The cover art for The Last Neanderthal from Claire Cameron. It pictures the name and author of the book against a mountainous background, viewed from the mouth of a cave. The cave has the silhouettes of a man and woman carved into its opening.

And now for something completely different, I'm starting The Last Neanderthal by Claire Cameron. Hopefully this will reset my brain after A Little Life macerated it.

Drinking Más Sabor mate cocido as I listen. #booksky #teasky

J.K. Rowling Escapes  Insane Asylum

J.K. Rowling Escapes  Insane Asylum https://theonion.com/j-k-rowling-escapes-insane-asylum/

Well that was devastating

A round disk of tea with a cream wrapped and Chinese, English, and Thai writing on it. The tea is listed as, '2017 YueTai "Lao Bai Cha - Shou Mei" (Old White Tea - Shoumei ) Cake 350g Fuding BaiCha, Fujian Province' on King Tea Mall

I rolled the dice and blind caked a few teas from King Tea Mall. Probably a dumb move, but I've enjoyed everything so far.

This one's floral and woody and has a depth I wasn't expecting. It reminds me of a forest after an April shower, but not in a puerh-y way. #teasky

r/tea is a toxic combination of snobs shitting on dabblers and dabblers shitting on snobs. Everything anyone says is performative and meant to piss off half the forum.

Funny enough, I remember the snobby set all going wild over some sweet potato tea from Yunnan Sourcing 😂

That's a fun audiobook. I sort of guessed the ending, but the conclusion was still so jarring that I almost missed my train stop!

The audiobook cover for A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara

I've been putting A Little Life off for years because I'm easily upset, but the time has come. Put in about two hours so far and haven't cried yet, but holy wow the use of light and texture in this book is beautiful. #booksky

Cookie dough cake made with Medjool dates and semisweet chocolate

Soup made with mushroom broth, baby bok choi, tofu, and noodles

Cross-section of a multi-grain sourdough boule

Entering week six of life on crutches and antsy to get back into the kitchen. The meal delivery service I'm using is...fine, but I miss making homemade cake, soup, sourdough, and so much more.

Can't wait for PT so I have the strength to lift my Dutch oven again 😭

A large jar of Más Sabor yerba mate that's about 1/3 full and has the label from the bag taped to the front

A still from the Bob's Burgers episode The Unnatural. The family is standing on a baseball diamond and Gene is running away from them

Mate cocido and Bob's Burgers, work your relaxation magic 💆‍♀️ #teasky

A stainless steel tin filled about a third of the way with small green leaves, yellow buds, and pink flower petals

Been drinking lots of Blossoms of Health herbal "tea" from Mountain Rose Herbs lately, since too much caffeine makes The Horrors seem even worse.

The tea's health claims are surely bullshit, but the flowers are purdy and the infusion tastes like a lovely spring day 🌷 #teasky

A black cat curled up on a teal blanket, peeking through one open eye

A buff tabby cat sitting on my belly

Ever since I broke my foot, these buds have been working overtime, keeping me company and reminding me to elevate my leg. Maybelle sits or lays on me and Papa monitors the situation from above, on the back of the sofa 🥰 #catsofbluesky

I'm not much of a PC gamer, but my husband is currently in a chainsaw battle with a zombie and I think that's pretty cool

a man in a suit and tie is talking about something that was a hot mess inside a dumpster ALT: a man in a suit and tie is talking about something that was a hot mess inside a dumpster

My morning #NJTransit commute was a 4.5 hour horror show. I am having heart palpations at the prospect of doing it all over again.

A green 3x6" ceramic casserole with a brown cake with chocolate specs inside. The cake also contains chopped Medjool dates.

I baked myself a miniature cake and inadvertently scratched the yearning for an Easy Bake Oven I've been carrying around for 30-odd years.

man what problem can't you solve by playing Alive 2007

Tessellated scones on a cooling rack, resting above a pan. The scones have visible chunks of fruits and nuts, with brown drizzle on top.

Used up a bunch of pantry odds and ends to make scones based off of ATK's Vegan for Everybody recipe.

I have to eat gluten-free; most of my bakes look pretty normal, but these scones always look sad, despite tasting great. This time, I added a maple drizzle to jazz 'em up a bit.

There's a soft drink concentrate called Boost! that's only widely available in my county in New Jersey. It's a cola-colored syrup available in big, glass jugs. You mix with water to produce a beverage akin to flat lemon Coke.

It's definitely weird and antiquated, but pretty tasty.

A 100g tea cake with a black wrapper with an astronaut on it.

The back of a tea cake. It has the text: Spacegirls 2019 Shengs Puerh Tea - "Feist" Artwork by Stasia Burrington @stasiaburrington Grown and Processed in Yunnan, China. Crimson Lotus Tea Crimsonlotustea.com

Last week, I broke open my first Crimson Lotus cake: 2019's Feist. It has that fruity, lush zip I love in younger shengs, but it's so damn caffeinated that I have to brew it weak.

(I average around 10g for a large mug of tea, but only use 4g of this one!) #teasky

A rectangular glass baking dish lined with parchment paper with an unsliced loaf of focaccia in it. The crust is golden and dimpled and has rosemary baked into it.

A side profile of a slice of focaccia.

I managed to fuck up just about every step of making #sourdough focaccia. It's a forgiving recipe and turned out okay-ish all the same.

Someday, I'll move past adding a simple rosemary and salt topping, but not today.

Mom Wants To Know If You Could Use Grandma’s Antique, 12-Person Dining Room Table In Your Studio Apartment

Mom Wants To Know If You Could Use Grandma’s Antique, 12-Person Dining Room Table In Your Studio Apartment theonion.com/mom-wants-to-know-if-you...

A silver container of 2018 Cha Nong Hao "Mengku Pure Aroma" ripe pu-erh from Yunnan Sourcing next to a purple and white mug that has pictures of cats dressed in Halloween costumes on it.

Recently been drinking at least one chunk of Mengku Pure Aroma a day. It was a freebie from Yunnan Sourcing, but I would happily pay for another cake. It's straightforward, clean (not fishy or overly funky), and forgiving to brew. Would be a nice entry-level ripe. #teasky

An electric kettle with an analog thermometer on the front. The kettle is white with pumpkins on it and apple green accents. The thermometer is encircled by chrome.

Santa brought me an electric kettle with a built-in thermometer and it is such a friggin game-changer. It turns out I was guesstimating brew temps far too low. The difference is most noticeable with mate cocido, but I'm sure it will vastly improve spring green teas too. Thanks, Santa! #teasky

A white plate on a red placemat. Clockwise, the plate includes a slice of lasagna that got a little squished, a green salad with tomatoes and red onion, a small pile of mixed olives, and two slices of orange-colored garlic bread with parsley on top. The garlic bread is orange because it has gochujang mixed in.

First batch of lasagna since Miyoko's liquidated. Instead, I used Follow Your Heart parm, Daiya mutz, and a combo of Kite Hill and tofu ricotta. It came out great, if you don't factor in the fumble I made while plating.

Dijon-dressed salad, gochujang garlic bread, and mixed olives on the side.

A green bowl on a red placemat. The bowl is full of brown broth and has mushrooms, leafy cabbage, and large chunks of tofu in it. Not visible: noodles in the bottom of the bowl.

Noodle soup with tofu, mushrooms, and Napa cabbage.

Was going to use snow peas, but they weren't in stock. Decided on bok choy, but a grumpy lady was standing in front of them. Settled on Napa cabbage and I'm glad I did: It soaks up the broth a bit and has a lovely texture. 💚🥬

A basket brewer sitting in a black matte mug with red glaze around the rim. The mug has the Giant Bomb name and logo on it. The basket infuser contains the aforementioned tea.

Woke up early to bake bread that proofed in the refrigerator overnight. Sipping Nilgiri "candy needles" white tea from Ketlee while waiting on the first boule. The tea is finicky to brew, but rewardingly floral and yeasty when I get it right. #teasky

A white plate with a pile of square, brown crackers on the left and a large, white bowl of red soup on the right. It's sitting on a grey granite counter.

Classic school cafeteria-style vegetable soup. A tomato base, some onion, mixed vegetables, diced potatoes, kidney beans, and light seasonings. Served with plenty of herbaceous sourdough crackers.

I never actually ate this soup as a child, but developed a fondness for it somewhere along the way.

How do I like this twice #3amboys

Three folded besan (chickpea flour) omelettes on a white plate sitting on an orange placemat. I used too much stuffing, so it's poking through them in spots.

Working on my besan omelette technique. I was never any good at making egg omelettes and these have a similar consistency and cook time. But I'm making progress!

Stuffed with onions, baby bellas, spinach, and parsley, so at least they'll taste good.

On the off chance anyone can tolerate a friend from the Modern region, my friend code is 594056118909

A screenshot of a shiny lugia in Pokemon Go

Only had one remote raid pass for lugia. Unbelievable shiny luck, but terrible IV 😂 #pokemongo