Aleen
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aleen.bsky.social
Aleen
@aleen.bsky.social
590 followers 220 following 610 posts
Aleen [uh-lean], noun: Podcaster, reader, writer, knitter, nerd. Queer. A work in progress.

I live in the suburbs of Phoenix, Arizona on Akimel O'odham and Pee Posh ancestral land.
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aleen.bsky.social
I, uh, paid $300 for 25 mini skeins of yarn this year 🙈

I like this one because 1) I'm picky about color; they posted pics of both complete sets on their website (behind a spoiler notice) and 2) I've used this yarn base for several projects and know how it behaves.

www.missbabs.com/collections/...
Thirteen mini skeins of yarn in rich jewel tones. Five photos of abstract paintings that were used as inspiration for the colors frame the left and bottom sides of the yarn photo. Thirteen mini skeins of yarn in pastel shades. Five photos of abstract paintings that were used as inspiration for the colors frame the left and bottom sides of the yarn photo.
November 11, 2025 at 10:37 AM
aleen.bsky.social
...and I never will.

Rowling has said that she thinks royalty money rolling into her bank account is a sign that people support her violently transphobic agenda.

If you cannot disengage from Harry Potter, please at least commit to not buying new, licensed products from the HP universe.
An email from Audible announcing a full cast recording of the first Harry Potter book. The subject of the email says, "It's here! Harry Potter like you've never heard it before."
November 6, 2025 at 2:29 PM
aleen.bsky.social
Goal met and I've made our donation! But please continue to give if you can.
A confirmation from United Food Bank for a $1,068.68 donation.
October 30, 2025 at 9:24 PM
aleen.bsky.social
gross
A cropped email from AZCentral.com. It says, "Other big stories. An Arizona lawmaker wants to rename Loop 202 for Charlie Kirk. The move comes ahead of Sunday's memorial service honoring the slain conservative activist. Here's what was said."
September 18, 2025 at 5:02 PM
aleen.bsky.social
🥺 #SirSqueakertonTheFirst
A black cat, looking very sleepy, rests his head and front paws on a human's jeans-clad legs.
September 12, 2025 at 12:44 AM
aleen.bsky.social
Ok, hear me out. A Lord of the Rings remake, but with these two taking the One Ring to Mordor:
Hawkeye Pierce and BJ Hunicutt from M*A*S*H*.
August 30, 2025 at 10:17 PM
aleen.bsky.social
J's least favorite picture of me popped up today! I'd just gotten my hair and makeup done and was on my way to be a bridesmaid for people we cut contact with a few months later.

2013/2014 were rough!
Me, at 30. My long brown hair is curled and half-up. My dark brown eyes, frames by eyeliner, are open wide, making me look somewhat alarmed. No glasses because I was in my contact lens era.
August 21, 2025 at 3:04 PM
aleen.bsky.social
#SirSqueakertonTheFirst and #RavenBaby have it rough.
A black cat sleeping on a green blanket, his feet by his head and his tongue sticking out. A different black cat laying, facing the camera with her paw reaching forward.
August 8, 2025 at 7:59 PM
aleen.bsky.social
#RavenBaby
A black cat lays seductively on a green blanket, one paw stretched out in front of her toward the camera which has locked on to the piercing gaze of her yellow rimmed eyes. The cat's ears are slightly askew, the one on the left at more or less a normal angle, the one on the right pointing downward in a devil l-may-care, I-just-rolled-out-of-bed way. Two grey whiskers, one on each side of the cat's face in symmetric harmony, project not a sense of age or feebleness, but the weight of the hard fought wisdom she can bring to bear at a moment's notice. There are also some red and clear plastic storage bins with some clutter on top, and a cat toy, in the background. (Alt text by J, who said, "You're either posting that as-is or you're deleting it.)
August 4, 2025 at 1:15 AM
aleen.bsky.social
I agree! I'm chronically ill and told him that puppy rearing would be his responsibility.

Fortunately, we rent and can only have two pets so it's all academic at this point. We're full up on cats!
Two black cats laying on a human's blanket-covered lap.
July 31, 2025 at 1:17 AM
aleen.bsky.social
I archived 25,000 unread emails AMA
My inbox in the Fastmail app for iPhone. It's got a more rudimentary version of the 🎉 emoji (a line drawing of a cone with some rudimentary shapes coming out of it) with "Inbox zero!" written underneath.
July 27, 2025 at 4:50 AM
aleen.bsky.social
Pretty sure I'm never going to not be surprised that my hair is legitimately curly.
A selfie. I'm a 40-something white woman with curly brown (and gray!) hair, brown eyes, and pink-rimed cat eye glasses.
July 18, 2025 at 11:21 PM
aleen.bsky.social
trying a new home screen strategy
An iPhone Home Screen, featuring widgets for a calendar, photos (showing a picture of a black cat on a human's lap), and Kindle. Messages, Safari, Brain FM, and a shortcut with a car icon are in the dock.
July 17, 2025 at 10:56 PM
aleen.bsky.social
Finding friends at bookstores, featuring @antonyjohnston.bsky.social 🥰
A full shelf in a bookstore, featuring the sky blue cover to a paperback called "Can You Solve the Murder?"
July 3, 2025 at 6:52 PM
aleen.bsky.social
One dose of my migraine rescue med (Trudhesa) results in so much trash.

None of this is reusable.
An open plastic case with an instruction manual, nasal spray aerosolizer, glass vial of medicine, and a series of discarded caps for the medicine.
June 27, 2025 at 11:04 PM
aleen.bsky.social
Found @glennf.com at Changing Hands Bookstore in Phoenix! The Tempe location has copies, too.
A white person's hand holding up a copy of Glenn's book How Comics Are Made in front of a full bookshelf.
June 4, 2025 at 7:47 PM
aleen.bsky.social
🥺

I would keep them if I could.

📷: J

#CatsOfBluesky #Cat #Cats
A small black and brown cat being held aloft. They don't look impressed.
June 4, 2025 at 7:09 PM
aleen.bsky.social
Please, someone adopt this sweet thing. My heart can't take it.

We're in Phoenix but will drive them elsewhere. #Cat #Cats
June 4, 2025 at 6:36 PM
aleen.bsky.social
Me: I'll finish my #knitting project today!

#SirSqueakertonTheFirst:
A top-down view of a black cat laying on a fluffy bluegreen knitting project.
May 30, 2025 at 8:28 PM
aleen.bsky.social
Payson, Arizona
A bit, two-trunked tree covered in ivy. A rope swing hangs off a high, high branch.
May 9, 2025 at 10:23 PM
aleen.bsky.social
🏜️
A high desert landscape outside of Sedona, Arizona. The landscape is green, and there are two buttes of rusty red rock in the distance.
April 30, 2025 at 1:50 AM
aleen.bsky.social
I don't usually buy hardcover books, but look how pretty this edition of @tkingfisher.com's Swordheart is 😍
A book cover. It features a sword bisecting the illustration vertically. Each side features stonework towers, leafy green plants, red and orange flowers, and orange birds. It's beautiful!
April 17, 2025 at 9:50 PM
aleen.bsky.social
Recently finished Sher Lee's Legend of the White Snake, a queer retelling of a Chinese legend. It had everything. Deception! Drama! Romance! Snake spirits in human suits!

It really is a lovely book 🥰

https://bookshop.org/p/books/legend-of-the-white-snake-sher-lee/21024753
The cover of Legend of the White Snake by Asher Lee. It features two young men embracing.
February 18, 2025 at 9:26 PM
aleen.bsky.social
And this part? This part is so telling.

The military industrial complex is the American way of life. We need more people to feed the machine.
A screen shot. It says, "This poses a dire threat to the American people and our way of life. Seventy-seven percent of young adults do not qualify for the military based in large part on their health scores."
February 17, 2025 at 10:02 PM
aleen.bsky.social
This show must have been color graded by the same people who worked on Game of Thrones. #SirSqueakertonTheFirst
A black cat sitting in front of a powered-off TV.
February 16, 2025 at 9:20 PM