Sunday, June 14, 2020

Life: It Goes On

Happy Sunday! 

I pulled up this blog this morning and two things struck me immediately. First, that three week review cushion I had a few weeks ago has shrunk to nothing. Whew, a few weeks of reading slump will catch up to you fast!

And two, Blogger looks completely different now. To the point where I'm having a hard time figuring out how to use it. I'm not the world's leading expert on all things computer, but I've gotten pretty good about figuring out my way around things and I'm stumped. Even the HTML doesn't work the same way which shouldn't change at all. I'd seriously consider changing platforms (which, to be honest, I should have done years ago), but that seems too time consuming for something that is just a hobby. I'll give it a go for a bit but I'm confused as to why a platform that used to be so user friendly has chosen to become harder to use. 


Last Week I: 

Listened To: I finished If Beale Street Could Talk and started Ronan Farrow's Catch and Kill. If you don't think that rich, powerful people can get away with whatever they want, read this book. 

Watched:
 Embarrassing confession - I watched both the 1995 and 1996 Husker bowl games when we won the National Championship. Did you know football games can be condense to one hour when you only show the plays? As a general rule, I'm not into rewatching games but I think I just needed to watch something where the outcome was known and one I would like. 

Read: I finished Bryan Stevenson's Just Mercy. If you haven't read it, read it. I'll say more in my review this week but, seriously, everyone should read this book if you want to know the truth about our justice system and racial inequality. 

Made: We pulled a lot of leftovers out of the freezer this week (pulled pork, stuffed pasta shells), grilled some pork chops, and had a lot of salads. I did need to use up some apples so made some fried apples. Otherwise, I think the only thing we turned the oven on for this week was to make sweet potato cubes a couple of nights. 

Enjoyed: Eating out on Friday! We did happy hour on the patio of a burger joint we like and I felt pretty safe out there. It felt good to be out. 

This Week I’m:  

Planning:
On finishing a patio project I started yesterday. It started as a simple project - a five foot long tree branch, strung with lights, hung from the fence on my patio. But when I picked up the branch and a piece of bark chipped off, that easy project suddenly took all of my Saturday afternoon just to get the branch ready. Let's just say that the rest of the bark did not come off so easily and a screwdriver, hammer, sandpaper, and two knives were involved. The lights arrive tomorrow and I'm hoping to get the thing hung either tomorrow on Tuesday. Yet another easy project gone horribly awry! 

Thinking About: Where my contributions go this week. Oh to be rich and feel like you really could make a financial difference!

Feeling: Like I need to find ways to calm my mind every night before I go to bed. I had the strangest dream I think I've ever had in my life the other night. It was scary and uncomfortable and I had to wake myself up from it and then lie awake for a while so that my brain was cleared before I went back to sleep so I didn't drop right back into it. Maybe some meditation and definitely no more books that make me angry or sad right before bed. 

Looking forward to: Book club this week. It's possible that we'll be able to do a social distancing in-person meeting. Assuming it's not too hot which is a distinct possibility. 

Question of the week: What's your best recommendation for a book that will capture my attention and take my mind off life's problems?

10 comments:

  1. The new blogger definitely takes some getting used to but it's getting better. My biggest problem is I changed some setting with how pictures are saved on my laptop so I have to fix that as well and it's just too much! I completely understand about the games. My husband has started recording all football games and watching them about an hour in so he doesn't have to watch all the replays and the commercials and it ends up being around an hour. Have a great week!

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    1. I just don't understand some of the changes they've made. Why no spell check any more? Why no boxes on the comments page so I don't have to handle each comment separately? And I'm getting three times as much spam as I was before the changes!

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  2. I am okay with the new Blogger, except for scheduling posts and adding new tags.

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    1. I finally figured that out but I feel like they've "fixed" things that worked perfectly fine before, like those things.

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  3. I am not pleased with the new Blogger format either. It's driving me crazy. I'm determined not to let it beat me though. LOL

    I have Just Read on my immediate TBR pile. I want to read White Fragility first though, so it'll be after that.

    I use imagery sometimes to help my daughter fall asleep. We relax the body, one part at a time, starting with the toes, letting all the tension out. I talk her through it in what I hope is a soothing voice. Once we reach the head and the eyes (which are last), I have her imagine herself walking down steps, opening a door, and into whatever calm scene I can think of in the moment. We wander along the beach picking up shells, or have a picnic in the park, or gaze up at the stars, paint a picture. It's probably way too elaborate for most people, but it seems to work for her.

    I hope you have a great week, Lisa!

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    1. That's a really great idea! Not only are you consciously thinking about relaxing, but in doing so you aren't thinking about the other things that keep us awake.

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  4. I was a long time Blogger user and when I finally switched to WP I was so happy. WP changes at least once a year but it's always for the better. They seem to make it much more intuitive. Although I noticed more ads with my free version recently.

    I am reading The Dutch House right now and it's really good. Good, as in interesting characters and it immediately pulled me in with the first line. It's not a page turner per se but I find it hard to put down. I am reading it for book club next week which may be in person. Feels dangerous.

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    1. I just need to decide if I want to take the time to get it all switched over. My son's current gf just got a job developing webpages so I think she'll be great help if I decide to go that route.

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  5. Trying to use HTML in the new Blogger has been difficult for me. I hope I will settle into using it.

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    1. Right?! I have my Sunday template, which is in HTML. Now when I drop it in, it is all screwed up. Isn't that part of the point of HTML, that it's uniform across platforms??

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