I just found I can mute words in @gluon app for Micro.blog. Excellent! It seems to support emojis too!

A scandalously hot bath, for self care 1

  1. aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh ↩︎

Woah! What a day it’s been already1! I feel included, and hopeful. I finally feel like I’m beginning to plug into community2 again

  1. 2pm ↩︎

  2. IRL ↩︎

I just saw a fox in the garden! 🦊

Good morning Mr Fox. Will you join me for a hot cacao?

I’m back at my favourite spot in the park. 📷

Wide angle view of a pond and bulrushes. Wintry trees in background. Blue sky with clouds reflected in the pond. The scene is underexposed.

Veeeeeeeerrrry busy day

I feel all thin, sort of stretched, if you know what I mean: like butter that has been scraped over too much bread 1

  1. — Tolkien / Baggins ↩︎

Screenshot of weather app. Reads -7C

I have now found two people on Micro.blog who live in Manchester. I know it’s a big place. And I don’t live in the city itself anymore. But still, it’s a thing I didn’t expect.

My son couldn’t come to visit as planned. Tomorrow is now a self-care day. I’m so pooped out.

A snowy garden in low light, before sunrise. In the foreground, a snow covered lawn. In the mid ground two bare trees in silhouette on the left, a dark fir tree on the right, with a hedge behind. Behind the hedge, suburban Edwardian houses. A telephone pole has telephone lines radiating from it towards the viewer.

A Winter Wonderland1!! ❄️ 📷

  1. Finally! ↩︎

A light dusting ❄️

I’ve been tinkering in Blot again all evening. Love that service. I have a new project brewing…

I really need to wind down for bed as I have a busy day tomorrow. Chores first tho.

Winter scene of a pond in blue-toned shadow at golden hour. There’s a deep blue sky and orange tinted leafless trees on the horizon line.

Current view 📷

I first joined Micro.blog in 2018 and I didn’t do much with it until 2022 when I bought a 1 month subscription and blogged for a couple of weeks. But then I decided to go back to Blot.

I’ve been back on Micro.blog for about 6 weeks and I’m pretty sure I’m here to stay. (I’m keeping Blot for something else).

Two main things helped me decide:

  1. I like that’s it’s a hybrid of a blog and a social network. Although I have ‘left’ social media, maybe forever, I do need that social interaction. And Micro.blog allows me to tailor that quite well. I like that the blog doesn’t have traditional comments, but is connected to a platform feed.
  2. I need that input box. A quick box I can type a few words and tap Publish. Whether it’s in an app, or on the website. I can upload images quite easily too. The simplicity! Other ‘micro’ services lack this (and is their strength in some cases, like Blot).

I’ve been listening to The Boy and the Heron soundtrack this morning. It’s so beautiful. Lots of crying happened. Beautiful music will often do this for me. And it honestly helps a lot to get it out.

Apple sent me a survey about my Apple TV 4K (3rd Gen).

The Siri Remote is very frustrating at times. It’s so easy to brush the touchpad when trying to click and select something and accidentally select something else. Scrolling with touch swipe is very imprecise. It’s ergonomically uncomfortable with harsh edges and hard buttons. It’s the worst Apple device I’ve ever used.

😜

I watched The Boy and the Heron (2023) today with the fam. I think it’s potentially going to be considered a masterpiece in years to come. After one viewing though, I feel that I hardly took it in. It’s just one of those films. Truly transcendent in a lot of ways. Very different. Very dense. Beautifully animated. Gorgeous soundtrack. With a complementary rather than overpowering English dub. Wonderful. I can’t wait to watch again. 📽

And it was so good to have a family outing with the kids. Such a rare treat these days for the four of us to get together. Heart is full.

I really want to paint again. I’ve been playing with markers recently and it’s got the arty juices flowing.

It’s been a very satisfying day. It’s only 6 pm. I’m very tired and I feel like I’ve been very productive but in a slow and gentle way.

I’ve been tending to my home and gathering my art materials all into one place. I’ve been tidying my work areas and making my home cosy again. It feels good.

I livestreamed some art earlier. It was to my son over FaceTime and it was a lot of fun.

I watched Gone Girl (2014). Good but weird.

That was my first normal night sleep schedule in weeks. Still feeling rough, and weak. But gradually improving still.