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Second hand shops are great. Today I bought a soft cuddly top, a small ceramic jug for refilling the iron, and an Anglo-Saxon Primer (the 9th edition - printed when my parents were preschoolers - of a book originally published in the reign of Queen Victoria). All from the same shop. #SecondHandShops

The Great Pyjama Conundrum: You are comissioned by Person A to buy on their behalf a pair of pyjamas as a gift for Person B (for which Person A will reimburse you). When you reach the shop, you find that there are only two options in Person B's size. Do you:

Kiwis, where do you get your buttons? Having spent three and a half years knitting a nice dark blue waistcoat for my husband, I want something more than the usual holey pieces of plastic for fasteners. I'd like silvery buttons (pewter, steel, whatev) that will ornament the garment without being attention grabbers, and they need to be about 13mm. Research suggests my options are: Plastic. Looks like metal but is plastic. Looks like metal, may even be metal, but is 16mm/falsely claiming to be Chanel/falsely claiming to be "China Police". I need about 10 or so. Suggestions? Edited to add: am in Lower Hutt with chronic fatigue, so something local or that sells online is preferable. #buttons #knitting #NewZealand

"An epic fantasy without needing to be a trilogy. Every character is superbly written and I was totally invested in every one of them.... I gave this book 5 stars - I loved it to bits and I can see it being a constant reread in the future." The Reading Ruru reviewing Amiant Soul

Amiant Soul – Deborah Makarios

#AmiantSoul #books #fantasy #review #CreativeCommons #PWYW

I always thought I wasn't the lace knitting type, but Old Shale ain't bad. Which is a good thing, as this baby blanket has a long way to go yet. #knitting #lace #OldShale

"propane powered flaming sousaphone" is definitely on my list of phrases I never expected to encounter. But I did.

Sousaphone - Wikipedia

#sousaphone #wikipedia

Pirate jellyfish (accompanied by tiny parrotfish, naturally). #drawing #FountainPens #pirate #jellyfish

Drawing jellyfish by candlelight at bedtime (as one does). My brain: put a top hat on the next one. And a monocle. Mine not to reason why... (Diamine Woodland Green in a TWSBI Diamond Mini, F nib) #drawing #FountainPen #jellyfish #ink

I'm surprised to see publisher Quentin Wilson claim that authors rely "heavily" on tools like PhotoShop and Grammarly. I've never used either, although - full disclosure - I do use the GIMP for building my book covers (typography excepted - that's done by a real live human graphic designer). Quentin Wilson, on the other hand, publishes books with AI-generated covers. Guaranteed AI-free fantasy ebooks here:

Works – Deborah Makarios

Also some paperback stock available in NZ - drop me a line if interested. #books #AI #publishing #AIFree #NewZealand #GIMP #NoAI

It turns out our cat has the same reaction to being drawn as she does to being photographed, viz: 1) what is that noise? 2) what are you doing? 3) I'm leaving. So here is a drawing which started out as a drawing of our cat and then became a drawing of an imaginary cat. #drawing #cats #PenAndInk #FountainPen