Grumpy Beastie's Other Lair

Coming Soon!

2026-04-19T18:57:07Z

3weeks4dreamwidth is celebrating Dreamwidth's anniversary!
Come join in for fun, memes, activities, and more ♥

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Flower Fest 2026 Bingo Card

2026-04-15T23:56:30Z

Goldenrod	Elderberry	Pale Wolfberry
Spectaclepod	Fairy Duster	Fireweed
Farewell-to-spring	Roving Sailor	Devil's Tongue

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Whatif_AU 3rd Annual Anniversary Bingo Card

2026-04-11T23:43:21Z

People with Disabilities	Circus/Carnival	Crack!fic
Modeling	WILD CARD	Winter Wonderland
The Staff	Royalty	Lost/Stranded

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I never thought I'd see the day

2026-04-06T08:13:28Z

I just assumed it would be in beta until the end of time. My account was created in 2011.

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2026 Snowflake Challenge #3

2026-03-17T22:24:34Z

Today’s challenge is a chance to express your love to fandom, and what better way than a love letter? If you feel really creative, the letter doesn’t have to come from you. You could write as your favourite character, someone completely fictitious or your past or future self - or just as you in this moment.

Write a love letter to fandom. It might be to fandom in general, to a particular fandom, favourite character, anything at all.

Dear Fandom,

Over the years, we've been through a lot; changes in platforms, media types, etiquette & norms, and terminology, to name a few. We've lost and gained friends. You were there during my darkest hours and you've been there for my biggest triumphs. And we've definitely had our issues from time to time over the last few decades, but I'll always be grateful you're in my life.

Yours always,

Kat/Spiralicious

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Currently/Last February 2026

2026-03-05T18:46:49Z

Currently/Last lists are the last and/or current answer to the categories for a given time period, in this case a month.

In the text box, I've a blank html coded version of the list, including categories I didn't use this month.

February 2026
Making: Lists, so many lists

Watching: Stargate Atlantis s1

Reading: My Friends by Fredrik Backman

Listening: The Click reacting to r/LookAtMyHalo & "When You Where Young" by The Killers

Eating: ravioli bake

Drinking: Thaiwala Brown Sugar Tea Latte

Loving: how supportive fiber group is & we didn't miss cookie day at the bank (and they were cookies I like) & Jack & Daniel banter & the duck and sushi videos Vexed keeps sending me & Bat-Robin art

Hating: how much extra my anxiety is getting poked

Wanting: a coherent game plan

Thinking: in my physical journal, my last February entry is just "FUCK" repeatedly, in all caps for three lines of the paper. So, that.

Planning: dementia friendly/cognitive exercise crafts, book club talking points, making time for things I'd like to learn from Mom, cleaning out my phone, treats for chicken care (the treats are for me, not the chickens), talking points for the discussion panel in May

Wishing: for a (at home) spa day

Puzzle Books: Beetlejuice Word Search & Coloring (I am down to just coloring pages now), Penny Press Variety Puzzles & Games Feb 2026 issue, Bendon Word Search Puzzle Book Volume 1

Wearing: grey cargo sweatpants, dark blue "Sorry I can't. I have plans with my couch." T-shirt, red Bobby Singer as Hello Kitty "hello idjits" hoodie, the usual jewelry (right post earring, left second lobe hole large ring, left first lobe hole skeleton hand dangle, tight as I can get nose hoop)

Needing: sleep and a meal plan

Enjoying: making more time to spend with Jelly Bean

Wondering: if I overshared after last book club

Playing: Subeta (Survival- annual event)

Trying: to take things one dumpster fire at a time

Cooking: Ramen

Calling: Vexed Wench

Texting: one of the Niblets

Crafting: still knitting the cable blanket & group collage event

Going: Zombie escape room & housesitting

Hoping (For): the new housesitting gig to have a smart TV with the YouTube app and a big shower

Celebrating: Jelly Bean & my spectacular escape room solve

Smelling: Old Spice Dark Knight shampoo I've been using as hand soap (description is black cherry & nightfall)

Thanking: still trying to do all the post holiday thank yous

Considering: how to schedule some "get shit done" days. One at home alone, one for errands around town, and possibly one for errands further afield.

Finishing: The Snowflake challenge, though slowly

Starting: packing

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Currently/Last January 2026

2026-03-05T17:14:31Z

Currently/Last lists are the last and/or current answer to the categories for a given time period, in this case a month.

In the text box, I've a blank html coded version of the list, including categories I didn't use this month.

January 2026
Making: cable Knit blanket/book themed miniature reading nook diorama

Watching: Brokenwood Mysteries s11

Reading: Moominpappa's Memoirs by Tove Jansson

Listening: Oz_ (of Oz Media & Oz's Vault) react to r/BestOf & "Meet Me in the Woods" by Lord Huron

Eating: Gordon Ramsey's shepard's pie frozen meal

Drinking: leftover Rockstar energy drink

Loving: Friday Fiber Group

Hating: It's a long list. Have you seen the news?

Wanting: a new mattress

Planning: a zombie escape room outing

Wishing: that the backordered tax forms would show up

Puzzle Books: Brain Fun Picture Puzzles, Beetlejuice Word Search & Coloring (Thunder Bay Press), Penny Press Variety Puzzles and Games February 2026 issue, Word Search Puzzle Book Volume 1 (Bendon)

Weathering: more grief than usual

Wearing: fitted grey sweatpants, black Dirty Space Groove t-shirt, brown & white plaid over-shirt

Needing: a hug & uninterrupted time to catch up

Enjoying: discount Arizona teas

Playing: Subeta (Snowtapult)

Trying: to fight the anxiety demons

Cooking: a fried egg

Calling: Vexed Wench

Texting: Jelly Bean

Going: a new book club

Feeling: anxious

Celebrating: I might get a break from my normal Monday schedule.

Smelling: Batiste Dry Shampoo (Blush)

Thanking: Everyone for their holiday gifts & wishes

Considering: What to do about Mom's birthday

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tea review: high mountain

2026-02-17T22:16:48Z

Tea Month 2026: Tea 11

Tea Review
Name: High Mountain
Brand: Vahdam
Type: black
Loose tea

Notes:
This was a gift and part of several packets of different black teas of the same brand. This one in particular is darjeeling oolong tea. Based on the smell, I was expecting a smokier, bitter flavor, but was pleasantly surprised how smooth it was. I also like how the packet has a little caffeine rating on it. This one is rated for medium. It's a nice breakfast tea.

Rate
Appearance: 9
Aroma: 8
Flavor: 9

Overall Rating: 4 stars

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tea review: sweet dreams

2026-02-17T22:07:18Z

Tea Month 2026: Tea 10

Tea Review
Name: Sweet Dreams
Brand: Bigelow
Type: herbal
Tea bag

Notes:
This tea tastes good, but it's a confusing blend and I'm not sure I'd recommend it as a sleepy time tea. It's a blend of chamomile, hibiscus, peppermint, rose blossoms, spearmint, spice, & orange blossoms. While chamomile is restful, peppermint and spearmint are for waking you up. And there was also this weird disconnect of it smelled like a lovely, cinnamon forward, warm spiced tea, but then tasted like a mint blend with no hint of spice at all. Which it tasted good, it was just odd.

Rate
Appearance: 8
Aroma: 8
Flavor: 8

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

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Characters I Tried to Write for Halfamoon

2026-02-17T21:54:39Z

I had planned to post this on the 15th, but here we are. Halfamoon is over once again, and once again, I could not get my brain in gear to write anything. So I made a list of 14 characters I tried to write fics for during the 2025 & 2026 Halfamoon.

1. Mai (Avatar the Last Airbender)
2. Pa'u Zotoh Zhaan (Farscape)
3. Reoccurring Unnamed Female Peacekeeper (Farscape) - This is a very specific Peacekeeper that was an assistant to Scorpius. She was clearly special compared to other assistants he had and even had speaking lines. She deserved a name. Last year, it was easy to Google her fandom wiki page. This year, I can't even find her.
4. Dr. Julia Ogden (Murdoch Mysteries)
5. Countess Vera Rossakoff (Poirot)
6. Little Nina (The Boys)
7. Rowena (Supernatural)
8. Dr. Janet Fraiser (Stargate SG-1)
9. Tina Belcher (Bob's Burgers)
10. Dr. Gina Kadinsky (Brokenwood Mysteries)
11. Ellen Harvelle/Mingala/Thina/Sarah Raully (Supernatural & Stargate SG-1) - Mingala, Thina, Sarah Raully are all the same character. She and Ellen are both played by Samantha Ferris and I have a cracked fic bunny that the SG-1 character survived and started live anew in hiding on earth as Ellen Harvelle.
12. Stephanie Brown (DC/Batman/Batfam)
13. Rosie/Abigail (Lumberjanes) - Yes, this one is a pairing.
14. Mothra
HM. Magical Girl Venom aka Necroko (Marvel)

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2026 Snowflake Challenge #10

2026-02-16T00:49:10Z

Challenge #10: Big Mood (Board)

CHOOSE SOMETHING YOU LOVE AND CREATE A MINI MOOD COLLECTION OF THREE (or more) ITEMS THAT EVOKE YOUR FEELINGS ABOUT IT. You don’t have to limit yourself to visual media, or collect the items into a special format like a square (though you can if you’d like).

I did a character playlist for an original character of mine named Moth. It feels a bit odd doing something for an original character for a fandom challenge, but working on world building for the original fantasy series universe he's in is one of the few things that's helping keep the anxiety demons at bay right now. (And several side characters may have started as Stagate SG-1 & Atlantis characters with the serial numbers filed off. Also, I just wrote a whole sorta meta thing on how he would have dealt with Soldier Boy in The Boys, which will probably never see the light of day.)

Moth Playlist
Meet Me in the Woods - Lord Huron
I Found - Amber Run
The Middle - Jimmy Eat World
By the Way - Red Hot Chili Peppers
Dancing in the Dark - Bruce Springsteen
Die Young - Kesha
Ghosts that we Knew - Mumford & Sons
Hungry like the Wolf - Duran Duran
Semi Charmed Life - Alex Melton cover
Genghis Khan - Miike Snow
A Good Song Never Dies - Saint Motel
Goodbye Sun - I Monster
Creep - Raoul & the Kings of Spain/Tears for Fears cover
Paint it Black - Hildegard von Blingin' cover
Adore - Savages
Endless Neon - LO
Bad Moon Rising - Mourning Ritual cover

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tea review: peach

2026-02-03T23:58:59Z

Tea Month 2026: Tea 9

Tea Review
Name: Peach
Brand: Stash
Type: black
Tea bag

Notes:
This was a gift. Thank you. It's a really nice blend of black tea. While the peach smell is really strong (and pleasant), the peach flavor is very subtle. I really enjoyed it.

Rate
Appearance: 9
Aroma: 9
Flavor: 9

Overall Rating: 4 stars

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2026 Snowflake Challenge #6

2026-02-03T23:39:27Z

Challenge #6

Top 10 Challenge.

The category(ies) you choose are up to you. You can give top 10 Fics you read last year, the top 10 songs to create to, the to 10 guest stars on your favorite show, top 10 characters in your favorite book series, top 10... well, you get the idea.

I love lists and decided to be a bit extra, so here are my top 10, top 10 lists (in no particular order):

1. My 2025 Top Fandoms
2. Songs of 2025
3. Glimmers of the Last 90ish days
4. Fall Out Boy Songs I Listen to on a Near Daily Basis
5. Favorite Library Programs
6. Foods of 2025
7. Movies of 2025
8. TV Series Rewatches of 2025
9. Favorite Nonfiction Books
10. Hobbies to Try

( Read more... )

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2025 Books

2026-02-03T00:58:13Z

In 2024, I overwhelmed myself with the number of reading challenges I was doing, was in 5 book clubs at one point, and was trying to keep up with tracking things on Beanstack and Good Reads. And while I met my reading goals, I could not keep up with tracking things all the places and I didn't claim a lot of challenges I actually finished.

Because of all that, in 2025, I stepped back and only tracked my reading on physical book tracking booksmarks (just title, date finished, & number of stars), was only in one book club, and didn't join any year long challenges. (I did do the summer bookopoly reading challenge for July only, the library card bingo challenge for September only, and the Unwrap A Great Read challenge for December only hosted by my local library.)

I managed to read more than I have in years.

Here is what I read in 2025. A couple books might be missing from the list.

graphic novels
Lumberjanes Vol. 18: Horticultural Horizons by Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, Kanesha C. Bryant, & Julia Madrigal
The Umbrella Academy Volume 1: Apocalypse Suite by Gerard Way & Gabriel Bá (Pub Grub Book Club)
Lumberjanes Vol. 19: A Summer to Remember by Shannon Watters and Kat Leyh
Graceling (graphic novel adaptation) by Kristin Cashore, adapted and illustrated by Gareth Hinds (Pub Grub Book Club)
Lighter Than My Shadow by Katie Green (Pub Grub Book Club)
Bea Wolf by Zach Weinersmith & Boulet (Pub Grub Book Club)
Lumberjanes Vol. 20: End of Summer by Shannon Watters, Kat Leyh, Gus Allen, Alexa Bosy, & Kanesha C. Bryant
The Dark Matter of Mona Starr by Laura Lee Gulledge (Pub Grub Book Club)
My Favorite Thing is Monsters Book 2 by Emil Ferris
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic vol. 16 by Paul Allor, Toni Kuusiste, Heather Breckel, Jeremy Whitley, Ted Anderson, Andy Price, Tom Zahler, & Agnes Garbowska
Paper Girls #1 by Brian K. Vaughan & Cliff Chiang (Pub Grub Book Club)
Check Please! Book 1: #Hockey by Ngozi Ukazu
Escape From St. Hell by Lewis Hancox
Heartstopper vol. 4 by Alice Oseman
Mamo by Sas Milledge
Brooms by Jasmine Walls (Pub Grub Book Club)
Suitor Armor volume 1 by Purpan
I am Not Starfire by Mariko Tamaki & art by Yoshi Yoshitani
Slaughterhouse-Five; or, the Children's Crusade: A Duty-Dance with Death (graphic novel adaptation) by Kurt Vonnegut, adaptation by Ryan North & illustrated by Albert Monteys
Rainbow vol. 1 by Sunny & Gloomy
Navigating With You by Jeremy Whitley, art by Cassio Ribeiro, & lettering by Nikki Foxrobot
Pulp by Ed Brubaker & Sean Phillips
Space Boy vol. 1 by Stephen McCranie
We are not Strangers by Josh Tuininga
Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath (Pub Grub Book Club)
Delicious in Dungeon vol 1 by Ryoko Kui
Check Please! Book 2: Sticks & Scones by Ngozi Ukazu
Backflash by Mat Johnson & art by Steve Lieber (Pub Grub Book Club)
Suitor Armor vol 2 by Purpah
Fall Through by Nate Powell (Pub Grub Book Club)
The Mushroom Knight vol. 1 by Oliver Bly
Heavy Vinyl vol. 1 by Carly Usdin & Vakueva & Flores & Nalty
Monstress Book One by Marjorie Liu (Pub Grub Book Club)
Leap by Simina Popescu
Mall Goth by Kate Leth
Eight Billion Genies (complete collection) by Charles Soule & Ryan Browne (Pub Grub Book Club)
Lumberjanes: The Infernal Compass by Lilah Sturges
Lumberjanes: The Shape of Friendship by Lilah Sturges
Garbage Night: The Complete Edition by Benji Lee
Final Cut by Charles Burns
The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All vol. 1 by Sumiko Arai
The Guy She Was Interested in Wasn't a Guy at All vol. 2 by Sumiko Arai

non-fiction
This Book is Gay by Juno Dawson (updated edition 2021)
The T in LGBT by Jamie Raines
The Art of Drag by Jake Hall & art by Sofie Birkin, Helen Li, Jasiyot Singh Hans, & more
GuRu by Rupaul

fiction
The Black Girl Survives This One edited by Desiree S. Evans & Saraciea J. Fennell
Number One Chinese Restaurant by Lillian Li
Space Opera by Catherynne M. Valente
The Magnolia Sword: A Ballad of Mulan by Sherry Thomas
Convenience Store Woman by Sayaka Murata
Juliet Takes a Breath by Gabby Rivera
We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra
What If It's Us by Becky Albertalli & Adam Silvera
The Kaiju Preservation Society by John Scalzi
Where Wolves Don't Die by Anton Treuer
The Restaurant of Lost Recipes by Hisashi Kashiwai
The Kingdom of Sweets by Erika Johansen (Unwrap A Great Read)
Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher (Unwrap A Great Read)
Stuck With You by Nathan Burgoine
Bad Dreams in the Night by Adam Ellis
Hockey Girl Loves Drama Boy by Faith Erin Hicks

children's
Monstrous: The Lore, Gore, and Science Behind Your Favorite Monsters by Carlyn Beccia
Death & Sparkles Book 1 by Rob Justus
Shark Lady: The True Story of How Eugenie Clark Became the Ocean's Most Fearless Scientist by Jess Keating & illustrations by Marta Álvarez Miguéns
Halloween and Day of the Dead Traditions from Around the World by Joan Axelrod-Contrada & illustrated by Elisa Chavarri
The Pumpkin Book by Gail Gibbons
Digestion the Musical by Adam Rex & illustrated by Laura Park
Spooky Lakes: 25 Strange and Mysterious Lakes That Dot Our Planet by Geo Rutherford
Shark Week: Everything You Need to Know (Discovery) by Martha Brockenbrough
The Constitution Explained! The Bill of Rights: Guaranteeing Liberty by Janey Levy
You Rule! Create Your Own Country (Lonely Planet Kids) by Scott Forbes & Emma Laura Jones
Cool Sleeping by Alex Kushowski
How to Build Your Own Country by Valerie Wyatt
Moomin The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip Volume 1 by Tove Jansson
New Year Traditions Around the World by Ann Malaspina
Moomin The Complete Tove Jansson Comic Strip Volume 2 by Tove Jansson

comics
The Batman Chronicles no. 7 winter 97

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tea review: nighty night extra

2026-02-03T00:44:48Z

Tea Month 2026: Tea 8

Tea Review
Name: Nighty Night Extra
Brand: Traditional Medicinals
Type: herbal
Tea bag

Notes:
This one surprised me in a good way. One, it actually tasted good. This brand and Yogi both have vague proprietary blends listed in the ingredients of all their medicinal teas and I obviously don't know what is in either of those blends, but they tend to add a flavor that I find very off-putting that is similar between the two brands. It was not noticeable in this one. Two, I was not expecting it to help. It's primary ingredient is valerian root, which typically doesn't do anything for me. I don't know if it was this particular blend of things or if I was actually tired enough that any warm cup of tea while reading before bed might have put me out, but it was the most restful night of sleep I've had in over two years.

Rate
Appearance: 7
Aroma: 7
Flavor: 7

Overall Rating: 4 stars (bonus star for sleep)

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2026 Snowflake Challenge #4

2026-02-03T00:12:00Z

Challenge #4: Rec The Contents Of Your Last Page

Any website that you like, be it fanfiction, art, social media, or something a bit more eccentric!

My online footprint is not nearly as fun as it used to be. Basically, I visit here on DW, my library website, Subeta, YouTube, Buzzfeed & mental floss for quizzes, and canihazcheeseburger for memes (mostly cats and Tolkien Tuesday). Outside of researching and trying to see if dead crafting sites from the 2010s are still functional, that's it.

Subeta is a 21 year old browser based pet adoption game. Think neopets, but snarkier, you have a human avatar you can dress, and they know their core user base are adults. I am coming up on my 11th (12th?) Anniversary of playing there. I have 12 pets. The game can be as social as you want it to be and enough activities, you could spend hours each day playing outside of events. My favorite things are wizard questing, curating my pets' treasures, creating outfits and scenes for my human avatar, and gentech experiments.

As for events, the site just had it's new year's event from the 1st until the 18th. You earn new years tokens by questing or from random events. There is a shop that while open year round, only takes new years tokens as currency. The Snowtapult is open. This normally happens from December 21st until whenever Survival starts in February. Basically, there are something like 80 different kinds of snowballs you can buy with in game money and fling at other users, each with unique effects that temporarily show up on their human avatar. I have slowly been working for the maximum achievement for this for years. Coming up is one of my favorite events, which is Survival. It's a 2 part event. One part is "kissing" other users to earn candy hearts, which are one of the many in game currencies. The other part is "biting" and being bitten by other users to get infected with zombie virus' to collect the different wearable zombie skins. There are more details, but those are the broad strokes.

Dungleon is a Wordle mechanics dungeon crawl based game. You can play once a day. You have to figure out what creatures occupy the dungeon before you run out of guesses. It's a lot of fun.

YouTube Recs I spend possibly too much time on YouTube, mostly watching reddit reaction videos or long form video essays and podcasts. I also have several unfinished youtuber recs post in progress, so what thought I would do was make a list of YouTube channel recs that I feel should be be recommended, but I don't think I have recced anywhere. (I did include if they were primarily short or long content video creators, but most do both.)

( Read more... )

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tea review: earl grey

2026-01-26T09:16:02Z

Tea Month 2026: Tea 7

Tea Review
Name: Earl Grey
Brand: Stash
Type: black
Tea bag

Notes:
For me, it was too "perfumey." I have that issue with a lot of Earl Grey teas. It was still very drinkable. After I got used to the smell, it was a decent tea to help me make it through the afternoon while I tackled my to do list.

Rate
Appearance: 7
Aroma: 1
Flavor: 6

Overall Rating: 2.5 stars

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tea review: cozy chamomile

2026-01-26T09:06:45Z

Tea Month 2026: Tea 6

Tea Review
Name: Cozy Chamomile
Brand: Bigelow
Type: herbal
Tea bag

Notes:
My review for this might be a little unfair as it came from the jar of random tea and by the art on the packaging, it might have been a little past it's prime. That being said, it was okay. I thought it might be a blend, given it's nearly non-existent chamomile flavor, but it's not. That could be it's age. My bar for chamomile is low and this particular bag of tea limboed under it.

Rate
Appearance: 7
Aroma: 3
Flavor: 1

Overall Rating: 2 stars

comments

tea review: turmeric bliss

2026-01-26T08:57:13Z

Tea Month 2026: Tea 5

Tea Review
Name: Tumeric Bliss
Brand: Tazo
Type: herbal blend
Tea bag

Notes:
So, when I know there is going to be a gap between when I drink a tea I'm planning on reviewing and when I actually post a review for it, I try to take notes. My notes on this tea just say, "No." Literally nothing else, not even a rating. I do know I also did not finish drinking it. One plus I remember is that it didn't have the bitter dirt taste some turmeric teas have.

Rate
Appearance: 5
Aroma: 3
Flavor: 2

Overall Rating: 1 star

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tea review: anela

2026-01-22T10:56:16Z

Tea Month 2026: Tea 4

Tea Review
Name: Anela Hawaiian Flavored
Brand: Lupicia
Type: unknown blend
Tea bag

Notes:
This tea and I went on a journey. To start with, I have no idea where I got this tea originally. It was in my jar of random packaged bags of tea. The packaging just has the brand name and "ANELA Hawaiian Flavored" on the front and the back just has brewing instructions in Japanese & English. I tried googling it. I found out anela means angel, maybe, and I found the USA version of the Lupicia website. The tea is not listed anywhere, even when I tried to search their catalog of over 400 teas, which includes the discontinued ones. It just kept saying it doesn't exist. Also, they seem to exclusively sell loose tea in tins and this is a bag in a packet. It does look like something you might get at a hotel, so maybe it wasn't a regular retail product.

Anyway, I finally found mention of the flavor in two places; a blog post and a reddit comment. In a blog post from 2018, someone had bought the Lupicia Hawaiian tea sampler, which included the Anela tea. At that time, it was described as "a sweet aromatic strawberry lychee black tea." The reddit comment was complaining that their favorite Lupicia tea used to be Anela, which used to be a jasmine lychee green tea, but it had changed to a strawberry lychee black tea.

Neither of these descriptions fit what I drank.

I did enjoy it. It was fun to drink. I couldn't pick out any particular flavors, but it hit my taste buds as "tropical flavor" without any notes of coconut or pineapple. Honestly the first thing I pictured in my head was the tropical trail mix they used to have in the bulk bins at the grocery store. Though it didn't taste like that either. It was dark enough, it was most likely a black tea blend, so probably the strawberry lychee.

I'd drink it again, if I had more. I don't see that happening.

Rate
Appearance: 7
Aroma: 9
Flavor: 8

Overall Rating: 3.5 stars

comments

tea review: mint medley

2026-01-22T10:13:35Z

Tea Month 2026: Tea 3

Tea Review
Name: Mint Medley
Brand: Bigelow
Type: herbal
Tea bag

Notes:
Yes, it's another mint medley. And I did triple check that I haven't reviewed this one before. I had this one at a library event. It made for a nice afternoon pick-me-up. It's an interesting mix in that it's not just peppermint and spearmint, it also has rose hips, lemon peel, and hibiscus in it.

Rate
Appearance: 7
Aroma: 8
Flavor: 7

Overall Rating: 3 stars

comments

tea review: black tea

2026-01-22T10:03:58Z

Tea Month 2026: Tea 2

Tea Review
Name: Black Tea
Brand: Kroger
Type: black
Tea bag

Notes:
This is your most basic, no frills black tea. I don't have anything negative to say about it. It's a little weaker than some black teas. It smells good. Pleasant to have in the morning when it takes all of your brain function to put the water on to boil. It's also good for making sun tea.

Rate
Appearance: 8
Aroma: 8
Flavor: 7

Overall Rating: 3 stars

comments

tea review: gingerbread

2026-01-22T09:56:36Z

Welcome to the first tea review of 2026!

Tea Month 2026: Tea 1

Tea Review
Name: Gingerbread
Brand: Teeccino
Type: herbal
Tea bag

Notes:
This was a gift. (Thank you, Okapi!) I'm also pretty sure it was also my first roasted herbal tea. I was definitely excited for this one. The first thing that hit me was how amazing it smelled. The taste was a little weaker than I was expecting, but it was quite good. It is definitely a dessert tea, like it begs you to drink it with a little sweet nibble on the side. I had been sort of waiting to drink it until my mother made her gingerbread (think the cake, not cookies), but that was not meant to be. It would definitely pair nicely with something chocolate.

Rate
Appearance: 9
Aroma: 10
Flavor: 8

Overall Rating: 4 stars

comments

2026 Snowflake Challenge #5

2026-01-14T23:34:51Z

I'm doing the challenges a little out of order because one of my wishes has a deadline.

Challenge #5

In your own space, create a list of at least three things you'd love to receive, a wishlist of sorts.

It always feels a little weird doing a wishlist so soon after the holidays, especially as some exchanges like Fandom Trees usually haven't done their reveals yet, but that relates to my main wish on my wishlist right now.

1) If you have time and inclination, please check out the needy trees at fandomtrees. The goal is for every person who signed up to have at least two gifts under their tree before the reveals on the 17th and it looks we have nine people who still have zero or only one gift. You do not need to have signed up with a tree to leave fills under a tree.

2) Tell me your favorite place to play in fandom or consume fandomy things that isn't DW or AO3.

3) Rec me your favorite thing you read last year; fic, book, article, blog, whatever. Audio, physical, e-format, etc. It all counts, as long as you loved it.

Thank you for reading.

comments

2026 Snowflake Challenge #2

2026-01-05T06:57:07Z

Challenge #2: Pets of Fandom

Loosely defined! Post about your pets, pets from your canon, anything you want!

We are kind of in between pets at the moment. Both of my cats have somewhat recently passed. Romeo in 2021 at the age of 15 and Kamikaze in 2023 at 16 1/2. We do plan on getting more cats, it just hasn't worked out yet.

Now, I said kind of because there is the matter of Tuxedo. Going on 6 years ago, a next door neighbor moved away and left his kitten behind. This was very much a kitten and not a full grown cat. The reasons the cat was left behind are unclear, as there are too many versions of the story, but what we know for sure is that while the old man who owned the cat was in the hospital, whoever was caring for it did something to it and it has been terrified of people, including those it used to be fine with, and will not come indoors. He has never left the neighborhood and has survived all this time. Not knowing his original name, my mother and I have always called him Tuxedo. We have sense learned that his name was Quiz.

In the first 2 years, my mother and I both spent quite a lot of time trying to trap him to surrender him to the local animal shelter with no success. He is crafty. The local neighborhood children speak of him like a local cryptid. Everyone in the neighborhood has tried to capture him at one point or another. Eventually, we gave up. All it did was encourage Tuxedo to spend more time in our front yard which royally upset our inside cats.

But in April of 2024, my mother came to a realization; we have no longer have cats. She thus began her campaign to convince Tuxedo to live with us.

After 20ish months, there have been mixed results. He appears for food 1 to 5 times a day. He now shows up everyday fairly consistently, whereas before it wouldn't be uncommon for him to disappear for up to 3 weeks at a time. When the weather is nice, he will spend the vast majority of his time either in our yard or side garden, though he still "checks his trap line," as Mom puts it. During bad weather, he holds up in our garage. (He has several nice beds and boxes in the yard and the garage.) He understands the various things we call him as names that are in reference to him. He understands the words Mom uses for food time as meaning food time. While, he still run from the sight of me, he also seems to understand that when I say, "no stop" he doesn't need to leave the garage and "I'll get the old lady" means he's going to get fed. I feed him too, just not nearly as often. He also actually ran to my mother when she called him for lunch time the other day. We've never seen him run in his life.

He has also learned to get my mother's attention by staring at her through the screen door window, if the front door is open. He's done it exactly twice.

All that said. He is very much still his own cat. No one can approach him without him freaking out. He hisses at my mother when she puts food down for him. And after accidentally getting locked in the garage for an hour one morning, he wouldn't go in it for 2 weeks. (He did still expect food, just brought to his general vicinity outside. )

Though with the Christmas tree and several boxes of holiday decor down, he seems to have decided to winter in the newly free space in our attic loft.

Is he our cat? No. But we feed him and sometimes he kind of lives here.

I was also going to write a bit about our muder of crows and my 12 virtual pets on Subeta, but this got kind of long. I will add more upon request.

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