Favorite Movies I watched in May

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It’s June while I’m writing this and I have been to the movie theater so many times. The MOVIES ARE BACK BABY.

With that being said my highest rated movies are all 4.5/5 stars this month. I was able to watch 26 movies in May which felt great.

High Noon (1952): Western Thriller is right. This was such a good watch. I really felt the passing of the time in the town and the increasing desperation of the Marshall as his town basically leaves him high and dry. Riveting.

Hokum (2026): A movie theater watch with some new movie friends! This was such a creepy vibe. I really appreciate how grounded in realism this was with just a touch of folklore horror. Adam Scott in elevators, who’d have thought it would be such a great thing.

How to Be Alone (2019): A short film with my Scream Queen Maika Monroe. A very good short watch with enough creepy vibes to make it really off putting but not too offputting.

My Blueberry Nights (2007): We had to really get going on watching some Wong Kar Wai because a bunch of his stuff we don’t own was leaving the Criterion Channel and we had to get it done. I’m so glad we started our Wong Kar journey. Apparently My Blueberry nights is one of his most least liked films and I loved it and then I loved the next one and I think I’m probably going to keep loving them all. This one was fun to start with because it was an English Speaking cast and it was such a sweet love story. I could have done without Natalie Portman’s character plot but on the whole, perfect.

The Hand (2004): Another Wong Kar Wai after we watched this one I asked my partner if they were all going to be melancholy and sad and he was like, I’m pretty sure that’s what the director is known for. So I have a bunch more of that to look forward to!

I haven’t’ been doing the special shout out to the worst film of the month (it felt bad sometimes because I know that people work hard on films) but the one I watched was so egregiously bad that even a Blank Check Commentary Podcast couldn’t save it and that was The Love Guru (2008). I gave that bitch half a star and it should thank me.

Books I Read in May

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May felt like such a long month of reading but I barely have anything to show for it. The main novel I was reading was a bit of a slog (a slog that I started in APRIL) and I didn’t even finish it in May. I have finally finished it in June so I’ll talk about it next month.

We have 3 graphic novels this month!

Gunsmith Cats Burst Vol. 2 Omnibus: I finally get to read the ending to this series and I have to say it’s a little bit of a downer. A decent ending which is few and far between with manga but still a downer.

Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up With Me: An American style graphic novel. Cute but the main character is pretty frustrating. This is not one that I am keeping after my read through.

Yotsuba Vol. 16: I wait for Yotsuba eternally with baited breath. This is a series I absolutely adore and have for years but it does not come out nearly often enough and I get so sad when I have to wait for so long. If there was a new Yotsuba every month I would buy it instantly, no questions asked. I read it twice already. It’s so good.

Moving Pictures: Yet another Terry Pratchett novel to strike of the very long list. This one was good with the Hollywood satire, it really has some crazy plot elements and it crescendos at the end most spectacularly. On to the next, which is Reaper Man and boy do I love me some Death.

Lewis Adventure Farm and Zoo, September 2025, part 1

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My love of petting zoos started very early.

 

I have always loved to pet animals. This is nothing new to me. But the sheer joy I feel when I pet an animal is ridiculous. Especially when I see the photos of me while I’m petting the animals. Like, I don’t think I smile that big except for when I am petting an animal.

So what to do when the world is chaos? Go pet some animals. I did this by going to a place a kept seeing on my Instagram Feed called The Lewis Adventure Farm and Zoo. They also have a waterpark (splash pad?) area but I went on the first weekend they reopened for fall so all of that was very closed.

 
 

In their ad they always mentioned their special programs to pet various wildlife so I decided to splurge…with the Capybara Experience. When I tell you it was the highlight of my entire 2025, I am not exaggerating. I cannot think of this little daytrip without getting a big smile on my face and just being in a better mood thinking about it. It’s like my cure for depression and anxiety. I got to pet capybaras! Whenever the photos pop up at home I get a little jolt of serotonin.

When I scheduled our appointment with the capybaras, I chose the earliest time I could get and we also went on a Friday to avoid the Saturday and Sunday crowd and that really worked out in our favor, we were the only ones in the experience and it wasn’t too hot yet so it was pleasant to hang out in the sun with the capys, feeding them their breakfast and petting them.

 

The inside enclosure, eeeeeee.

 

The two capybaras we got to hang out with were Velma and Scooby Doo and they were a breeding pair that haven’t had babies yet, so fingers crossed for them. I knew capybara's were big but it is surreal to see a rodent of that size (ROUS’s?) . We followed the caretaker out into the yard with plates full of vegetables and sat on some benches in their enclosure where each of the capybaras essentially chose one of us and got handfed their first meal of the day. Velma chose me and Scooby chose my partner. As we broke the food into smaller pieces to make the experience last as long as possible the caretaker told us all sorts of fun facts about them and how to act and move around them. She emphasized that the movement we make or noises we do could scare them back into their inner-enclosure because they are prey animals and will run from what they perceive as threats. I think it’s crazy that they are that big and are still considered prey animals.

Velma was hilarious. Anytime I was moving too slow feeding her she would show me her GIGANTIC front teeth, which I was told she does that because she thinks it makes her look cute and she gets more treats that way and she’s right, she’s super cute and she was going to get my entire plate. She was very chill as I fed her and pet her head and back. What I found surprising is how roughly textured a capybara is. Whenever I’ve seen pictures of them they look so soft and fluffy but that could not be further from the truth…they feel like wire scrub brushes. Now to be honest, this was vaguely disappointing because I was thinking this was going to be a giant chinchilla experience but they were so cute up close that it didn’t really matter.

Velma and I really vibed during our little encounter together. Apparently she is the more skittish of the two and she trusted me enough where, when she was done eating, she plopped onto her side and let me get one good belly scratch in, which the caretaker was very impressed as she said Velma never does that. Cue me feeling special.

After that last scratch both Velma and Scooby bid adieu to us unceremoniously and just went inside to chill and with that our encounter was over. We washed up and then headed out to the rest of the park.

 

My new friend.

 

Movies I Watched and Books I Read, April Edition

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April has been a rough month for media consumptions so I thought I would combine the posts. I’m watching and reading things but it’s either slow going or mediocre so *shrugs*

Movies in April:

The Drama, 2026 (4 Stars): Boy Howdy, what did I walk into in the theater for this? It was cu-razy. I had no idea about anything when we went, we just wanted to go to a movie. All I have to say is Rachel is the worst.

Mortal Kombat, 2021 (4 Stars): A re-watch with some Blank Check commentary! The new one is coming out soon (With Karl Urban!) and we are very excited. It was such a new and fun adaptation I’m really holding out hope for the sequel.

The Mask, 1994 (4 Stars): You know what…physical comedy is KING. You do not get any better than that.

Books in April:

Eric by Terry Pratchett (1990): We got another Rincewind Novel! Always fun but probably not my favorite going forward.

Breasts and Eggs by Mieko Kawakami (2008): This one is a story in 2 parts and I really enjoyed the first part but it truly lost me on the second part. I ended up finishing it because it is beautifully written, the story was just not my jam. I’m going to end up selling this one.

The X-Files Comic Collection 1 (1995): Purchased from the craziest little comic book/ vinyl record store in the backwoods of Pennsylvania. We’ve been watching the X-files off and on for a year plus now and are truly enjoying it so I thought I would indulge in a trade paperback collection. A little disappointed that it had to do with Mulder’s sister. It’s not my favorite story arc in the tv show either.

This Star Won’t Go Out: The Life and Words of Esther Grace Earl (2014): This was an almost DNF, I don’t regret finishing this story because it’s such an important history to the Nerdfiteria lore but I do have some problems with some items in the book that I’ll keep to myself. I did cry though because a child shouldn’t have to die from cancer.

I never know what movies we are going to watch next but we have some movies in the theater I want to see and have plans on going on a double date soon (gasp!) with another movie loving couple I’ve recently befriended.

As for books, I’m slowly working on the Haruki Murakami book, Moving Pictures by T. Pratchett, and a couple shorter reads in the pipeline to make some progress on the old bookshelf.

Who Did it Better?

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With as many movies we watch, my partner and I notice many things. Actors who tend to work with the same directors, which composers produce different scores and their similar sounds, and which DOP does a movie (Looking at you, Dean Cundy). But sometimes we notice something just silly.

Exhibit A:

Jeff Goldblum!

Argubly the most recognizable pose an actor has ever done that’s been captured on film.

Exhibit B:

Ernie Hudson!

What we have is Ernie Hudson in 1989’s film LEVIATHAN. Predating Jurassic Park but several years.

Ernie here did it first but who did it better?

The Great Valley Longnecks, October 2025

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Just an Alpaca dressed as a hot dog, nothing to see here.

 

I had a friend say to me, “Alpacas in Halloween Costumes!” and I said, “Say no more.”

In October of last year the farm, Great Valley Longnecks, was having open weekends where you could visit all the Alpacas and other animals and then also participate in a Needle Felting Craft and it was amazing. They didn’t even charge for it! I, of course, made a donation, but in this day and age? Holy wholesome fun, Batman.

When you pull up the very long driveway you are greeted with a field on the right full of Alpacas (IN HALLOWEEN COSTUMES) and then a Pig enclosure on the left. Straight ahead of the driveway was all the chickens and turkeys and a dog, also in a Halloween Costume, further down was the barn that had their gift shop of Alpaca goods and upstairs was where they had tables setup to learn how to needle felt.

My partner and I stopped at the alpacas first. The kind workers gave us some food to give to the animals and we were on our way.

 
 

After a very cute time hanging out with the Alpacas we went to the chickens and the turkeys, where we could also feed them as well. Ya’ll I knew turkeys were rather larger creatures but you don’t really realize it until you are holding a small plastic cup of feed in front of one and it just shoves his whole head down into it quite forcefully.

There was even a pup named Buzz, dress up as Buzz, quietly hanging out with all of the chickens, just watching over everything.

There were some beautiful chickens to feed and some were even wearing costume pieces too!

I just loved how it looked like this chicken was drawn with a sharpie marker.

Just look at that hair-do!

We then traipsed over to the barn where I oohed and aahed over all the alpaca wool items you could buy (ended up buying an ornament as I am wont to todo). Then up the stairs we went to make some needle felted pumpkins. This was a dangerous craft to learn because I had a GREAT time with it and really don’t need yet another hobby. My partner and I really locked in with it too, he even was like, woah this is super enjoyable. We made a very cute pair of pumpkins together.

 

Mine is on the right, his is on the left.

 

After the pumpkins we headed back to the car but not before stopping and petting the pig because of course I had to pet the pig. The pig was BIG. But also squishy where I was petting him.

 
 

After that we packed ourselves back into the car and headed home. It was a sunny and chilly day but it was a perfect fall outing and I can’t wait to go again. They did have some winter activities last year after we went but I also like to be warm so I don’t do too many true Winter events. I’m too much of a wimp. Still though, I would definitely do it again!

Books I read in March

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March was kind of a rough reading month for me, April is not starting off well but I recognize it and I’m trying to course correct! I feel like the books I chose were very long and I’m currently reading a Haruki Murakami book for my phone book and that…that will probably take bit.

Guards! Guards by Terry Pratchett: The great Sam Vimes has been introduced! I forgot he was a sorry drunk at the beginning of his story arc. Unsurprisingly another great Discworld book (shocker).

Designing Terry Pratchett’s Discworld by Paul Kidby: I was going to wait to read this at the end of my Discworld journey but I’m like, I should know what the characters officially look like, that will be more fun for me. So I treated myself and read through this. Paul Kidby is unfairly talented and I’m in awe of his colors in his work.

Making Comics by Scott McCloud: So I’m a little sad about this one. I thought I was purchasing “Understanding Comics” by Scott McCloud and was excited to read a new book…quickly realized that I accidentally bought a book I already own (going to be gifting it to my niece) but decided to re-read it anyway since it’s been awhile. I wonder if they have the other one at my local library? I’ll have to investigate.

Movies I watched in March

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5 Stars

Watchmen (2009) : A re-watch with my brother while he was in town. He had never seen it and I really had to rectify this. Still holds up and guess what, I like it more than the comic. The ending makes more sense, fight me.

The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) : Also another re-watch with my brother. He has never seen any Wes Anderson and was interested and we’ve been wanting to start a Wes re-watch anyhow. He was surprised at how “not funny” it was. It’s not a knock he just thought Wes was more light hearted, which he definitely gets in his later filmography but there is still a lot of feelings in his movies. Still an amazing movie and I kind of like a more serious Wes.

4.5 Star

Project Hail Mary (2026) : I have not read this book (YET) but this movie was so much fun. A way more light hearted “Arrival” but also maybe I need an excuse to cry and want to watch “Arrival” now.

Hoppers (2026): After a few sleepy Pixar movies I’m glad to say that they hit it real good with this one. My favorite bit is how the animal have beady eyes every time we are looking at them through a human’s vision.

Lilo & Stitch (2002) : There can only be one and it’s this one. After we watched this and so thoroughly enjoyed it we put on the live action for like, 15 minutes, just to see, and oh my god what a travesty. And I am someone who at least liked the live action Aladdin. Original is smart comedy, beautiful animation, heartfelt, and doesn’t treat their audience like fools.

Special Shout Out to:

The Lawnmower Man (1992) : I gave this movie 4 Stars but this is one of the most balls to the wall craziest films I’ve every watched. We have dirtbag Pierce Brosnan, someone who went FULL Simple Jack, and some very early 3D animation that is just a wonderful time capsule of the early 90’s computer animation era. those parts reminded me of a crazed “Reboot” episode.

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

Jobe: “...my birth cry will be the sound of every phone on this planet ringing in unison.”

Jobe: “I saw God! I touched God!”

Dr. Lawrence Angelo: “Jobe, listen to yourself right now. The first sign of psychosis is a Christ complex.”

Jobe Smith: “CyberChrist.”

Why wouldn’t I love this?

Movies I watched in February

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Not a very exciting month for movies, unfortunately. Some decent ones nothing too terrible.

4.5 Stars

Patlabor 2: The Movie (1993): The tonal shift of the TV shows, OVAs, and then the movies gives me absolute whiplash but I love all three equally and distinctly. the movies are SO SERIOUS. Go watch a TV episode and then a movie, I dare you.

4 Stars

Witness (1985) : I think I saw part of this film as a kid, just the opening in the bathroom and it stuck with me all these years later. A very good film and the high regards are well deserved! Also kind of a crazy score for a movie about the Amish?

The Help (2011): Re-read the book recently so I could watch the movie again. I know this movie is problematic but the acting performances are just so top notch. Every actress just knocks it out of the park. I stan Jessica Chastain.

Bugonia (2025): I was so scared to watch this film, so scared. In this day and age and with the trailer the way it was edited….ugh, I was so worried going into this film. The worries were unfounded, it was rough to watch in a few spots but it really defied my expecations. Jesse Plemons was Oscar snubbed for this.

Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001): “Welcome to the City of Atlantis!” A welcome re-watch on our Disney Journey. The art in this is just so good and so sharp (literally, everything feels sharp) and I miss Michael J. Fox, the man is so affable even his voice is affable.

Books I read in February

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The Caped Crusade: Batman and The Rise of Nerd Culture By Glen Weldon : A book I’ve read before, this was my phone book for awhile. It’s a good reread and I love myself some Batman. Glen is also a co-host of the pop culture podcast: NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour which I love to listen to. It helps me keep abreast of everything going on.

Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King: A collection of short stories which I didn’t realize when I started reading! They are thinly related to one another by the cast of characters in each story and it was actually very interesting. The first story is my favorite out of the four and that is actually what the movie of the same name is about.

Sourcery by Terry Pratchett: Another Rincewind the Wizard novel by the late and great Terry Pratchett. That Unseen University is always getting into trouble.

Takopi’s Original Sin by Taizan5: I did not enjoy this. It’s a newer Manga and a one shot which I love a complete collection but I did not love this. I’ll be giving my copy to my brother.

The Help by Kathryn Stockett: Another reread and a mobile phone book. I had seen some clips of the movie on my Instagram feed and decided before I re-watch the film that I would re-read the book.

We Have Always Lived in th Castle by Shirley Jackson: I really enjoyed this book, it was short and weird and I couldn’t really put it down. I’m really looking forward to reading more Shirley, she seems to scratch a gothic horror itch I didn’t know that I had in my brain.

Pyramids by Terry Pratchett: I don’t really remember this book from the past. I know I read it but maybe I only read it once? I have no idea but as an adult I think this might be my favorite one so far. It seemed like a departure from his usual fair and I love when religion goes wrong.

Sailor Moon Live, Part II

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So we checked in to our actually reasonably priced, fairly fancy, right next door to the venue hotel, where I was greeted by my TV.

 
 

We rested up and then off to the venue! This is where my only complaint lays. Venue doors were supposed to open an hour before the show, the amount of people already there and in line was absolutely ridiculous. There is no way that this placed open only an hour before. We immediately got in line and waited to get to the merch table. I wanted a poster and a button. As we inched forward I grew increasingly worried.

In line, not quite so nervous yet about missing the start.

Start time was closer and closer and we were still in line. My nerves were very apparent and my partner was like, “Do you want to go to the seats? I’ll buy the stuff.” A truer hero has never existed. I eagerly climbed the stairs to our seats in the balcony level, but not before snapping a pic:

 
 

Look at him. Surrounded by Moonies in an Umino shirt. He got the most compliments actually. Everyone loved it.

I got to my seat and took in the sights. The Schuster Center is beautiful. Okay, Dayton.

Luckily, they didn’t start the show without him. The production cut the line right behind him and he was able to secure the goods and get to our seats with time to spare. We settled in and the show started.

Folks, I don’t think I stopped crying tears of absolute joy the entire time I was watching this show. Not only my love of this from childhood but my partner and I we had just finished watching the entire 200 episode series and 3 original movies. We had inside jokes about this, he has favorite characters, we shared this huge long experience together it it really culminated in this live show and I just felt so happy.

The show was a basic retelling of the first season with some changes of course, the show was in Japanese with the subtitles on the screen behind them. The songs were great, the scouts and Beryl were well cast, the effects of their powers were super cool, and after the major plot was done they just did a bunch of songs and costume changes that were absolutely adorable. They even had a section where they were like, “Hey, you can take pics and record!”

Basically it was a magical time. I was able to take some fun pics and videos, I got to be 10 years old again, and I got to share this with my partner. All in all a beautiful night. It ended much too soon, the merch line was nuts after the show so I was happy we had managed to get our bounty before the show and we retired to our hotel for the night to make the trek back home the next morning.

Once I got home I happily unrolled my poster and a happy surprise occurred! I have a gallery wall in my office and I’ve been looking for a replacement art piece for a larger frame. Scott Kurtz of PvP Online betrayed his fans via a kickstarter and I’ve had a PvP poster on my wall for years looking for something in the same size. My Sailor Moon Live Poster FIT PERFECT.

A perfect end to a perfect time.

 

VIctory!

 

Sailor Moon Live! Part I aka: DAYTON, OHIO?!?!?

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It was announced in early 2025 that the Sailor Moon, Super Live! Show was going to be touring around North America. I knew that this had to happen in my life, I must go! As a Sailor Moon fan from the original airing of the Dic Dub that aired at 6:30 in the morning before school and that I got up for….I had to go. Sailor Moon also has a long and storied history of live shows in Japan but this would be the first tour that ever left the country. There was a show in DC, I believe (it had gotten moved around because of COVID) to gauge interest and interest there was. So much so that they had to eventually add more tour dates.

I got in to an early pre-sale and was like, I would love to go to Chicago but I feel like that one might sell out and you know which one I felt wouldn’t sell out? DAYTON, OHIO. That’s right, there ended up being two entirely different shows in OHIO but not a single one in the great mitten state. It just isn’t fair. The pre-sale came and I was 100% correct in my assumption, I didn’t even have a chance in Chicago. But Dayton? Front row Balcony tickets, baby!

The Dog’s Grandmother was approached for dog sitting and she agreed and hotel reservations were made. Which, accidentally, ended up being right next to the venue, so go me.

Now we had to drive there. This was not a thrilling drive. The mid-west is notoriously flat and the straightest way there was a very old highway that went through tiny little towns. But adventure was had! Some sights (literally everything) below.

We stopped for lunch (Wendy’s, surprisingly easy to make dairy-free) and at the stop we saw a strange looking building which ended up being The Neil Armstrong Air and Space Museum.

Imagine seeing this sphere in the middle of nowhere Ohio

Never one to turn down a science museum we stopped off to finish our lunch and stretch our legs in the museum. Many jokes were made about how many astronauts come from Ohio and how they needed to leave Ohio so much that they had to escape to space. The museum wasn’t the biggest but it was bigger than I had expected and it was super cute. I wonder how many field trips this thing sees a year.

One object of note just because I think it is neat that it’s all the way in Ohio:

 
 

The reason that this is neat is because…I’ve been to Meteor Crater! That was part of a big birthday road trip I took several years ago before leaving Arizona and it’s one of the coolest places I’ve ever been. Also one of the windiest.

My hair was everywhere. I miss that jacket. It was my favorite jacket. Vegan leather apparently starts disintegrating in 5 years. Also this was in 2017, that is nine years ago. Time isn’t real.

After the museum we made it into the hotel and got settled. It was time to get ready to head next door. Part Two next week!

 
 

Aqua, December 2023

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In the year of 1997 and music single was released: Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” was released and it changed my brain chemistry. I purchased the single on cassette. As soon as the eponymous CD came out it was in my hands. The VHS “Aqua Diary: Official Aquarium Home Video” was played so many times on my CRT TV/VCR combo. Which is how I got to see so many of the music videos as I grew up without cable and didn’t have internet access quite yet.

 

Click the Tape, someone uploaded it to Youtube!

 

In December of 2023 a miracle occurred for my 12 year old inner self: Aqua was having it first US tour. And as a full-ass adult you better believed I immediately purchased a ticket to go. They were coming to Detroit, I did not care if it was in the middle of a mid-western winter. Come hell or high snow, I would be there.

And there I was! After some difficulty with parking and finding the venue (The Fillmore, Detroit) , I had balcony seats to bask in my childhood favorite band. It was honestly one of the best concerts I’ve been to. The theater was beautiful, we had a great view, and Aqua was perfect.

 

I am the happiest, childhood dreams are coming true! And while freezing, it was fairly mild weather for Michigan in December!

 
 

Lene, the lead singer, her voice has gotten even more beautiful as time has passed. Rene has such a fantastic stage presence, and Soren is great musician. The way they edited the music videos to play in the back as they performed was so cool. They have great showmanship that they have just perfected in their other tours. The two videos below are clips of “Cartoon Heroes” and “Barbie Girl” They played so much of their catalogue of hits (which in my opinion, is basically ALL of their songs) and it was amazing.

I didn’t take too many videos or photos as I wanted to really lose myself in the experience. It was so much fun and I’m very happy that Aqua is now on the short list of live concerts I’ve been to in my life. I also purchased my first Liquid Death drink, which is just fancy water, which I didn’t know until I went to this concert and that was my only water option!

All in all it was a successful concert experience. We left during the encore to beat the traffic because this area, is like, concert Venue city and we had quite the drive back to our house afterwards. I didn’t end up purchasing any merchandise because it didn’t actually feel…special enough? It was very basic stuff and I would’ve hope for some more fashionable t-shirts or fun designed posters.

Books I read in January, 2026

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I’m really trying to cut back on screen time. Numerous timers on various social media apps (Instagram, Substack, etc.) and a Focus Mode in the Morning so I can‘t bedrot in the morning. I know it‘s a popular topic and somewhat trendy on how to cut back on the phone but it really does start to encompass your time and encroach on the things you WANT to spend time on.

I took a look at the time spent on my phone and decided that it’s enough and I have set myself up to better use my time for reading instead. I have an old Google play account where I purchased books quite a while ago so those are my “phone’ books, I have 2 kobo readers. One is set up with a stand in my bedroom for evening reading in bed before going to sleep and one is called my “Baby” book that rides with me in my purse. I have also thrifted a ton of physical books over the past few years so I have usually have two of those books next to the couch: a novel and some sort of graphic novel or trade paperback and I alternate reading those.

It has definitely helped. I read 7 books last month and I don’t think I’m going to get more than that this month (also with it being such a short month, I can already feel it ebbing away so quickly) but I am reading a long Stephen King novel and sometimes he is a monster with that page length.

I haven’t been rating my books on StoryGraph but I do track them there. It’s a great app and wonderful alternative to GoodReads.

“Soul Music” by Terry Pratchett : a reread from the past. I stumbled on to an excellent humble bundle of his books and I’ll be picking my way through his collection as the year progresses. Soul Music is an old favorite.

“Forrest Gump” by Winston Groom : I hated this. Words cannot convey the hate read this turned into. Watch the movie instead. As soon as I finished this it went into my get rid of bag.

“The Virgin Suicides” by Jeffrey Eugenides : mostly read because it gave me a good excuse to watch the film.

“Gunsmith Cats” omnibus Volume 3 By Kenichi Sonada: just rebuying my childhood but maybe this one should’ve been a bit later in life. IYKYK.

“Hogfather” by Terry Pratchett: I really wanted to finish this in December for Christmas but it just didn’t happen. We will be watching the 2 part TV movie by the end of February!

“The Prairie Wife” by Arthur Stringer: a book I thrifted and got a very good deal on which is good because it’s not making the cut on the bookshelf. It was fine but I’d rather read Laura Ingalls Wilder.

“Cat’s Eye” Omnibus Volume 1 by Tsukasa Hojo: I recently bought and watched the anime of this and fell in love with it and was very excited by the announcement that there was going to be a new release of the manga here in the states. I will be purchasing the rest as they come out and I highly recommend the anime. It has one of the best endings in my opinion.

My 2025 Website Absence

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It was a rough year.

I won’t go on and on but we lost a major patriarch of my partner’s family and then I also spent half the year caring for Gala, my beloved dog daughter. Then I spent the rest of the year recovering from having to make the hardest choice I’ve ever had to make in my entire life and I mean that. Every decision PALES in comparison to me having to let my girl go.

I’m proud of how I handled everything. I kept up most of my good habits, took time to read and create, went out and actually made friends. Honestly amazing.

I thought of the website often but I just couldn’t bring myself to actually update it for some reason. Which is funny because I don’t even need to make the blog posts, I should just keep up on posting my art projects but I don’t. Ah, well. At least I do it on instagram and then I can easily look back at stuff.

Some changes to the website: New art has been posted in several categories. New projects are slow going but I’m making time for them. An entire new section is for all of my cooking. I just love to cook and try new stuff in fun cookbooks, it is such a large part of my hobbies and life it needed its own section. I’m also going to breaking in to a new cookbook soon, so keep an eye out for new stuff there too.

A big goal of mine is to actually keep up with the website this year, so fingers crossed. I tend to peter out around May when I do try to keep up everything, haha.