The Wordsmith's Forge

These are some posts from the later part of last week in case you missed them:
Poem: "The Universal Assent to the World"
Poem: "A Heaviness of Heart"
Photos: Sunset
News
How to Comfort the Dying in an Emergency
Early Humans
Birdfeeding
Poem: "The Sound of Anguish"
Politics
Poem: "Help Others to Grow Up"
Fossils
Birdfeeding
Brains
Poem: "The Songwitch"
Philosophical Questions: Government
Poem: "A Different Language, a Different Vision of Life"
Poem: "Liberosis"
Friending Meme
Wildlife
Birdfeeding
Follow Friday 1-2-26: Most Useful Communities
Friday Five
Poem: "Heartspur"
Watch "The Other Large Thing"
Vocabulary: Permacomputing
Community Thursdays
Exoplanets
Birdfeeding
Persistence
Poem: "Ruling from Beneath"
Public Domain Day Bingo Card 1-1-26
Hangover Severity and Symptom Tracker
Planning Ahead Goals for 2027
Friending Memes in 2026
My Crowdfunding Activities in 2026
Bingo Blackouts in 2025
My Bingo Fests for 2026
Planting Ahead in 2026
2026 Wishlist in Progress
Goals for 2026
2025 Goals in Review
Writing
Poem: "Once the Avalanche Has Begun"
Today's Cooking
Safety
Birdfeeding
New Year's Resolutions Check In
Poem: "Eyes Wide, Mind Open"
Good News

Food has 51 comments. Trauma has 46 comments. Affordable Housing has 78 comments. Robotics has 119 comments.

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Today is mostly cloudy and cool.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a large flock of sparrows and a starling.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/4/26 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/4/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/4/26 -- We did a round of fridge-cleaning.

EDIT 1/4/26 -- I started raking around the firepit, and got about a quarter of the way around.  The plastic leaf rake does slightly better with leaves than in the parking lot with leaves and sticks, but still not as good as a metal rake.

EDIT 1/4/26 -- I did more work around the patio.

EDIT 1/4/26 -- I spotted the tail end of a very pretty sunset, so I grabbed my camera and shot a few pictures.  :D  It is 4:58 now and nearly dark.

I am done for the night.

Today is partly cloudy and chilly.

I fed the birds.  I've seen a large mixed flock of sparrows and house finches.

I put out water for the birds.

EDIT 1/2/25 -- I did a bit of work around the patio.

EDIT 1/2/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I've seen at least 4 male cardinals chasing each other around the trees, along with 2 squirrels.

EDIT 1/2/25 -- I did more work around the patio.

I am done for the night. 

This is a new post to track goals that I want to set for 2027. During January, the 2026 list will remain relatively fluid. I might add a few things to it later on. Toward the end of the year, however, I usually start thinking of goals for the following year. Previously, I started putting those at the bottom of the 2024 goals list. So I figured it was time to make a separate post for this purpose. That should make it easier to compose the goal list for 2027 when the time comes.


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At the end of the year, I remove any leftover cards from two years ago, and count up my blackouts from the previous year -- I move them to the back of the stack when complete.

In 2019, I made 1 blackout.

In 2020, I made 6 blackouts.

In 2021, I made 3 blackouts.

In 2022, I made 5 blackouts: Valentines Bingo 2/1/22, National Crafting Month 3/1/22, Body Parts 7/1/22, Reel Time 8/1/22, Land of Oz 9/1/22.

In 2023, I made 3 blackouts: Public Domain Day 1/1/23, March is... Bingo 3/1/23, Pets and Animals 5/1/23.

In 2024, I made 1 blackout: National Crafting Month 3/1/24.

In 2025, I made 1 blackout: Western Bingo Card 7/1/25.

This post contains a list of things I would like to plant in the future, places I enjoy shopping, and tracking for plant orders.

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Each year, I think about what I have accomplished and what I want to do next. (See my goals for 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025.) These are some of my goals for 2026...

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Today I'm making "Crockpot African Black-Eyed Peas" for New Year's Eve. :D

We made it to the end of December! All the way through 2025! \o/ If you made it this far -- even if you haven't finished everything you hoped for -- then pat yourself on the back. You worked hard for that. We have reached the beginning of winter. If you're doing seasonal goals, share what you're working on for this winter.

This year I'm trying something new, continuing to track goals at the end of each month. So far it seems to be helping, so that's encouraging. I'm looking at my goal list more often and trying to keep ticking off more of them. The main drawback is that this update becomes more of a chore each month. I have some new ideas to lighten the load for next year.

These are the previous check in posts:
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 4
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 10
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 17
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 24
New Year's Resolutions Check In January 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In February 28
New Year's Resolutions Check In March 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In April 30
New Year's Resolutions Check In May 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In June 30
New Year's Resolutions Check In July 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In August 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In September 30
New Year's Resolutions Check In October 31
New Year's Resolutions Check In November 30

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Today we went up to Champaign-Urbana.

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