The Wordsmith's Forge

 Avebury at sunset.

Among the things we bought on our Amish run were a bottle of excellent milk and a small cheap bag of chia seeds.  We have previously tried dessert cups of chia pudding; the coconut was excellent, the vanilla was okay, and the banana-chocolate was disgusting.  We haven't been able to find the coconut one again.  :(  

I decided to try my hand at making chia pudding at home.  It can be made with all kinds of ingredients.  I'm starting with this basic recipe for vanilla chia pudding using whole cow milk and 3 teaspoons of white sugar.  I know, that's a tablespoon, but I put them in one at a time and tasted to see when it was slightly sweet.  I don't want it too  sweet.

I note that this is one of the few recipes that really is as quick and easy as it claims.  It says five minutes; I think it took about that long.  I'm sure it'll go faster when I'm not in experimental mode thinking very closely about everything.  You just dump a few things in a container, stir, and stick it in the fridge.  People who are chronically low on spoons should take note of this as an easy, healthy, crap-free dessert.

EDIT 10/15/18: Success!  As I hoped, the base produced an acceptably tasty if not too exciting chia pudding.  Pretty good texture, too, though I recommend stirring before eating to break up any clumps.  Totally worth the ~5 minutes it took to make.  I will be experimenting with other flavors.

 Narwhal.

There will be a half-price sale in Polychrome Heroics from Monday, October 15-Sunday, October 21. 

This poem is spillover from the December 5, 2017 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from alexseanchai and Merle. It also fills the "a strange friend" square in my 12-3-17 card for the genprompt_bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by Anthony & Shirley Barrette. It belongs to the Polychrome Heroics series.

Warning: This poem features intense and controversial topics. Highlight to read the warnings, some of which are spoilers. It includes new adults aged out of the foster system, attachment issues, loneliness, unhappiness, extensive sexual abuse, assorted other abuse, broken families, orphans, gender-based rejection, missing skills, medical malpractice, faking success, negative coping skills, crying, not knowing what safety feels like, vulgar language, sex/gender issues, impaired consent, minor self-injury, gizmotronic baby dolls with problems, involuntary separation, and other challenges. If these are sensitive issues for you, please consider your tastes and headspace before moving onward.

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Thanks to a donation from fuzzyred,  "Only If It Is Embraced" has 11 new verses.  Ham picks a fight with Keane.  Pain's Gray takes Keane's side.  Won't this be fun?  

I finally spotted the bluejay I've been hearing. He was at the fly-through feeder this morning.  :D 

Today is cool, cloudy, and damp.

I planted 12 Spanish Bluebells in the wildflower garden.   This concludes the batch of bulbs that I got from my father.  \o/  I may buy a few more later, but I'm done with the biggest portion of this fall's bulb planting.

I also collected seeds from the blackberry lily and the northern sea oats to plant in the prairie garden.

These are the character and location notes for "Homemade Families."

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Here are the content notes for "Homemade Families."

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