The Fluffbucket Diaries

Sun, 08 Mar 2026 13:47:25 -0600

I don’t always enjoy my birthday, but I do appreciate that it falls on International Women’s Day. And this year is my 60th, which also dredges up mixed feelings, especially as it precedes the anniversary of my first ever layoff.

That said, I will mark this event today with family, the unhinged Pixar beaver movie, and Indian takeout. And then I head to my favorite Franciscan hermitage for a couple of quiet days this week.

Thanks for being here for me this past year of weirdness and upheaval.

Mon, 02 Mar 2026 00:36:14 -0600

Welp, I’m a week late in starting my first #100DayProject. But it’s a nice way to start one of my favorite months of the year.

I found a box of 100 blank business cards and decided to attempt doing something with those. It’s been a while since I created anything, so I’ve reverted to my old collaging habits with scraps and stamps and stickers.

I’m clearly rusty, but it’s nice to have fun again. But I have 90-something more days to play with other media or ideas on these things. It’s nice to have a distraction to look forward to.

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:49:18 -0600

I will be spending a penitential Lenten Friday afternoon watching an anime movie about Japanese horse girls. Pray for me.

Fri, 27 Feb 2026 12:48:03 -0600

Is sushi supposed to have a ton of mayo and enough cream cheese to choke a bagel?

Also, I think the crunchy topping may have been Funyuns. Which I think is the name of one of the historic Edo period dynasties.

Happy Lenten Friday.

Wed, 25 Feb 2026 10:04:05 -0600

Been largely static for the past few weeks. Didn’t bother with a newsletter last week, and I spend much of my mornings in bed with abdominal cramps. My right hip and lower back hurt. Minimizing caffeine in case that’s aggravating gut issues.

A post on Bluesky pimping a former freelancer’s workshop triggered me this morning. The freelancer went ballistic on us a couple of times with angry emails after getting negative feedback on their work, even sending ostensibly whistleblowing complaints to the agency we were contracting with.

In short, that person is nuts, and yet they’re working somewhat and I’m not.

It’s been almost a year since I was laid off. I’ve been up and down about it. I’d like to think that recalibrating and recovering from burnout would take less than a year. Yet it feels like I have yet to recover much at all. If anything, I’m in even more of an existential crisis than I was a year ago.

Who am I, really? I mean, almost all the people who told me who or what I should be are dead. And I’ve effectively cut out of my life whoever else insists on telling me what to do with myself. I’m not sure I’ve ever taken the opportunity to really decide for myself who or what to be. And on the verge of my 60th birthday, that’s an overwhelming feeling.

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:53:41 -0600

This Peacock live stream makes me wish I could catch the CBC Olympic coverage like I did two summers ago during a Detroit hotel stay.

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:51:39 -0600

NBC just reminded us that Snoop Dogg will be making an appearance with the Jamaican bobsledding team. Of course he is.

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:47:06 -0600

Based on the wrapped-in-aluminum models bearing the names of the countries, apparently the theme of the Opening Ceremony is “hostage situation.”

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:10:34 -0600

Bleah. Riding a writing wave in the wee hours took me down. Hoping the antibiotic I just took will help.

Fri, 06 Feb 2026 13:07:51 -0600

The newsletter has landed.

Newspapers and Catholicism—two topics very close to my heart—come up, albeit separately. Somehow, there are cameo appearances by David Byrne, Mary Tyler Moore, and the Juggalos tacked on in passing at the end. Something for everybody.

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 13:45:05 -0600

Currently preparing for a client meeting later this afternoon with the soothing sounds of Olympic curling on my PC. Never has the sound of sweeping calmed my soul so much.

Wed, 04 Feb 2026 10:43:56 -0600

I once interviewed with the Post’s online operation. Worst interview of my career; I was catatonic during most of it. Fortunately the Tribune came along and I landed there.

The Post’s demise is a gut punch. Finally pulled the plug on all my Amazon subscriptions. Done with enabling crap like this.

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 14:16:36 -0600

Finally got to a dentist today for The Toothache of All Toothaches. Now amped up on antibiotics, Tylenol/codeine, and generic Ora-jel. Whee.

Anticipating a 2-tooth extraction in the coming weeks.

Happy February, friends! 😬

Sun, 01 Feb 2026 17:27:18 -0600

Just watched: “Arco” (2025). Phenomenal and sad look at humankind’s near future, with a kinder and more peaceful look at Earth beyond that. 🍿

Sat, 31 Jan 2026 16:24:17 -0600

I really didn’t need a toothache this weekend.

Fri, 30 Jan 2026 15:26:37 -0600

The latest newsletter is out.

Sometimes I wonder why I bother to write it; typically I get maybe 30 views per issue. It’s a good thing I’ve shelved any plans to monetize it (except for a periodic Ko-Fi link for tips). But maybe that’s why I like doing it.

Tue, 27 Jan 2026 12:45:25 -0600

Sun, 25 Jan 2026 13:20:45 -0600

Got an unsurprisingly bland homily proclaiming a generic “Christ is the answer” at Mass, but I did appreciate the mention of “from Minnesota … to Venezuela” toward the end.

Still a lot better than the guy at our former parish who quoted Candace Owens from the pulpit. 😐

Fri, 23 Jan 2026 03:42:25 -0600

Finally coughed up a newsletter.

Sun, 18 Jan 2026 13:05:33 -0600

You know it’s a postseason Sunday in Chicagoland when an entire family in matching Walter Payton jerseys comes up for Communion and the priest ends Mass with “Go Bears!”

Sat, 10 Jan 2026 09:09:48 -0600

It was certainly a great year to be laid off. 😐

Tue, 06 Jan 2026 22:03:11 -0600

First newsletter of the year. Read, enjoy, subscribe. (It’s free!)

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 19:40:31 -0600

And if I can build an empire without invading Venezuela, I’ll be a happy gal.

Thu, 01 Jan 2026 00:34:35 -0600

Catara the home office manager says good riddance to 2025 and wishes you a New Year full of hope and Temptations cat treats. But mostly hope.

Fri, 26 Dec 2025 12:52:33 -0600

Oh, look. It’s a Boxing Day newsletter, complete with regrettable AI-generated image! Feel free to read, please.