Signs of Autumn

The chorisia trees are flowering, the roses are looking more cheerful, and the groundskeepers are putting out petunias to replace the summer's withered zinnias; I think the barrel cactus flowers are about done.

I wore a winter skirt yesterday and today -- more because I could than because I really needed it, though. After months and months of sweltering in thin dresses, it's nice to be able to swish around in ankle-length brown tweed for a change. High temperatures this week have been mid-80s rather than 90s, and it gets well down into the sixties at night.

I put the light comforter on the bed, the quilt no longer being sufficient.

This evening I actually turned the a/c off at the thermostat, instead of just leaving it set to the top of the scale. I'm starting to fret a little about when they're going to get around to fixing my heater, not that I really need it yet.

icon meme

via athenais



Left to right:

Doily. One of my hobbies (mostly in abeyance this year, though) is thread crochet, and this is a from a scan of one of my own designs. Used for posts on crafts and creativity. I've had that icon a long time; I think it was the second one I made, back when I was a free user with only three slots.

Behemoth 47: That's the title of my novel-in-progress, and the image is an impression (based on some stock art from a CD label package, I think) of what the hyperspace in that universe looks like. It's supposed to be the icon for talking about the novel, but occasionally gets stuck on computer comments by mistake because my big heavy laptop is also called Behemoth.

5x5x5 cube: I love puzzles. My father had an original 3x3x3 Rubik's cube about a year before they were popular the first time around, and I got a 4x4x4 for my eighteenth birthday. When I saw the 5-a-side version in the Maths Department staff common room back in London, I coveted it madly, and haunted the toy store it came from for months, but they never got any more in. After I moved to Tucson, I finally figured out how to order one online from Hong Kong. (And yes, I did solve it, though I doubt I could do it now without working it out again from scratch.) I use this icon for posts and comments of a geekier-than-average nature, or sometimes to convey puzzlement.

An approximation of what I look like in real life. Very rarely used; occasionally feels appropriate for commenting in discussions about anonymity or appearance.

Seaview, from Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, the only show that has ever moved me to fanfic.

The teacup; I snagged this from jslayeruk at the time of the London Tube bombings, when drinking tea did seem like the appropriate response. (I'm British, and I even lived in London for a few years.)

Dragon! From the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, my trip-of-a-lifetime last year. Used for posts about China, and also for commenting on naominovik's posts or blogging dragon books in general.

Comment on this post. I will choose seven userpics from your profile and you will explain what they mean and why you are using them. Post this along with your answers in your own journal so others can play along.

The remains of the eggplant

The vegetable medley with Prego sauce from Monday was even better after a couple of days in the fridge, warmed up and served over cheese tortellini. The last of it I steamed with half a green pepper and a small Mexican Gray squash, without any seasonings at all.

It's definitely on the sweet end of things; I'm a bit surprised people aren't stewing it up with blackberries and ... say ... cinammon for dessert, rather than salting it to death and smothering it in cheese.