I love the Internet, Life

Friday 5: Ditto

February 3, 2023

Happy February! It’s going to be a great weekend. Why? Because I am going to move my greenhouse into the craft room and start some seeds inside while it’s still 20F/-6.6C outside. It’s part of my plan to make the most of the spring/summer by having larger plants ready to go when the last frost date arrives. I’m also giving blood on Sunday, which usually makes me feel great once it’s done and I’m having snacks.

calendar page that says february 3

And since February is the shortest month, I’m trying a low-spend month. I purchased a new weekender bag from Kipling on the first because my old one is about 15 years old, made of vinyl, and is rapidly cracking and falling apart. But for the other 27 days, I’m going to cut back on crummy Amazon purchases and fast food and tracking what I spend. I’m down to one credit card, my largest, and I want to significantly pay it down this year.

Onto the Friday 5! This week’s theme is Ditto.

  1. What’s the last thing you photocopied?
    We had a cookie swap at TNP in December and I photocopied recipe printouts to distribute. And even while I was standing there, I knew in my gut that I didn’t need to do it at all, I just needed to send out a document with links to the recipes. It’s a PDF world now.
  2. Who have people said you look like?
    When I was young I got Bridget Fonda a lot, but lately there’s nobody. Let’s upload my face to a scammy AI site and see what it says!

    I’m feeding this photo to the AI monster behind StarByFace.com:
    a closeup of my barely-smiling face

    And here are the results:
    melissa mccarthy and martha plimpton
    At 34% and 32% they’re not even solid matches. I tried. Moving on!
  3. Who have you tried to be like?
    Martha Stewart! If I had 1/10th of her self-confidence I’d be able to take over the entire state of NJ.
  4. When have you opted for an imitation over the real thing?
    “Diamond” earrings. My hair and stud earrings do not get along. I think I had ONE pair of actual diamond earrings years ago and I lost one almost immediately. My hair gets tangled in and around the earrings and pulls them out. I am a cubic zirconia earring fan for life. If you see me with any diamonds in my ears – fake. And as long as your stones are not the size of Doritos, nobody will know. I usually wait until QVC puts their Diamonique earrings on clearance.
  5. In what way was today just like yesterday?
    Chock full of meetings. I feel like I have talked nonstop for the last 3 days, and will probably have to log into work this weekend to catch up on things I should have accomplished while I was talking nonstop for 3 da ys.

Bonus question: Too early for flapjacks?
NEVER! And now I know what I’m having for breakfast tomorrow. Enjoy the weekend!

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Gardening, Life

Monday, Monday

January 30, 2023

It was a pretty good weekend!

On Saturday I spent some time with Nephews A & B. A is 8 now (whaaaat?) and very much into Youtube and video games. B is 4 now (whaaaaaaaat?) and is very much into imaginative play. I am very much into A&B, even though I don’t have a Youtube channel.

And I baked another loaf of no-knead bread.

a warm round loaf of freshly-baked bread.
This bread makes the BEST toast.

Sunday found me digging in the garden beds so I could send a soil sample out to be tested. I’ve been using the same soil for years now and I’m pretty sure it needs a bit of pep added back in. However, I am confused by fertilizers. I did some at-home testing last year and the results were mixed. I’m going to leave it to the pros!

a plastic bag filled with soil, ready to mail
a literal dirtbag

I do know that I’m abandoning onions for green onions, moving cucumber back into the beds, and adding zucchini to the mix. I was going to give up on carrots, but I’ll give them one more shot in soil that’s mixed with sand. Sand makes it less dense and easier for the carrots to push down into it.

And I resigned from the MetaFilter Steering Committee. I had mentioned on Friday that I couldn’t keep up with the firehose of activity and hours required. And then I got a meeting request for TNP during what would have been the monthly Steering Committee meeting and that made the decision for me. I tendered my resignation on Sunday. I feel guilty for leaving with only 4-6 weeks left but I don’t believe in ghosting, and I don’t want my name there taking credit if I can’t do the work anymore. If anyone remotely familiar with MetaFilter is reading this, it was 100% about the time commitment and nothing at all about drama. It’s a great group of people and I hope to be able to volunteer for smaller, time-limited projects in the future.

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I love the Internet, Life

Friday 5: Hero’s Journey

January 27, 2023

This week’s Friday 5 theme is Hero’s Journey.

Happy Friday! Today is International Holocaust Awareness Day and National Chocolate Cake day, a very disparate pair of observances.

calendar page that says January 27th
  1. When did you hear (and heed) the Call to Adventure this week?
    I was all adventured out from the DC trip, so I left my Adventure Phone off the hook this week. If you’re under 30, that means I put the Adventure Phone on Do Not Disturb.
  2. What challenges did you encounter on your Road of Trials from last weekend to this weekend?
    I had to convince myself to get that followup mammogram and not ignore it, like I wanted to. When I finally called to make the appointment, they told me the prescription was incorrect — I need the followup diagnostic scan with ultrasound if necessary on the right breast and an ultrasound on the left (because I didn’t have it done post-2021 biopsy but the prescription had the sides switched. I called Doc Ladyparts’s nurse line back and explained to them what the issue is, then they had to call in a new prescription, then I had to make the appointment. Which is in early February and I’m not worrying about the Third Rodeo (because this is neither my first nor my second rodeos) until then.

    I also had to shut up more than I wanted to.
  3. What kinds of temptations did you face this week?
    I really wanted to take Tuesday off and laze around the house. But I have too many good things cooking at TNP right now though and I need to seem them through. I think my next day off that does not include breast imaging is Presidents Day and I cam easily “tough it out” until then. I don’t want to blow all of my PTO when it’s cold out!
  4. What was your Ultimate Boon (that is, your greatest reward) this week?
    Honestly, seeing Murphy’s exuberance when we came through the door on Monday was a very sweet reward.
  5. If you canceled all your obligations this weekend (and the coming week) and had the Freedom to Live it any way you wanted, how would you spend the time?
    I think I would teleport to an all-inclusive beach resort and read by the water all week. I’m halfway finished a book, and I have two loans waiting for me on Kindle. Which reminds me I need to turn the wireless off on my Kindle so I don’t lose them while I’m reading.

But since I’m not doing that, this weekend’s obligations include the usual chores as well as doing some work for the MetaFilter Steering Committee. I cannot give the time to that project that everyone else who volunteered to be on the Steering Committee gives, and I feel terrible about it. Waves of shame terrible. The initial call for volunteers asked for 4 hours a month. After the first two and a half months of giving about 15-20 hours, now I truly can only give about 4 hours a month – usually in one weekend – and for many unbloggable reasons that’s still not enough. I won’t be seeking another term.

I will be going through my seed inventory and planning out Angry Man Farm 2023. We’re aiming for abundance. We’re aiming for enough produce to eat, preserve, and give away. I ordered a soil testing kit that came today and I’m going to let that determine what fertilizers I’ll need for each bed.

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Life

My Apple Watch

January 26, 2023

I have an Apple Watch and while I used to really, REALLY be into it, I’m not feeling it anymore.

No filter, obviously.

First, I’ve become disenchanted with the Apple Fitness app. The app rewards streaks: perfect week, perfect month, etc. I am a person who HATES to break streaks, and so I fell into the trap of thinking that activity doesn’t “count” unless I have a fitness device tracking it. And for me, that’s not a great way of thinking. You need rest from exercise. Even The Rock only exercises 6 days a week. I’ve been catching a lot of colds lately and on some of those days I’m not closing that move ring. And that makes me feel crummy about myself, even if I’m moving more this year than I ever did last year.

I also have some nice non-Apple watches that I miss wearing, but if I don’t wear the Apple Watch, I break my streak or feel like I wasted the money I spent on the watch.

I’m tired of the watch drawing my eye when notifications pop up. But if I turn off the notifications, I might as well wear another watch, right? I’m never really far away from my phone anymore so do I need this watch?

Is anyone else out there souring on their fitness trackers?

(happy birthday, Dad!)

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