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heavenly path
9 Jul 2026 07:07 amzhoumojun: welcome to our danmei club
zhoumojun: I mean our chinese learning server
zhoumojun: I mean our chinese learning server
no, "no subject" is accurate; accept
7 Jul 2026 10:59 pm♥ mixed language
I was watching a Chinese vlogger open some mail and she was like, "If you can guess what's in this, leave a comment," and I immediately thought, "yi ben livre." Which is a combination of French and Chinese that I blame on Language Jones because youtube had just shown me a thumbnail of his video "Stop Mixing Languages." (And he speaks French, which I assume was the connection my brain made, since when I started learning Chinese it was ASL that I kept substituting with, probably because it was my most recent non-native working language.)
♥ language in dreams
The other funny thing about that is that it's a reminder of how differently we think, since I know a lot of people don't think in words and I definitely do. The other day I saw a discussion of dreaming in non-native languages, and several advanced language learners seemed convinced this phenomenon is either imaginary or "bogus" (not sure exactly what they meant by that), despite multilingual people assuring them it's real and normal. I remember my glee the first time I woke up and realized I'd been dreaming in Chinese. But I know a lot of people don't remember their dreams, either, so it must just be different brains with different experiences.
♥ AI face editing
Relatedly, I hadn't noticed any AI face editing until tonight, when I was watching my one of my favorite Taiwanese vloggers and suddenly thought, "wait, that's not a real face shape." (China has a relatively extreme "beauty filter" culture, and constant exposure to it may make people more likely to slide across the line from "very idealized" to "straight up anime" face without realizing it.) I googled AI face editing, and now I can't stop noticing people's teeth. I hope that passes quickly.
♥ AI face editing and faceblindness
Oh, but also, I found a helpful English video about a Chinese demonstration of AI face editing (the comments were definitely from non-Chinese viewers), and it included a demonstration of live AI face-swapping at the end. I'm faceblind, which I didn't think about at all until the face-swapping demonstration, because the face-editing was very clear to me. I could easily see the difference between the edited and unedited faces. But I could not see the difference between an original face and a face swap. It was amazing: the narrator would be like, "here's a Tom Cruise face swap" and I was like, "it's the same guy," and then the narrator would be like, "and here, obviously it's Scarlett Johannsen" and I was like, "what obviously; what are you talking about, it's obviously the same person."
So anyway, I don't know what that means, except that there's something different about AI face editing that's visible to me as a faceblind person in a way face-swapping isn't. (By comparison, I mean, I've never recognized editing without a comparison until tonight, and this wasn't "that face looks edited" or even "that face doesn't look real," but literally "that's not a normal human face shape." It looked perfectly real, it just wasn't biologically possible.)
♥ training with the pup
Finally, Daphne and I met with a dog trainer today, and as I told Marci, "I was impressed by him." She was like, "That's not a reaction you usually have to men." I know. So rare. (I often get along better with old men, and he says he's been training for 50 years, so maybe the pattern holds.) On the strength of our first meeting I agreed to a few "private" classes rather than a group class. No money was exchanged until the end of today's session, so I don't want to gush until we meet again, but he did everything right in the initial evaluation.
I was watching a Chinese vlogger open some mail and she was like, "If you can guess what's in this, leave a comment," and I immediately thought, "yi ben livre." Which is a combination of French and Chinese that I blame on Language Jones because youtube had just shown me a thumbnail of his video "Stop Mixing Languages." (And he speaks French, which I assume was the connection my brain made, since when I started learning Chinese it was ASL that I kept substituting with, probably because it was my most recent non-native working language.)
♥ language in dreams
The other funny thing about that is that it's a reminder of how differently we think, since I know a lot of people don't think in words and I definitely do. The other day I saw a discussion of dreaming in non-native languages, and several advanced language learners seemed convinced this phenomenon is either imaginary or "bogus" (not sure exactly what they meant by that), despite multilingual people assuring them it's real and normal. I remember my glee the first time I woke up and realized I'd been dreaming in Chinese. But I know a lot of people don't remember their dreams, either, so it must just be different brains with different experiences.
♥ AI face editing
Relatedly, I hadn't noticed any AI face editing until tonight, when I was watching my one of my favorite Taiwanese vloggers and suddenly thought, "wait, that's not a real face shape." (China has a relatively extreme "beauty filter" culture, and constant exposure to it may make people more likely to slide across the line from "very idealized" to "straight up anime" face without realizing it.) I googled AI face editing, and now I can't stop noticing people's teeth. I hope that passes quickly.
♥ AI face editing and faceblindness
Oh, but also, I found a helpful English video about a Chinese demonstration of AI face editing (the comments were definitely from non-Chinese viewers), and it included a demonstration of live AI face-swapping at the end. I'm faceblind, which I didn't think about at all until the face-swapping demonstration, because the face-editing was very clear to me. I could easily see the difference between the edited and unedited faces. But I could not see the difference between an original face and a face swap. It was amazing: the narrator would be like, "here's a Tom Cruise face swap" and I was like, "it's the same guy," and then the narrator would be like, "and here, obviously it's Scarlett Johannsen" and I was like, "what obviously; what are you talking about, it's obviously the same person."
So anyway, I don't know what that means, except that there's something different about AI face editing that's visible to me as a faceblind person in a way face-swapping isn't. (By comparison, I mean, I've never recognized editing without a comparison until tonight, and this wasn't "that face looks edited" or even "that face doesn't look real," but literally "that's not a normal human face shape." It looked perfectly real, it just wasn't biologically possible.)
♥ training with the pup
Finally, Daphne and I met with a dog trainer today, and as I told Marci, "I was impressed by him." She was like, "That's not a reaction you usually have to men." I know. So rare. (I often get along better with old men, and he says he's been training for 50 years, so maybe the pattern holds.) On the strength of our first meeting I agreed to a few "private" classes rather than a group class. No money was exchanged until the end of today's session, so I don't want to gush until we meet again, but he did everything right in the initial evaluation.
move the coyotes
7 Jul 2026 10:26 pmI have several pictures of the "coyotes," but none at the top of my camera roll, so I searched my photos for "wolf" (since that's what these coyotes look like to me). My photos turned up an actual Irish Wolfhound, whom I don't remember meeting at all, along with several pictures of Mimi running, which I found hilarious and charming.
Then I searched for "coyote," and lo, this picture came up.
( coyote and friends )
One of our neighbors has two cardboard "coyotes" that she puts by the river to keep geese from coming up on the banking. Apparently real coyotes move, so the geese are more convinced by this ruse if the coyotes are not in the same place every time they pass by.
The same neighbor also has a hammock, hence my explanation, "She says the rent to sit in the hammock is to move the coyotes, so I moved a coyote."
(I first encountered the coyotes years ago, at night, while I was out walking with Mimi by flashlight. I genuinely though we had come upon a live animal and I quickly scooped Mimi up and backed away. Mimi was completely unworried, which I admitted after the fact should have been a clue.)
Then I searched for "coyote," and lo, this picture came up.
( coyote and friends )
One of our neighbors has two cardboard "coyotes" that she puts by the river to keep geese from coming up on the banking. Apparently real coyotes move, so the geese are more convinced by this ruse if the coyotes are not in the same place every time they pass by.
The same neighbor also has a hammock, hence my explanation, "She says the rent to sit in the hammock is to move the coyotes, so I moved a coyote."
(I first encountered the coyotes years ago, at night, while I was out walking with Mimi by flashlight. I genuinely though we had come upon a live animal and I quickly scooped Mimi up and backed away. Mimi was completely unworried, which I admitted after the fact should have been a clue.)
Star: She said the rent for sitting in the hammock was to move the coyotes, so I moved a coyote.
Marci: That's a great quote. It's even better without any context.
Marci: That's a great quote. It's even better without any context.
Seems appropriate.
( pretty flower )
♥ red bloom on purple eclipse hydrangea^
( pretty plant )
♥ ladyslipper clone with three leaves^
( pretty garden )
♥ allium with friends: potentilla, masterwort, dogwood, rainbow rose, coreopsis, rose campion^
( pretty flower )
♥ red bloom on purple eclipse hydrangea^
( pretty plant )
♥ ladyslipper clone with three leaves^
( pretty garden )
♥ allium with friends: potentilla, masterwort, dogwood, rainbow rose, coreopsis, rose campion^
Angelic dog at the home improvement store tonight.
They didn't get me a cart for the plants. They got my dog a cart so she could ride on it ♥
They didn't get me a cart for the plants. They got my dog a cart so she could ride on it ♥
"hail mary, full of grace"
3 Jul 2026 01:44 pmI increasingly empathize with the German translation of "Project: Hail Mary" as "The Astronaut," because for whatever reason I can not remember the English title of this movie. Whenever I talk about it I start with, "So in that movie that was like The Martian," and then I pause and I'm like, "you know, The Astronaut," and keep going.
( vague spoilers )
But the good news is that the branding worked! I remember The Martian! And once I remember that I can remember The Astronaut. So thanks, Germany, for making that association explicit.
( vague spoilers )
But the good news is that the branding worked! I remember The Martian! And once I remember that I can remember The Astronaut. So thanks, Germany, for making that association explicit.
Today Marci and I went on a vineyard tour. I was going to take Daphne for a walk first, but then the sun came out and she was like, no thanks. So I watered the fence gardens instead. Then we all went to the winery and got smoothies and walked around the vineyards to the river and back.
I can't believe I'm typing this, but Daphne was... an angel? We were seated on the deck while we ordered our smoothies, and Daphne sat calmly in my lap and pretended she'd never barked at anything in her life. There was literally no one else in the fields when we set off on our walk (I guess we were the only people who wanted to stroll in the hot sun today, but about half of it was shady and the vineyards and river were beautiful), and she happily walked half and was carried the other half.
When we came home I was like, I'll just have some lunch and then do a little work on the street garden. Then after lunch I was like, maybe I'll read a little first. After I read I went out and watered the porch plants and the front garden, and after that I was fully and completely done. Seems like the street garden's fine for now.
I can't believe I'm typing this, but Daphne was... an angel? We were seated on the deck while we ordered our smoothies, and Daphne sat calmly in my lap and pretended she'd never barked at anything in her life. There was literally no one else in the fields when we set off on our walk (I guess we were the only people who wanted to stroll in the hot sun today, but about half of it was shady and the vineyards and river were beautiful), and she happily walked half and was carried the other half.
When we came home I was like, I'll just have some lunch and then do a little work on the street garden. Then after lunch I was like, maybe I'll read a little first. After I read I went out and watered the porch plants and the front garden, and after that I was fully and completely done. Seems like the street garden's fine for now.
the midnight gardener strikes again
28 Jun 2026 03:11 pmFence garden expansion has been planted! Four mature plants, four containers of winter sown seedlings, four gifted seedlings, five tiny transplants, and the driving force behind the expansion: 16 daylily roots in 6 different varieties.
( 2130 )
I had planned to finish by sunset, but it didn't work out that way. Daphne was dozing in the stroller until I stepped away to take a picture.
( 2130 )
I had planned to finish by sunset, but it didn't work out that way. Daphne was dozing in the stroller until I stepped away to take a picture.
Neighbor: My plant isn't doing well in the shade; do you have a sunny spot for it?
Me: You know me, I never turn down a plant.
Neighbor: Yeah, that's our problem.
Me: You know me, I never turn down a plant.
Neighbor: Yeah, that's our problem.
We went to a rare plant sale last weekend and I got a single lady slipper (clone, bred for garden life, not a wild transplant). I was warned that they go very dramatically dormant in the fall, and that I should not assume it's dead even if it turns black and stick-like. I have put a chicken-wire cloche over it that I plan to not move for at least a year.
Most of my winter sown seedlings are in the gardens now, except for some lavender, butterfly weed, and a few asters that all lagged behind the rest in terms of growth. Some of the trays also had weeds in them, which wouldn't be noteworthy except I googled one I didn't recognize and saw that it was "stinging nettle." Since nettles are usually good, I went to plant it along with the others, but I wasn't wearing gloves because the seedlings seemed very fragile and that's how I learned that the name "stinging nettle" is descriptive.
(I mean, "dead nettle" isn't dead; I just assumed the "stinging" part referred to the thorns. Nope! They have a fun toxin that makes your skin feel like pins and needles for up to a day afterwards! So that was a learning experience.)
I got some free plants a while ago, and one of them was a tiny two-leafed friend labeled "pink yarrow." It is the smallest thing I've ever planted in a garden, bar none including all of the winter sown seedlings. I actually put its label in the ground near it out of concern I would forget what and where it was. (There are some winter sown yarrow seedlings nearby, so it's not alone. I don't know what color they are.) Now it has four leaves! It has doubled in size!
The cosmos are blooming, which is much earlier than I remember the cosmos I planted a few years ago starting to flower, but those were some kind of giant variety where these appear to be a very dainty sort, so that probably matters.
The white drift rose is also blooming, which is delightful enough, but in the middle of all those small white flowers is a single variegated pink bloom with two pink and white buds next to it. I am baffled. Internet research indicates the two most likely explanations for this healthy-looking flower are rootstock reversion (which I was all ready to assume since I traced the stalk with the pink flower to the ground in the middle of the plant, not the main trunk, but the internet also says that most low-growing white drift roses are not grafted, so there's no rootstock to revert to) or a cold snap?? Temperatures have been below average for a week and a half, but they're still in the summer range.
Reddit says this isn't unprecedented but is relatively rare and recommends marking the pink stalk forscience monitoring. I love science.
( white drift rose )
Most of my winter sown seedlings are in the gardens now, except for some lavender, butterfly weed, and a few asters that all lagged behind the rest in terms of growth. Some of the trays also had weeds in them, which wouldn't be noteworthy except I googled one I didn't recognize and saw that it was "stinging nettle." Since nettles are usually good, I went to plant it along with the others, but I wasn't wearing gloves because the seedlings seemed very fragile and that's how I learned that the name "stinging nettle" is descriptive.
(I mean, "dead nettle" isn't dead; I just assumed the "stinging" part referred to the thorns. Nope! They have a fun toxin that makes your skin feel like pins and needles for up to a day afterwards! So that was a learning experience.)
I got some free plants a while ago, and one of them was a tiny two-leafed friend labeled "pink yarrow." It is the smallest thing I've ever planted in a garden, bar none including all of the winter sown seedlings. I actually put its label in the ground near it out of concern I would forget what and where it was. (There are some winter sown yarrow seedlings nearby, so it's not alone. I don't know what color they are.) Now it has four leaves! It has doubled in size!
The cosmos are blooming, which is much earlier than I remember the cosmos I planted a few years ago starting to flower, but those were some kind of giant variety where these appear to be a very dainty sort, so that probably matters.
The white drift rose is also blooming, which is delightful enough, but in the middle of all those small white flowers is a single variegated pink bloom with two pink and white buds next to it. I am baffled. Internet research indicates the two most likely explanations for this healthy-looking flower are rootstock reversion (which I was all ready to assume since I traced the stalk with the pink flower to the ground in the middle of the plant, not the main trunk, but the internet also says that most low-growing white drift roses are not grafted, so there's no rootstock to revert to) or a cold snap?? Temperatures have been below average for a week and a half, but they're still in the summer range.
Reddit says this isn't unprecedented but is relatively rare and recommends marking the pink stalk for
( white drift rose )
♥ first rain barrel
( rain barrel )
♥ peony blossoms
( dark pink, light pink, white )
♥ dahlias, daisies, and more irises
( pink, white, yellow )
♥ planter succulents are a grow!
( make 'n take planter )
♥ gardens in different stages of revitalization: year 1, year 2, year 4
( street, fence, dogwood with roses )
♥ alt brick bonsai trees
( maple, pine, cherry tree )
( rain barrel )
♥ peony blossoms
( dark pink, light pink, white )
♥ dahlias, daisies, and more irises
( pink, white, yellow )
♥ planter succulents are a grow!
( make 'n take planter )
♥ gardens in different stages of revitalization: year 1, year 2, year 4
( street, fence, dogwood with roses )
♥ alt brick bonsai trees
( maple, pine, cherry tree )
telightful takeout tuesday
9 Jun 2026 10:53 pmRain barrel has been installed! Which is to say, we've made an initial effort at the following: leveling the ground, diverting the downspout, plugging in the spigot and overflow piping, and of course decorating the barrel. Our rain barrel has a rainbow! It may rain tomorrow, so perhaps we will learn how many of these things need adjustment.
That's pretty much all I accomplished today, actually. Although I did receive and distribute some medium azure lego plates to extend several of my water scenes. And took the dog to a mostly empty park, then to visit her kitty friends next door. Now I will do a very small amount of study and go to bed.
( more iris colors )
( allium, daisies, peonies & friends )
( dog at park )
That's pretty much all I accomplished today, actually. Although I did receive and distribute some medium azure lego plates to extend several of my water scenes. And took the dog to a mostly empty park, then to visit her kitty friends next door. Now I will do a very small amount of study and go to bed.
( more iris colors )
( allium, daisies, peonies & friends )
( dog at park )
It was a busy week at work, but we ate rainbow cake on my birthday and we took Daphne to the beach tonight to celebrate.
We saw the sky reflected in the sand and little creatures disguised as plants and rocks in the tidepools. Daphne was very brave about the water, and the breeze was cool and pleasant.
It was a perfect moment of peace ♥
"Peace is not the absence of noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace is being in the midst of these things and still being calm in your heart."
We saw the sky reflected in the sand and little creatures disguised as plants and rocks in the tidepools. Daphne was very brave about the water, and the breeze was cool and pleasant.
It was a perfect moment of peace ♥
"Peace is not the absence of noise, trouble, or hard work. Peace is being in the midst of these things and still being calm in your heart."
五颜六色 colorful days
3 Jun 2026 07:36 am♥ drawing a rainbow every day in June
♥ dog happily chewing on her dreambones again
♥ making a pretty pine tree out of non-lego alt bricks
♥ delicious food from a new-to-us place in town
♥ five year anniversary at Home Forte!
♥ beautiful plants and their friends
♥ dog happily chewing on her dreambones again
♥ making a pretty pine tree out of non-lego alt bricks
♥ delicious food from a new-to-us place in town
♥ five year anniversary at Home Forte!
♥ beautiful plants and their friends
a rainbow of irises
27 May 2026 07:37 amI love irises and colors and pictures, so in celebration, here are eight lovely blooms happily brightening my days right now ♥
( purple, red, white, and yellow )
( purple, red, white, and yellow )
Yay, it's raining! Got all of yesterday's plants in the ground and took Daphne to visit our neighbor's kitties. Also finished my latest not-Lego maple tree and watched Chinese videos until I started to fall asleep.
(I can see this video challenge is going to require physical activity of some kind, just to keep me focused. evildea says he's watching the same videos over and over again, and I was like, "is that a superpower that people who don't crave novelty have?" Can't relate.)
Here is a picture of my dog watching the rain, and the first iris to open this year. (The peonies should be next, but someone started dahlias back at the beginning of March and the first bloom is already starting to uncurl. Still red.)
( pictures )
(I can see this video challenge is going to require physical activity of some kind, just to keep me focused. evildea says he's watching the same videos over and over again, and I was like, "is that a superpower that people who don't crave novelty have?" Can't relate.)
Here is a picture of my dog watching the rain, and the first iris to open this year. (The peonies should be next, but someone started dahlias back at the beginning of March and the first bloom is already starting to uncurl. Still red.)
( pictures )
Today's plant sale was delightful, impressive, and funny; got three things I've been looking for for years and three neat new finds. Also there were lots of humorous signs about plants and gardening.
Planted nothing, did not finish brick maple tree. Took dog to park, discovered new secret trail to the top of the hill, recorded a whole hour of speaking for the output challenge. Amazing how doing things makes them easier. Definitely another vote for "anything worth doing is worth doing badly."
Planted nothing, did not finish brick maple tree. Took dog to park, discovered new secret trail to the top of the hill, recorded a whole hour of speaking for the output challenge. Amazing how doing things makes them easier. Definitely another vote for "anything worth doing is worth doing badly."
"the garden teaches patience"
15 May 2026 06:54 pmYay it's the last day of ![[community profile]](/makepkg/implementing-https-www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
3weeks4dreamwidth! That means tomorrow must be the first day of Four Weeks For Dreamwidth! ♥
It has been wonderful celebrating with you all, reading our amazing posts and sharing lives and dreams and worries and wishes. I love all of you so much.
Today I was going to write something about challenges, and how fun they can be, and how whether we complete them in the way we originally envisioned or wanted to doesn't have to be the point. Sometimes the point is to do something other or more than what we would have done anyway. Sometimes the point is just to have fun!
So the point of a challenge doesn't have to be to finish it. Or to accomplish whatever the challenge is. Sometimes the point can be to participate in the challenge, or to plan for the challenge or imagine how you would do the challenge, or to learn about or observe the challenge. (Or to promote the challenge, cheer on the challengers, or take inspiration for some other activity.)
Relatedly, the 2026/27 Super Challenge at a language learners' forum is 100 books and 100 films in 20 months. I think I'll accept the challenge of doing the whole thing this year, to round out my writing and speaking goals. (By my calculations, the combination should only take four hours a day!)*
I mean, why not? Surely between not finishing and not starting, not starting would be the greater regret.
*(Also I've adjusted the challenge to be 9000 minutes of reading instead of 5000 pages read, and will follow the already adapted "100 films = 9000 minutes of watching" rule, which goes well with my non-lingopie version of evildea's lingopie challenge.)
3weeks4dreamwidth! That means tomorrow must be the first day of Four Weeks For Dreamwidth! ♥ It has been wonderful celebrating with you all, reading our amazing posts and sharing lives and dreams and worries and wishes. I love all of you so much.
Today I was going to write something about challenges, and how fun they can be, and how whether we complete them in the way we originally envisioned or wanted to doesn't have to be the point. Sometimes the point is to do something other or more than what we would have done anyway. Sometimes the point is just to have fun!
So the point of a challenge doesn't have to be to finish it. Or to accomplish whatever the challenge is. Sometimes the point can be to participate in the challenge, or to plan for the challenge or imagine how you would do the challenge, or to learn about or observe the challenge. (Or to promote the challenge, cheer on the challengers, or take inspiration for some other activity.)
Relatedly, the 2026/27 Super Challenge at a language learners' forum is 100 books and 100 films in 20 months. I think I'll accept the challenge of doing the whole thing this year, to round out my writing and speaking goals. (By my calculations, the combination should only take four hours a day!)*
I mean, why not? Surely between not finishing and not starting, not starting would be the greater regret.
*(Also I've adjusted the challenge to be 9000 minutes of reading instead of 5000 pages read, and will follow the already adapted "100 films = 9000 minutes of watching" rule, which goes well with my non-lingopie version of evildea's lingopie challenge.)
I think I've planted everything from the last plant sale, which is not technically a prerequisite for attending the next one but it's a helpful baseline. Since the groundhog in the rock garden out back is awake again and there's suddenly a bunny living under our front porch, I changed my phlox plans and got a bunch more nasturtium and marigold seeds.
I did put one phlox in the back garden--surrounded by nasturtium seedlings--but the others went out on the fence where there's less cover for smol wildlife. (Don't worry, there's still plenty for the bunny to eat in the front garden next to the porch. It's already mowed down the dicentra and woodland phlox and is starting on the columbine.) A neighbor also pointed out some forget-me-nots growing in the brush pile, so I dug them out and installed half out back and half in front.
I planted the potentilla and roses in the dogwood garden as planned, and at the same time dug up a bunch of volunteer rose campion, plus some soapwort and mugwort, on the assumption that they are unkillable enough to possibly survive in the roadside garden, which is where I transplanted them to last night by the glow of Marci's headlamp. (Why have I taken over the roadside garden, you might ask, especially if you knew how far away it is and how poor the conditions are: because no one else would, and it has been languishing for years.)
( street garden )
( more prettier )
( dogs are so helpful )
I did put one phlox in the back garden--surrounded by nasturtium seedlings--but the others went out on the fence where there's less cover for smol wildlife. (Don't worry, there's still plenty for the bunny to eat in the front garden next to the porch. It's already mowed down the dicentra and woodland phlox and is starting on the columbine.) A neighbor also pointed out some forget-me-nots growing in the brush pile, so I dug them out and installed half out back and half in front.
I planted the potentilla and roses in the dogwood garden as planned, and at the same time dug up a bunch of volunteer rose campion, plus some soapwort and mugwort, on the assumption that they are unkillable enough to possibly survive in the roadside garden, which is where I transplanted them to last night by the glow of Marci's headlamp. (Why have I taken over the roadside garden, you might ask, especially if you knew how far away it is and how poor the conditions are: because no one else would, and it has been languishing for years.)
( street garden )
( more prettier )
( dogs are so helpful )
