Fashion&#39;s been a Passion

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1663/04/30/

Posted by Samuel Pepys

Up, and after drinking my morning draft with my father and W. Stankes, I went forth to Sir W. Batten, who is going (to no purpose as he uses to do) to Chatham upon a survey.

So to my office, where till towards noon, and then to the Exchange, and back home to dinner, where Mrs. Hunt [L&M say “Mr Hunt” P.G.], my father, and W. Stankes; but, Lord! what a stir Stankes makes with his being crowded in the streets and wearied in walking in London, and would not be wooed by my wife and Ashwell to go to a play, nor to White Hall, or to see the lyons,¹ though he was carried in a coach. I never could have thought there had been upon earth a man so little curious in the world as he is.

At the office all the afternoon till 9 at night, so home to cards with my father, wife, and Ashwell, and so to bed.

Footnotes

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1663/04/30/

Intro/FAQ
Days 1-15

In May we will be right here, at least to start with! I'll continue hosting May 1-15, and

dswdiane will host us from May 16-31. I'll announce again when we're ready to gang over there. In the meanwhile, I'll start a fresh tally for May, and (once people have checked in) update this post to be the final tally for April.

My check-in: ~~No writing yet. Will update later if events warrant.~~ Alibi editing.

Day 30:

acorn_squash,

badly_knitted,

carenejeans,

chanter1944,

china_shop,

dswdiane,

glinda,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 29:

acorn_squash,

badly_knitted,

carenejeans,

chanter1944,

china_shop,

dswdiane,

goddess47,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 28:

acorn_squash,

badly_knitted,

carenejeans,

chanter1944,

china_shop,

dswdiane,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

( More days )

glinda

Beats The Alternative (1180 words) by Glinda
Chapters: 1/1
Fandom: Project Hail Mary (2026)
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Characters: Eva Stratt
Additional Tags: Women In Power, Saving the World, Choices, Bittersweet
Summary:

The consensus is, that it would be preferable if they did not die.

Mostly this month, I've been watching ice hockey - I did the other kind of skating this weekend - day-dreaming about train journey's across Canada and watching Chernobyl. (There's a bit in the second episode where they go to a meeting and essentially ask permission to kill three men to save millions. I had a bunch of feelings about that combination of bureaucracy and brutal honesty in that exchange - not something you often see in 'saving the world' scenarios - and apparently I'm processing them via fic about Eva Stratt. I love her, your honour.) My escapism method is interesting I'll say that for it... Choices one might say.

Current Mood: contemplative
Current Music: Harry Styles - Sign of the Times

koshka_the_cat

I just had an eye appointment, and I don't need another one for a year!

I have a prescription for reading glasses. I want glasses with a clear top and higher quality lenses than store bought reading glasses. I'm not a fan of peering over them and am used to progressive lenses anyway. I can get away without using then a lot, which is nice.

Now, for the dilation to wear off. Thankfully only one eye, but I'm so sick of dilation!

Intro/FAQ
Days 1-15

Still looking for a volunteer to split hosting duties for May! If no one else is available, I'll split the month with

dswdiane, but I want to put out the call one last time…

My check-in: Some rewrites to the beginning of a story that I might use for a charity auction fill.

Day 29:

china_shop,

sanguinity,

trobadora

Day 28:

acorn_squash,

badly_knitted,

carenejeans,

china_shop,

dswdiane,

sanguinity,

the_siobhan,

trobadora

Day 27:

badly_knitted,

carenejeans,

china_shop,

dswdiane,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

( More days )

When you check in, please use the most recent post and say what day(s) you’re checking in for. Remember you can drop in or out at any time, and let me know if I missed anyone!

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1663/04/29/

Posted by Samuel Pepys

Up betimes, and after having at my office settled some accounts for my Lord Sandwich, I went forth, and taking up my father at my brother’s, took coach and towards Chelsey, ’lighting at an alehouse near the Gatehouse at Westminster to drink our morning draught, and so up again and to Chelsey, where we found my Lord all alone at a little table with one joynt of meat at dinner; we sat down and very merry talking, and mightily extolling the manner of his retirement, and the goodness of his diet, which indeed is so finely dressed: the mistress of the house, Mrs. Becke, having been a woman of good condition heretofore, a merchant’s wife, and hath all things most excellently dressed; among others, her cakes admirable, and so good that my Lord’s words were, they were fit to present to my Lady Castlemaine.

From ordinary discourse my Lord fell to talk of other matters to me, of which chiefly the second part of the fray, which he told me a little while since of, between Mr. Edward Montagu and himself, which is that after that he had since been with him three times and no notice taken at all of any difference between them, and yet since that he hath forborn coming to him almost two months, and do speak not only slightly of my Lord every where, but hath complained to my Lord Chancellor of him, and arrogated all that ever my Lord hath done to be only by his direction and persuasion. Whether he hath done the like to the King or no, my Lord knows not; but my Lord hath been with the King since, and finds all things fair; and my Lord Chancellor hath told him of it, but with so much contempt of Mr. Montagu, as my Lord knows himself very secure against any thing the fool can do; and notwithstanding all this, so noble is his nature, that he professes himself ready to show kindness and pity to Mr. Montagu on any occasion.

My Lord told me of his presenting Sir H. Bennet with a gold cupp of 100l., which he refuses, with a compliment; but my Lord would have been glad he had taken it, that he might have had some obligations upon him which he thinks possible the other may refuse to prevent it; not that he hath any reason to doubt his kindness. But I perceive great differences there are at Court; and Sir H. Bennet and my Lord Bristol, and their faction, are likely to carry all things before them (which my Lord’s judgment is, will not be for the best), and particularly against the Chancellor, who, he tells me, is irrecoverably lost: but, however, that he will not actually joyne in anything against the Chancellor, whom he do own to be his most sure friend, and to have been his greatest; and therefore will not openly act in either, but passively carry himself even.

The Queen, my Lord tells me, he thinks he hath incurred some displeasure with, for his kindness to his neighbour, my Lady Castlemaine. My Lord tells me he hath no reason to fall for her sake, whose wit, management, nor interest, is not likely to hold up any man, and therefore he thinks it not his obligation to stand for her against his own interest.

The Duke and Mr. Coventry my Lord says he is very well with, and fears not but they will show themselves his very good friends, specially at this time, he being able to serve them, and they needing him, which he did not tell me wherein.

Talking of the business of Tangier, he tells me that my Lord Tiviott is gone away without the least respect paid to him, nor indeed to any man, but without his commission; and (if it be true what he says) having laid out seven or eight thousand pounds in commodities for the place; and besides having not only disobliged all the Commissioners for Tangier, but also Sir Charles Barkeley the other day, who, speaking in behalf of Colonel Fitz-Gerald, that having been deputy-governor there already, he ought to have expected and had the governorship upon the death or removal of the former governor. And whereas it is said that he and his men are Irish, which is indeed the main thing that hath moved the King and Council to put in Tiviott to prevent the Irish having too great and the whole command there under Fitz-Gerald; he further said that there was never an Englishman fit to command Tangier; my Lord Tiviott answered yes, that there were many more fit than himself or Fitz-Gerald either. So that Fitz-Gerald being so great with the Duke of York, and being already made deputy-governor, independent of my Lord Tiviott, and he being also left here behind him for a while, my Lord Sandwich do think that, putting all these things together, the few friends he hath left, and the ill posture of his affairs, my Lord Tiviott is not a man of the conduct and management that either people take him to be, or is fit for the command of the place.

And here, speaking of the Duke of York and Sir Charles Barkeley, my Lord tells me that he do very much admire the good management, and discretion, and nobleness of the Duke, that whatever he may be led by him or Mr. Coventry singly in private, yet he did not observe that in publique matters, but he did give as ready hearing and as good acceptance to any reasons offered by any other man against the opinions of them, as he did to them, and would concur in the prosecution of it. Then we came to discourse upon his own sea accompts, and came to a resolution what and how to proceed in them; wherein he resolved, though I offered him a way of evading the greatest part of his debt honestly, by making himself debtor to the Parliament, before the King’s time, which he might justly do, yet he resolved to go openly and nakedly in it, and put himself to the kindness of the King and Duke, which humour, I must confess, and so did tell him (with which he was not a little pleased) had thriven very well with him, being known to be a man of candid and open dealing, without any private tricks or hidden designs as other men commonly have in what they do.

From that we had discourse of Sir G. Carteret, who he finds kind to him, but it may be a little envious, and most other men are, and of many others; and upon the whole do find that it is a troublesome thing for a man of any condition at Court to carry himself even, and without contracting enemys or envyers; and that much discretion and dissimulation is necessary to do it. My father staid a good while at the window and then sat down by himself while my Lord and I were thus an hour together or two after dinner discoursing, and by and by he took his leave, and told me he would stay below for me.

Anon I took leave, and coming down found my father unexpectedly in great pain and desiring for God’s sake to get him a bed to lie upon, which I did, and W. Howe and I staid by him, in so great pain as I never saw, poor wretch, and with that patience, crying only: Terrible, terrible pain, God help me, God help me, with the mournful voice, that made my heart ake. He desired to rest a little alone to see whether it would abate, and W. Howe and I went down and walked in the gardens, which are very fine, and a pretty fountayne, with which I was finely wetted, and up to a banquetting house, with a very fine prospect, and so back to my father, who I found in such pain that I could not bear the sight of it without weeping, never thinking that I should be able to get him from thence, but at last, finding it like to continue, I got him to go to the coach, with great pain, and driving hard, he all the while in a most unsufferable torment (meeting in the way with Captain Ferrers going to my Lord, to tell him that my Lady Jemimah is come to town, and that Will Stankes is come with my father’s horses), not staying the coach to speak with any body, but once, in St. Paul’s Churchyard, we were forced to stay, the jogging and pain making my father vomit, which it never had done before. At last we got home, and all helping him we got him to bed presently, and after half an hour’s lying in his naked bed (it being a rupture [with] which he is troubled, and has been this 20 years, but never in half the pain and with so great swelling as now, and how this came but by drinking of cold small beer and sitting long upon a low stool and then standing long after it he cannot tell) … —[We are not going to be told the treatment. D.W.]— [his bowells went up again into his belly, being got forth into his cod, as it seems is usual with very many men. – L&M] After which he was at good ease, and so continued, and so fell to sleep, and we went down whither W. Stankes was come with his horses. But it is very pleasant to hear how he rails at the rumbling and ado that is in London over it is in the country, that he cannot endure it.

He supped with us, and very merry, and then he to his lodgings at the Inne with the horses, and so we to bed, I to my father who is very well again, and both slept very well.

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1663/04/29/

totchipanda

Hockey playoff dreams are still alive for one more game! They crushed it last night, so it's back to Anaheim for tomorrow.

I did laundry on Monday and I had enough across my account and on the card to do a load of sheets/fabric too. So that's done. While I waited, I cut some interfacing for the collar pieces, and a small strip of the "lambswool" fusible I bought in the summer (it's the stuff Gertie uses to stabilize zipper openings) for the collar band. Way too late to do the front edges. Then I made dinner while the last load was in the dryer, a veggie stir fry with chicken dumplings, and rotted for the rest of the night.

Yesterday was dance class, which was lovely as always.

Tonight I would like to take out a lot of my take-out-ables, garbage and green waste and recycling. No idea what I will make for dinner yet. Then I should like to work on my dress, and maybe the cross stitch. My friend sent me a photo of one she worked on, and said that the photos of mine inspired her to pick it back up. I can't fall behind now when I have inspired someone!

rachelmanija

I'm still going through books and discarding ones that don't grab me after a chapter or so. (Lots grab me within one paragraph).

Stir it Up! Ramin Ganeshram

A Trinidadian-American girl wants to be a celebrity chef. It begins with a recipe for "two cups of love, a pinch of sharing," etc. BARF.

Before the Fall, by Noah Hawley

Hawley is a TV writer/creator who did a show I loved (Legion) and a show I liked (Fargo). The premise of this book - a man who, along with the young boy he saves, is the sole survivor of a plane wreck and starts investigating the victims to find out if it wasn't an accident - really appeals to me. Unfortunately, it's written in a style I can only describe as "Middle-aged white dude writes New Yorker fiction." Not for me.

Guns in the Heather, by Lockhart Amerman

In a fast-moving tale of international espionage, Jonathan Flower is lured by a false telegram from the school he is attending in Edinburgh. With his father, he is involved in a grim hunt in which they are stalked by a ruthless band of foreign agents.

The plot sounded fun but was actually kind of tedious. The best part was the author amusing himself with the dialogue. I am recording some for posterity:

Tommy is a fat, jolly sort of character who likes to talk jive with a Glasgow accent. This is purely so he can say stuff like "We dig it, mon, but good."

Her voice and her person both reminded me of the Scots adjective "soncy." This is purely so she can say stuff like "There's a bit sandwich forby - under yon cover."

"Wullie's awee the dee?" (His accent was what we call in school "pure Morningsayde.")

"We're teddibly soddy, of course. It's so fearfully dismal to be doodly with a gun."

My new band name is Doodly With A Gun.

koshka_the_cat

I think the size 0 needles are right for the bathing suit. Each row seems very small! But it seems like it's going to be a nice weight.

catherineldf

The last 4 months have been a LOT. I have passed my data analytics certification at the University of Minnesota so that's done, at least. I miss my buddy kitty, Shu a whole lot, especially since I am trying to sleep with his sister Ma'at so she doesn't get lonely and she is both loud and lively at unreasonable hours.

A bit more about the kitties: my late wife, Jana, and I adopted them from Feline Rescue back in 2009. They are/were rescue Egyptian Mau mixes so we named them Shu (Egyptian god of dust storms) and Ma'at (goddess of justice). They were bonded and absolutely gorgeous with white under fur and patterned black tips and random spotted patterns on their tummies. Shu was the smartest cat I've ever lived with (Ma'at is a smart kitty too, of course) and clocked in at an impressive 20 pounds. He adored pets and belly rubs and play time and liked to sleep wrapped around my ankles. He made it to 17 before his health began to fail and I had to send him over the Rainbow Bridge.He went out purring and content, but I am still bereft. Here's hoping Ma'at and I are able to adapt to the new normal soon. She is trying, poor little tyke, in her own way.

I lost another friend, this time to cancer, a couple of weeks ago. Rebecca Hranj was one of Jana's students and I met her after I moved Jana into assisted living. She helped me organize and clean out a lot of Jana's studio stuff and we got to hang out a bit around the time she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. She fought the good fight and we went out to dinner, chatted on line occasionally and a few months back, I picked her up from an appointment and plied her with cardamom coffee and treats. I really, really wish we'd had more time to get to know each other. 2 years was way too short a time and she deserved better, as did her family and other loved ones, than to go out right before her 44th birthday. RIP to a good one.

What else is going on? I'm starting the spring grant review cycle this week (one of my side gigs) and am working on some stories and articles I have due later this year and of course, the novel. Everything this moving along, if not as zippily as I would like. I've done two bookselling events this month, hosted a yard sale and worked Independent Bookstore Day at DreamHaven. So it's been a very full month, One of my best friends is moving out of the country so I need to tackle mountain of paperwork (she's my emergency contact, among other things) as well as being sad that I won't see her much in a few weeks. I am working on making some new friends and meeting new people so not sitting around weeping into my tea or anything, but it would be nice if everything wasn't always literally or emotionally on fire at the same time. On the bright side, still pretty healthy and on year 2 of Not Being PreDiabetic. Or Diabetic, for that matter.

And, ack, just realized that I forgot to post that Queen of Swords Press has just released Joyce Chng's terrific Sailing the Golden Chersonese! This includes 4 stories about a trans masc pirate and his/their lady love sailing on a fantastical version of the South China Sea, complete with magic, Naks and romance. The cover is by the amazing Dhiyanah Hassan and the interior work is by Terry Roy, who has done most of our interior designs. It is the most beautiful little book!

And with that, back to work on sundry projects.

Intro/FAQ
Days 1-15

We're looking for a second volunteer to share May! Is anyone up to host half the month?

My check-in: Some sentences over lunch.

Day 28:

china_shop,

sanguinity

Day 27:

badly_knitted,

china_shop,

dswdiane,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 26:

badly_knitted,

china_shop,

dswdiane,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1663/04/28/

Posted by Samuel Pepys

Up betimes and to my office, and there all the morning, only stepped up to see my wife and her dancing master at it, and I think after all she will do pretty well at it. So to dinner, Mr. Hunt dining with us, and so to the office, where we sat late, and then I to my office casting up my Lord’s sea accounts over again, and putting them in order for payment, and so home to supper and to bed.

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1663/04/28/

atherleisure

I got

marianme to take pictures of my new stockings this weekend.

I kind of hate them. They're a little hard to get over the heel just because cotton doesn't stretch as much as wool does. Whenever I went downstairs, my boots rubbing the back of the legs would pull them down just a little so that I'd end up with a wrinkle under my heel. Walking on a wrinkle is not comfortable. It's also not easy pulling socks back up when wearing boots. I am happy enough with the foot, though I had thought I'd have more length in the foot based on my first try-on where I ended up ripping back an inch. Go figure; knitting is squirmy.

So now I have a definite second-class pair of stockings. That makes two pair of cotton stockings I've made (one plain and one patterned), and they're my least favorite pairs out of all the stockings I've made. These weren't even fun to make. If I say I'm going to make another pair of cotton stockings, someone please talk me out of it!

rachelmanija

This was Robinson's first novel, one of a set of three set in future Orange County, Californias, exploring three different futures for America. The second one is about a future much like the present day, hyper-capitalist and dystopian. The third is set in an ecotopia which apparently involves lots of softball. (I've only read The Wild Shore, and gleaned this information from reviews of the others.) After reading The Ministry of the Future, I thought I'd give Robinson another try, and this book sounded most relevant to my personal interests. (I've attempted Years of Rice and Salt multiple times and never gotten very far in. It sounds so interesting!)

The Wild Shore is set about sixty years after the US was shattered by multiple neutron bombs, then quarantined by the rest of the world. It's now a bunch of extremely small, struggling towns which are kept separated from each other as the rest of the world uses satellite imagery to bomb them any time they attempt to do something like build railroad tracks. The California coast is patrolled by Japanese vessels who prevent them from sailing too far out. No one in the book has any idea who bombed the US or why, but given the quarantine I assume the US started the war and someone else finished it.

The book is narrated by Henry, who is 17 and lives in a village of 60. He hangs out with a bunch of mostly-indistinguishable other teenage boys. (I spent three-quarters of the book thinking Steve and Nicolin were two different boys. They are not. I wish writers wouldn't randomly call characters by their first or last name.) They fish and farm and trade with scavengers. Henry is the prize student of Tom, one of four elders who recall the pre-catastrophe days. It is immediately obvious that Tom's teachings are a mix of real and complete bullshit, but as the younger generation has no context or means of fact-checking, they tend to think it's either all true or all bullshit.

The village gets contacted by the remnants of San Diego, which wants to build a rail line and fight back against the quarantine. Henry gets sucked into this, with disastrous results.

This book is SLOW. I often like books that are mostly about daily life, but Henry's daily life was not that interesting - he spends a lot of time hanging out with boys and talking and thinking about girls and daddy issues, and you can get that in any contemporary novel about teenage boys. The only real character is Tom - everyone else is lightly sketched in at best. Girls and women are only present as girlfriends, potential girlfriends, and moms. (There's one girl who's the leader of the farmers, who are mostly women - the men are mostly fishers - but she doesn't get much to do.) The book was just barely interesting enough that I finished it, but it didn't end anywhere more interesting than the rest of it.

( Read more... )

Content note: Characters use racial slurs for Japanese people.

koshka_the_cat

Naps after work are so nice sometimes...

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1663/04/27/

Posted by Samuel Pepys

Up betimes and to my office, where doing business alone a good while till people came about business to me.

Will Griffin tells me this morning that Captain Browne, Sir W. Batten’s brother-in-law, is dead of a blow given him two days ago by a seaman, a servant of his, being drunk, with a stone striking him on the forehead, for which I am sorry, he having a good woman and several small children.

At the office all the morning, at noon dined at home with my wife, merry, and after dinner by water to White Hall; but found the Duke of York gone to St. James’s for this summer; and thence with Mr. Coventry, to whose chamber I went, and Sir W. Pen up to the Duke’s closett. And a good while with him about our Navy business; and so I to White Hall, and there alone a while with my Lord Sandwich discoursing about his debt to the Navy, wherein he hath given me some things to resolve him in. Thence to my Lord’s lodging, and thither came Creed to me, and he and I walked a great while in the garden, and thence to an alehouse in the market place to drink fine Lambeth ale, and so to Westminster Hall, and after walking there a great while, home by coach, where I found Mary gone from my wife, she being too high for her, though a very good servant, and my boy too will be going in a few days, for he is not for my family, he is grown so out of order and not to be ruled, and do himself, against his brother’s counsel, desire to be gone, which I am sorry for, because I love the boy and would be glad to bring him to good.

At home with my wife and Ashwell talking of her going into the country this year, wherein we had like to have fallen out, she thinking that I have a design to have her go, which I have not, and to let her stay here I perceive will not be convenient, for she expects more pleasure than I can give her here, and I fear I have done very ill in letting her begin to learn to dance.

The Queen (which I did not know) it seems was at Windsor, at the late St. George’s feast there; and the Duke of Monmouth dancing with her with his hat in his hand, the King came in and kissed him, and made him put on his hat, which every body took notice of.

After being a while at my office home to supper and to bed, my Will being come home again after being at his father’s all the last week taking physique.

https://www.pepysdiary.com/diary/1663/04/27/

Intro/FAQ
Days 1-15

We have a potential volunteer for half of May. Would anyone like to split the month with them? Please volunteer in the comments!

My check-in: A couple paragraphs over lunch. Perhaps more this evening.

Day 27:

china_shop,

sanguinity

Day 26:

badly_knitted,

china_shop,

dswdiane,

sanguinity,

sylvanwitch,

the_siobhan,

trobadora,

ysilme

Day 25:

badly_knitted,

china_shop,