The Wordsmith's Forge

Most New Year's resolutions are chores. Things that need to be done, or cleaned; personal improvements that are hard work. But a healthy life balance includes things that are fun, relaxing, or otherwise enjoyable. If you include some resolutions that you want to do, then you are more likely to complete some of them. These include a range of options including things to complete in one day, things to repeat a few times or for a limited period, and year-long projects. Here are some ideas ...

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I got to talking about introvert parties with a friend, and I figured other folks would enjoy that too. Please share these resources widely, as I would love to see this become common here.

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I'm pinch-hitting for the intended host. Sorry for the delay. Fresh Starts Bingo is now open on allbingo.

his one is all about fresh starts and new beginnings. All fandoms and original work are acceptable; all sizes and media are welcome. You can play a public card, make a card from one category, or mix-and-match. Posting is open January 3-31. There are 5 subcategories and 6 public cards, or you can make your own.

Here is my card for the Fresh Starts Bingo. This one is all about fresh starts and new beginnings. (See all my 2021 bingo cards.)

If you'd like to sponsor a particular square, especially if you have an idea for what character, series, or situation it would fit -- talk to me and we'll work something out. I've had a few requests for this and the results have been awesome so far. This is a good opportunity for those of you with favorites that don't always mesh well with the themes of my monthly projects. I may still post some of the fills for free, because I'm using this to attract new readers; but if it brings in money, that means I can do more of it. That's part of why I'm crossing some of the bingo prompts with other projects, such as the Poetry Fishbowl.

Underlined prompts have been filled.


FRESH STARTS BINGO CARD

Learning a New Skill	Hope	Becoming a Leader	Superpower Manifestation	Becoming a Parent
Meeting of Minds	Unfamiliar	Creation	Spring	Imprinting
Prelude	Planting a Garden	WILD CARD	Expect the Unexpected	Neighborhood Revitalization
Begin as You Mean to Go On	Day One	Taking on a New Role	when the world is mud-luscious	Rites of Passage
Getting a New Employee / Volunteer	Surprise	First Impressions Count	Launching a New Group	You Don't Know Me Yet

Previously we had gotten blue corn pancake mix and prickly pear syrup from the Southwest Indian catalog.  We made those recently and were delighted with the syrup in particular.

So my partner Doug went out and found another source of prickly pear syrup, that also had it as jelly and honey.  We just got these, and haven't opened them yet because the jars are cold.  But the box from Shadow River also contained a freebie: two pieces of huckleberry saltwater taffy.  Now I'm a fan of taffy, but I'm fussy about it, and it's hard to find good taffy that actually tastes like its advertised flavors.  This is really  good and really tastes like huckleberry -- close to blueberry but wilder, almost blackberry-esque.  Yeah, that's going on my wishlist.

It snowed last night, a fluffy white blanket that was half-melted today.  Still pretty.

I fed the birds.  There were cardinals just everywhere today.  I think I saw at least six in the birdgift tree.  I also saw a squirrel and a downy woodpecker.  :D 

vriddy shared code for various ways to hide stats on AO3. 

I saw this. 

But if A, then B.

LOL