Andrea M. Pawley
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ampawley.bsky.social
Andrea M. Pawley
@ampawley.bsky.social
540 followers 190 following 370 posts
Science fiction and fantasy writer. American history lover. DC fanatic. Easily excited. Clarion West 2017. Codexian. SFWA Mentorship Program Coordinator. she / her. www.andreapawley.com
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ampawley.bsky.social
Brainsquint as I try to figure out how this is for sale at Whole Foods.
Two cartons of nut-based coffee creamer purporting to be flavored like candy corn. Images of candy corn decorate the cartons, which are located on a refrigerated grocery store shelf.
November 21, 2025 at 8:59 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
Some things on the leftover shelves at Kohl's were too creepy even for Halloween.
A white candle with creepy pink faces on it. The pink faces are the wrong color to be skeleton faces and also too round. Black irises in white eyes look up and to the right. The noses are upside down heart shapes. The white mouths are a bit drippy-looking while also trying to appear like skeleton teeth.
November 8, 2025 at 12:53 AM
ampawley.bsky.social
Paleo, the cooperative card game that makes players choose between letting their tribe starve to death or letting their tribe be killed by a saber-toothed tiger. The tribe was not victorious this time around!
Face-up Paleo cards including one that shows the players have scored four out of five hits on the saber-toothed tiger.
October 20, 2025 at 9:11 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
This inscription at the base of a statue outside the National Archives in D.C. is for you, @theotherjustin.bsky.social.
Seated and robed marble statue whose pedestal inscription reads “What is past is prologue.”
October 18, 2025 at 2:59 AM
ampawley.bsky.social
TIL how ophthalmology is spelled. And I don't like it.
Screen grab of the dictionary entry for "ophthalmology."
October 12, 2025 at 9:33 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
Saw this while out and about on October 10th and knew I wasn't taking Halloween month seriously enough.
Nine-stair house stoop lined with 18 variously-sized uncarved pumpkins. The stairs and front of the house are surrounded by tree branches beginning to show signs of Fall colors.
October 11, 2025 at 3:22 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
Seed art at the Renwick Gallery! 🌽 Here is Taylor Swift, 2014, by Linda Paulsen, done in timothy grass, red millet, German millet, amaranth, trefoil, balloon plant, gypsophila, green needlegrass, alfalfa, alyssum, white clover, African cosmos, and corn husk.
Taylor Swift, 2014, by Linda Paulsen, comprised of seed art using timothy grass, red millet, German millet, amaranth, trefoil, balloon plant, gypsophila, green needlegrass, alfalfa, alyssum, white clover, African cosmos, and corn husk. In this portrait, Swift stares at the camera. Her long blonde hair blows back slightly.
September 29, 2025 at 3:06 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
My weekend included this picture of a bee in flight near panicked asters. (Actually, "panicled" asters, but whatever!)
Panicled asters in bloom near the edge of a pond. A bee in flight is visible in the photo's upper left corner.
September 22, 2025 at 4:54 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
A hearty welcome to the stylish new member of my refrigerator magnet family.
A Day of the Dead refrigerator magnet skull with a neon yellow hat topped by a pink flower and feathers is surrounded by other refrigerator magnets. They include a Godzilla, a Millennium Falcon, Edvard Munch's The Scream, an inspirational quote from Eleanor Roosevelt, and a magnet that includes the text "Welcome to the freak show." Behind the magnets is a brightly-colored marker drawing with many lines.
September 8, 2025 at 3:16 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
It is done!
I have seen the Butter Cow at the Renwick Gallery #DC!
All Hail the Butter Cow!
Life-sized cow carved in butter and on display in a refrigerated glass room at the Renwick Gallery in DC. This piece was created by Sarah, Hannah, and Grace Pratt. This butter cow is from 2025 and is titled Curious Regard.
September 4, 2025 at 1:29 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
I'm hoping that when the National Guard troops all go home, they can tell their friends and families how unnecessary this all was. There are a lot of Guard troops around my neighborhood. They're basically chilling. And the weather has been fantastic. It's surreal.
D.C. Flag against a blue sky with thin white clouds.
September 3, 2025 at 2:42 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
"I scraped my head on the base of a knight's helm" is something that may not be said much nowadays. Ouch! (In my defense, there are snacks in the cabinet below the helm.)
Knight's helm on a black cabinet top. Near the helm are role-playing games, puzzles, and books.
August 25, 2025 at 4:10 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
The era of Paleo-playing has begun!
Role-playing game Paleo at the game's conclusion. Multiple boards have cards on them. Alongside and atop the boards are food, wood, and stone icons plus dice, heart tokens, skulls, and tools represented by cardboard punch-outs.
August 25, 2025 at 3:57 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
Cake Man insisted this puzzle piece fit. #no
Puzzle with a piece incorrectly placed. A green tree tip is weirdly stuck in a purple slate roof.
August 22, 2025 at 3:09 AM
ampawley.bsky.social
Things that make me smile include this garden gargoyle in summertime shade. Also, I'm a little jealous of this guy's plaster skin for its mosquito-resistance.
A pleasant-looking, hunched gargoyle nestles in summer garden groundcover and underneath a leafy red and green plant.
August 11, 2025 at 2:13 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
J’Accuse, Banana Boat! J’Accuse!
Tube of Banana Boat SPF 15 cut open to reveal that 1/3 of the sunscreen refuses to descend to the hole it is supposed to squeeze through.
July 23, 2025 at 4:42 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
This calla lily has no relent. Plus, it's proper name is zantedeschia, which makes it even cooler.
Yellow calla lily (zantedeschia) in bloom against a brick wall.
July 18, 2025 at 2:51 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
This blanket exists, and it gets used in my guest bedroom. My brother gave it to me for Christmas. It sits atop a woven blanket I purchased at age 14 during an unheard-of day-trip I took with my mom to Ensenada, Mexico. Chin up, Michael. Please have a walk in the woods.
Guest room bed topped by a colorful blanket showing a Corgi riding a T-Rex. A rainbow is in the blanket's background. The blanket is laid out over a brown blanket woven with coarse material and showing stylized white birds.
July 1, 2025 at 2:50 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
Seeing Miller Lite for sale at Whole Foods yesterday made me wonder which alternate timeline I'd stumbled into.
Wall of stacked Miller Lite cases with U.S. flag designs on them. In front of the Miller Lite wall is an array of foods for sale that a person might eat at a barbecue.
June 18, 2025 at 2:25 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
Mophead hydrangeas are my new favorite type of mophead.
Overhead view of mophead hydrangeas in a light pinkish-purple. Many, but not all, of the clustered blooms have fallen off to reveal the darker bloom base. The photo also includes many mophead hydrangea leaves.
June 6, 2025 at 3:50 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
You gotta love the Southwest Duck Pond spirit!
A planter near the SW DC Duck Pond has been knit-bombed in rainbow colors. On the lip of the planter is a rainbow-colored bath toy duck and a tiny plastic orange duck. The planter contains colorful flowers.
June 5, 2025 at 5:02 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
I'm pretty sure this one is newly on display at the #NGA. It's too arresting for me not to have noticed it before.
Artwork: A Girl with a Broom, probably begun 1646/1648 and completed 1651, Rembrandt Workshop (possibly Carel Fabritius). Oil painting of a girl approximately ten years old. She is kneeling with the middle of a broom wrapped in her arms. The girl appears to be thinking about something distant as she looks down and to her right.
May 15, 2025 at 7:33 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
Love this at #NGA. Boy in a Red Waistcoat, 1888 - 1890, Paul Cezanne.
Artwork: Boy in a Red Waistcoat, 1888 - 1890, Paul Cezanne. Oil painting of a teenaged boy wearing a hat and a red waistcoat. One of the boy's hands is on his hip. he looks downward and to his left. The boy's skin color contains distinct blue tones.
May 15, 2025 at 7:29 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
TFW you experience another #SpiritIsland close call.
Spirit Island cards are arrayed on a table in game-playing mode. The author of this post sits across the table, her eyes wide because she and Cake Man barely avoided losing the hours-long game.
May 14, 2025 at 4:55 PM
ampawley.bsky.social
I have a #flower problem. These beauties viciously attacked my senses near the Department of Agriculture building on the National Mall.
Hundreds of pink flowers with magenta centers blooming on a 20-foot long bush. The flowers are mostly in sunlight, but some are in shadow.
April 29, 2025 at 3:43 PM