Tes Slominski

Picking Up Sticks in 2026 No resolutions to see here.

Today, January 5, I started thinking about New Year’s #resolutions. Spoiler alert: I didn’t really make any. Ok, maybe I sort of did….

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For folks out there who are wondering if I've been hacked--yes, I did just rejoin FB--that is indeed me. I have super mixed feelings about that, but it does seem to be the easiest way to keep up with far-flung friends.

An coileach won't stop telling me it's an damn lae!

Somebody in my neighborhood got a rooster 😑

Alas, no--the squirrel ran away too quickly, and after that there was no point.

While leaving a voicemail just now, I literally interrupted myself by exclaiming, "Look! A squirrel!" #ADHD achievement unlocked?

To be fair, it was a cute baby squirrel. But still.

I hate when that happens! When it was time to figure out whether I could swing the All Things Go festival in MD this year, I must have been super busy--and now I've got something else unskippable on the calendar (I forget exactly what) and it's sold out.

Unexpectedly quiet afternoon = getting to listen to the #XPoNential Music Festival streaming on #WXPN. Stunning sets from Tune-Yards, Richard Thompson, and now Molly Tuttle. Super excited for Kathleen Edwards in a few minutes! Next best thing to being there.

The terrifying dream I had last night (which involved being chased by unknown pursuers, a portal in the form of an open window, and a handful of gods deciding whether to help me or not) ended with a different god (in the form of a blue stone or ball) admonishing me to respect my joy.

Ok, then.

I run the Monday #notimetowriteclub sprints, and it's been so much fun to get to know such cool writers--we are all working on very different projects, but we never run out of things to talk about during our check-ins.

I'm glad you eventually got used to them!

That's helpful to hear. So far, I don't have too much of a problem when I'm not switching between distances, but it's unnerving when I am. I think this is eventually going to work--I just have to suspend disbelief when my eyes go "WTF???"

I have been putting off wearing my new progressive glasses because I have been convinced I would barf and/or fall over, not necessarily in that order. It's been an hour and neither thing has happened, but Eyeball Brain is working overtime.

Atlantic Ocean, my old friend—it had been far too long since I last saw your summer self.

Worth waking up early for this #sunrise. Impromptu solo getaways are the BEST!

Planet Pizza storefront with sign that says “you bet Uranus it’s good”

Pretty sure I don’t want this joke anywhere near anything I intend to eat….

Summer is always wacky! And I remember that the bullet journal has treated you well in the past--in fact, anytime someone says "bullet journal," I think of you! :)

No Time To Write Club | Substack Introvert-friendly co-working sessions for writers of all kinds. Scheduled butt-in-chair time to use for whatever purpose furthers your creative work. Click to read No Time To Write Club, a Substack p...

@notimetowriteclub.bsky.social is still going strong, even though we haven't posted a lot on here or on Substack this summer. Our weekly Monday noon ET writing time is a lovely mix of academics and fiction writers. Folks can find us here: notimetowriteclub.substack.com

Nexts Overriding brain "clench mode" to reduce overwhelm.

Come for the absolutely fearless groundhog and stay for the to-do list idea. Or maybe it's the other way around?

Also, bonus fig content.

#feralfreelancer #adhd #lifehacks #figtree

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Throw Perfectionism in the Bin And crank Belinda Carlisle on the stereo.

"Being vulnerable and choosing messy reality over imagined perfection has almost always been the right choice for my friendships. I haven’t consistently applied that lesson to my writing, though…maybe it’s time to start trying?"

#amwriting #feralfreelancer #music

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Hundreds of scientists are set to take part in the first performance of a new Scottish country dance inspired by the ripples in spacetime whose existence was first theorised by Albert Einstein.

More: gla.ac/3ICip4Q

#GR24Amaldi16 #GravitationalWaves #Glasgow
@uofgravity.bsky.social

Sorting Through Mental Coins Discovering process through...process

This week, I share one of my mind maps. As I've learned more about various forms of #neurodiversity, I've begun to understand why this kind of graphic processing really helps me.

Do y'all do anything similar?

#notimetowriteclub #amwriting #creativeprocess

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#ADHD #musician life: radio on playing 80s show, old-time fiddle tune on #Bandcamp playing on my phone, and a totally different tune in my head.

Dusty Springfield
Cristina Scabbia
Janelle Monae
Janis Joplin
Fairuz
LP
Caetano Veloso
María del Pilar
Patty Larkin

And gotta echo the Roberts Plant and Smith!

(I'm sure I'm missing oh, about 100 others...and purposely not mentioning anyone I know IRL.)

Oh! I missed that because I'm not currently on Insta! But I know exactly which goofy pic it was :)

Candy Stores Without Walls On showing up as a whole person.

At long last! Finally! A new installment of my Feral Freelancer newsletter!

This one is about what it's like to discover a creative block that one hasn't realized is even there....

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Nine Ways to Get Out of Your Head Get out of your own way and write the thing!

@sarareadauthor.bsky.social wrote this week's #notimetowriteclub newsletter, and it's sassy in all the best ways.

#amwriting #booksky #writersofbluesky

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Orange cat with tongue sticking out

Epic blep!

#cats #catsofbluesky #orangecat

I’d say rather this confirms that Chicago is canon

In New York, ICE detained a busload of farmworkers that were actively involved in a union drive.

In Washington state, ICE dragged a farmworkers’ rights activist and leader out of his car to detain him.

Be warned: attacking unions is a hallmark of fascism.