast against a dark background.

Embroidery threads form the shape of a plant or tree on a black background, showcasing textures and colors to create a botanical design.

Embroidered artwork depicting textured plant roots in various colors against a dark background, giving a detailed close-up perspective.

Weekend trip to see a breath-taking embroidery exhibition in Virginia

After learning about Michelle Kingdom’s work from an artist talk my wife does, we saw she had some work in a show at James Madison University in Harrisonburg, VA.

We knew we had to see The Never-Ending Thread. An Embroidery Exhibition. Photos do not do it justice (says the man sharing photos). The storytelling and the stitch work are equally transcendent. This piece has remained with me since I saw a photo of it weeks ago.

Getting to experience it in person, in a dead quiet gallery with just my wife and I, was more than I could have hoped for.

All photos of Michelle Kingdom’s Willful Rhymes, 2023, Square on vintage textile

A framed textile artwork depicting illustrated people with a central colorful group, displayed on a gallery wall.

Embroidered figures walking among leaf patterns; a building with people in the background. The scene is depicted in a mix of color and grayscale stitchwork on fabric.

Embroidered figures engage in varied activities against a backdrop of more figures and foliage, suggesting a community scene on fabric.

Embroidered figures on fabric, with repeating pattern of women against a floral backdrop, displayed partially over a black background, suggesting depth and texture.

Embroidered figures walk among trees and fallen leaves, set against detailed foliage with sketched faces along the bottom.

Kitchen stains are a swatch book for quality control

A hand holds an open carton of Turkey Hill Black Raspberry frozen dairy dessert, partially scooped, atop a white surface.

Does anyone else use the stains on their chest freezer / counter space to match ice cream colors like a swatch book?

This Black Raspberry doesn’t match last month’s color.

It tastes like vanilla ice cream sitting near some raspberries in the freezer. If La Croix had an icre cream line, this would be it.

I’ve already contacted Turkey Hill about it to let them know.

The NY Times Tech Guild (who bring you Wordle, Connections, the rest of the games and the Cooking site) are on strike.

And since we don’t cross picket lines, they’ve made a Strike Edition of the games we love and the recipes we need.

In all the times I’ve picked up food, there has never been another Carl.

Karl with a K got his pizza with veggies and an order of wings.

Sorry Karl, I nearly got your pizza. Enjoy your wings.

“I never thought leopards would eat MY face,” sobs woman who voted for the Leopards Eating People’s Faces Party.

This feels more relevant than ever.

I find little solace in electing my state’s first black Senator.

I find little solace in enshrining reproductive rights in my state’s constitution.

I am filled with a fury that for the next four years everyday will be filled with the government being devoted to actively making life worse.

A vehicle’s wheel showing a close-up of the brake disc and caliper, with a walnut wedged between the components.

If you hop in your car and try to go somewhere. Backing out of your driveway like you normally would. Then hear an otherworldly squealing sound when you put the car in drive…

Check your wheels and brakes for walnuts. 🐿️

Today’s computer lesson.

When you’re trying to run file-name.sh you cannot put file.name.sh into your cron job and expect it to run.

A darkened house with illuminated windows stands against a twilight sky.

I am not sure how I accomplished this effect with the Pixel’s Night Sight mode, but I like it.

Voted for Kamala.

And YES to adding a new article to the Maryland Constitution’s Declaration of Rights establishing a right to reproductive freedom, defined to include “the ability to make and effectuate decisions to prevent, continue, or end one’s own pregnancy.”

I voted sticker from Maryland with an Oriole bird, blue crab, jockey on horseback surrounding a flower in the middle with parts of the Maryland state flag between the animals.

A vibrant sunset with streaks of yellow and orange light peeking through silhouetted trees, against a blue to golden gradient sky.

A sunset with golden hues paints streaked clouds above silhouetted trees on the horizon.

Tired of being awake early by awake early enough to greet the morning sun. But the show is nice.

The last three nights we’ve watched the Eras tour vicariously through the kindness of people with their phone streaming it.

Tonight, there is no Eras order to watch, and I’m at a little bit of a loss as to what to do.

I really need a way to look at the (likely terrible) sci-fi movies on the streaming serviced and determine if or how they’re terrible.

I love watching them and I know I’m going to regret most of them. But what are the diamonds in the rough?

Or at least the decent ones.

Birds flying across a twilight sky gradient with silhouetted trees and a house in the foreground.

Birds commuting home at sunset. The color was subtle but lovely.

For all the people canceling The Washington Post subscriptions, does this hurt Bezos? Or does it hurt the reporters working for the paper?

I get that you’re upset. I am too. But I don’t think the pittance of newspaper subscriptions are going to even register to its billionaire owner.