I love the Internet

Friday 5: III III III III III

April 9, 2021

I’m highly editing this first paragraph on Saturday the 10th because I didn’t add my usual linking! The Duke flustered me, I guess. This week’s Friday 5 theme is: III III III III III. I am trying to understand the significance of the title, but I’m just getting 5 groups of 3. Or 5 groups of 3 Is?

  1. Who are your three latest celebrity crushes?
    > I am crushing on Regé-Jean Page aka the Duke of Hastings on Bridgerton (see below)
    > I am crushing on Madam Vice President Kamala Harris
    > I am crushing on NKOTB Jon Knight in Farmhouse Fixer. (different crush from NKOTB Jon Knight in NKOTB)
  2. What three strange things have you done during the pandemic?
    > I dyed a chunk of my hair purple last spring. I would have kept it for longer, but the dye was fading AND spreading to undyed hair every time I washed it and I didn’t want an entirely pink head.
    > I started watching movies, which is something I really wasn’t into before.
    > I became very invested in the birds surrounding my house. I’m always watching the feeder, trying to identify birds by song. Weird things.
  3. What three goals do you have for the weekend?
    > I want to re-organize the giant hallway closet
    > I want to finish the udemy Data Visualization Course that I’m taking. I’m great at dumping data on a page, but making it look good is a weak spot.
    > I want to read one more book before Tuesday’s Show Us Your Books post. Up now is “Clap When You Land.”
  4. What three things are you avoiding?
    > I am avoiding wearing hard pants.
    > I am avoiding scheduling my 2nd followup mammogram from the mess of 2019 – I’m very late. I should have gone back in December. October 2019 ended up fine. June 2020 ended up fine. I’m sure it’s all fine. I have a dermatologist skin check appointment the end of April. Once that all comes back clear, I’ll schedule the mammo.
    > I am avoiding people who are being ghoulish about Prince Philip’s death. Yes he said racist things, but find me a white man of his era and stature who didn’t. From all accounts he was very kind and accepting about Harry marrying Meghan, so perhaps people can change and be more sensitive.
  5. What three things are you feeling pretty good about?
    > I ordered a new Microsoft Surface to replace my 5+ year old Surface 3. More RAM and a speedier processor = more blogging from the sofa and not from my desk!
    > I am feeling good about returning to a more normal “normal” this summer. WM and I gently – VERY gently – mentioned perhaps maybe going to WDW for a few days in the fall. It’s all tentative, but even talking about a plan that could be cancelled is exciting!
    > I feel good about going back to work next week after my week off. I forget how nice a week of doing NOTHING can be. Which is great because I think my job at TNP’s going to be turned up to 11 until the beginning of August. Remember the Big!Work!Project! I wouldn’t stop rambling about in 2017? WE’RE UPGRADING. Eek. At least I’ll be home.

CAN YOU EVEN?

Tonight is movie night but I’ll be skipping because I am NOT good with gory, body horror, torture porny films and tonight’s choice is Repo! The Genetic Opera. I read and read and even though it’s also campy and fun I can’t do it. And that’s okay!

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I love the Internet

Currently, April 2020

April 8, 2021

Currently… a day late. Because I’m off of work this week and I lost track of my days. Eeeeesh. This linkup is courtesy of Anne in Residence.

arranging – The patio furniture out back, which will be Mother Nature’s cue to hit us up with a blast of polar air. I bought some pillow covers from Jeff Granito, an outdoor rug, and this morning I painted my crummy old black metal table a bright blue. The patio itself is a concrete slab with a lot of … structural issues (aka cracked and uneven) that we can’t fix this year, but it’s shaping up nicely!

a patio, with 2 chairs, a table, and a patio rug, and a bunch of junk in the background that I can't get rid of.
Patio in Progress

craving – A cold coffee-based beverage. My regular Starbucks burned down last March the week before the suggested quarantine period, so the closest Starbucks we have is inside of Target. Which is okay, but that location doesn’t accept mobile orders and we’d have to navigate the parking lot and the store crowds to get there. It’s not worth it. I have a Dunkin’ nearby, but it’s on a major-ish road and I find their drinks too sweet, even if I try to dial it back. Suburban lady problems.

discussing – the general opinion that Paul Rudd doesn’t age. He does look older than he used to, but I think we just aren’t 100% sure what 52 years old should look like anymore. Obviously a good-looking rich person who stays healthy and uses sunscreen is going to age ‘better’ than my grandparents did. As always, deep conversations happening here at House Russell.

enjoying – this week off. I check email once a day for my own sanity, marking the ones I need to follow up on when I get back. But otherwise the weather has been GORGEOUS and I’ve been off of my computer and outside. Yesterday I fulfilled my post-vaccine immunity wish of going to the library. I also took the week off from DuoLingo (busting the streak I was bragging about last week) and

kim giving the thumbs-up in front of the library.
I wore a new shirt and everything! (ignore creepy statues in the background)

preparing – my planner for April, which I haven’t done yet and is a reason why I’m tardy to the currently party.

Read others’ answers to these prompts here!

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Life

Easter 2021

April 5, 2021

Time is relentless, dragging you through the days and weeks just like nothing’s wrong.

And just like that, it was Easter. On Friday and Saturday I did my usual Easter baking – two Easter breads and two ham pies. J&K received one of each to bring home, and I took home the leftovers from Easter dinner. In searching for past blog posts to link to that refer to Easter baking, I was dismayed to see that every one lists how much weight I lost so far on that year’s diet. While I’m not pleased with my current fluffiness, I am relieved to not be itemizing every meal and every pound like I apparently did for many Aprils.

a round loaf of sweet bread, frosted with sprinkles
Final product

This year I took photos of my grandmother’s handwritten recipes. None of them are really correct (note the 2 1/2 lbs of flour instead of 2 1/2 cups) but I’m glad we still have the originals.

a wrinkled piece of paper with my grandmother's writing on it.
my heart…

The last paragraph says: “that (‘s) it good luck I think you should all learn how to make them I can (‘t) do it any more happy Easter to all and enjoy.”

Last year after writing this overwrought blog post I asked a Twitter pal for a link to her church’s Youtube channel and watched their Easter service. I watched again on Christmas. And yesterday I went back and watched my second (!) Easter service. It was joyful and comforting. At one point the minister asked us all to gather our bread and wine/juice/water for Communion. I felt silly, but she (!!) insisted we could pause the video if we weren’t ready. And wouldn’t you know, a few minutes later I ate a saltine cracker and had a small cup of wine in asynchronous communion with a bunch of strangers.

I guess this makes me a Youtube C&Eer?

Thanks to some of us being vaccinated and a general unclenching of my own butt about things, we had a normal Easter yesterday. I bought this Egg Toss plushie for Nephews A&B and it was an unexpected hit. (not an affiliate link). We ate and drank and for a few hours, things were as normal as they could be.

I made a basket out of a sheet of 12×12 scrapbook paper using a tutorial from Damask Love and AMBER SHARED MY PICTURE in her story! (fangirling out)

screenshot from Instagram of Amber being pleased with my basic basket.
eeeeeeeeee

I took this week off of work, as a kind of Spring Break. We’ll be doing various garden chores (I think WM’s building another bed) and tomorrow I’m getting blonded up for Shot Girl Summer!