Category — Friday Blog Roundup

Until now, our guinea pigs have mostly treated Josh as a potential food deliverer — happy to see him but not giving him a lot of thought. Beorn accepted cuddles but also growled at him if Josh hugged or kissed me. And I don’t remember Linus or Truman giving him much attention.

But Quentin flips out when he hears Josh come home. First, his whole body tenses with anticipation when he hears the car alarm. Once Josh’s keys hit the lock, he starts wheeking happily, looking at all of us to confirm that what he is hearing is his friend coming home. Once Josh crosses the threshold, Quentin treats him to ten solid minutes of popcorning, wiggle jumps, and running around in a circle of delirious happiness until he can calm himself down.

Josh admitted that it makes him feel a little bit like a rockstar.

*******

Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

And now the blogs…

*******

But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

No Kidding in NZ points out the difference between the emotional support offered for various diagnoses, seeing first-hand how people react to infertility vs. other diseases. She writes: “But having a particular illness that is known and understood in the community, even if it is rare and aggressive, brings connections and support that pregnancy loss and infertility did not. There isn’t the shame or judgment or just silence that I experienced around infertility and pregnancy loss.” All life-changing diagnoses (which includes infertility) should come with support.

Lastly, Scientist on the Roof has a list of things that make her happy vs. annoyed, and I laughed at “Fake-coughing just to annoy my husband.” I would totally do that, too.

The roundup to the Roundup: Quentin LOVES Josh. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between May 16 – May 23) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.

It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids [near home dwelling]
And everyone telling you be of good cheer
It’s the most wonderful time of the year

Apologies to whoever wrote that song, but the most wonderful time of the year is summer because the kids are almost home for three months. I can bother them and smoosh them and make them go on ice cream road trips with me.

I really love having the kids close by. And while I know August will be hard as the summer winds down, right now, we’re on the cusp of it starting. So only blue skies.

*******

Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

And now the blogs…

*******

But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

Scientist on the Roof writes about not connecting with a story. I’ve been going through this a lot lately — though it rarely happened before — where I start a book, and I’m even enjoying a book, but I cannot connect with the book. When that happens, I move it back to the TBR. I wonder if there is something about the news cycle and the state of the world that is causing this to happen more than usual. I agree with her: “I do firmly believe that, for maximum impact, you have to read a book at the right time.”

Lastly, The Road Less Travelled marks 50 years since she lost her grandmother. If we count birthdays, it makes sense to count deathdays. She explains, “This was my first real experience with the death of a person close to me.” Sending a hug for a hard anniversary.

The roundup to the Roundup: Kids are almost home. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between May 9 – May 16) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.

If you missed Mr. Bates vs. the Post Office the first time around, PBS is re-airing the miniseries (only in the US) until May 18 to celebrate the show winning a Peabody Award.

It is a bonkers story about the 2009 (or thereabouts) British Post Office scandal where hundreds of subpostmasters were wrongly charged with theft because of a computer glitch. And Alan Bates (with many other subpostmasters) took on the post office and exposed the crime.

If you haven’t seen it, this is your chance to see it for free if you live in the US. It’s four episodes, or a little under four hours to see the whole thing. And really well done.

*******

Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

And now the blogs…

*******

But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

Dear John updates her late husband on their daughter’s upcoming graduation and life this spring. She writes, “You’ve missed all the triumphs and the drama. The friends, the crushes, the dating, the dances, the driver’s license, her work experiences…” It’s a bittersweet post about life continuing.

Lastly, All & Sundry has a post about lasts. She muses on what we can get used to, even when it feels like we can’t in the moment. She writes about a time when both kids will be in college: “It’ll be all too soon before he’s also off figuring out his next steps in life and I’ll be having to get used to a house that’s too quiet and too clean. And I will, even though it won’t feel like it at first. It’ll all keep going and changing, if we’re lucky enough.” I like the hopeful note that she ends on.

The roundup to the Roundup: Watch Mr. Bates vs. the Post Office for free (until May 18). Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between May 2 – May 9) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.

The Fords love a good spreadsheet; the more tabs, the better. Colour-code it, and the Fords bliss out. So it should come as no shock as we come closer to adding a new guinea pig to our family that I added a new tab to the guinea pig spreadsheet with potential names.

For the record, while everyone has mocked and rejected some of my name offerings, no one has added their own.

The spreadsheet has columns for the name, notes about the name (think of it as the elevator pitch), and possible nicknames. We like to gather four possible names and then see which one best fits the pig.

It is really hard to wait until we’re a pig-full house again.

*******

Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

And now the blogs…

*******

But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

Apron Strings for Emily has a series of posts about her beautiful dog, Kirby, who died a few months ago. The letters posted earlier in the month, but they only entered my feed reader this week. A few of the letters talk about infertility, and I think many will relate to the way an animal companion (still testing out terms) can bring comfort and tie someone to community. She writes: “Many women or couples felt uncomfortable when they found out we had no kids; we were less relatable … But WOW, that changed when you became part of our family.” Click over to read how Kirby the Beagle helped her form connections.

Lastly, The Road Less Travelled covers the Canadian elections, which are run so differently from American elections. She outlines how they vote — for a single person (the local Parliament member) via paper ballots. It’s cool to read about another county’s system.

The roundup to the Roundup: Coming up with potential guinea pig names. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between April 25 – May 2) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.

This weekend, I’ll hit my 1,500th day of closing all three rings in a row. What this means is that I stood up 12 or so times per day, exercised 30 minutes per day, and burned 220 calories per day. The first and third goals are pretty easy to hit without trying, but that middle goal — exercising for 30 minutes — means that I went for a walk or did yoga 1,500 days in a row. Even when I got my COVID vaccine and thought I was going to pass out. Even when I was sad or tired or short of time.

Fine, there’s usually one day per month where I bullshit my way to that goal, but even with 12 bullshit days per year, that’s still something to celebrate.

I’m going to celebrate by sitting! And eating ice cream!

I am both happy I started this and regret that I started this because I sometimes feel ruled by my watch. Like when we go to the beach, and I just want to plop down in the sand and read, but I first have to go marching down the shoreline and back for at least a half hour so my watch doesn’t send me messages like: “You can still do it, Mel.” But I’m also moving more, and that was the whole point of the reminder on my wrist.

*******

Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

And now the blogs…

*******

But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

The Barreness recounts a scary health situation. She was admitted to the hospital for observation after landing in the ER with tenderness connected to her autoimmune disorder. This was the line that gutted me while reading: “I sat in my room alone for a while, quietly crying, sitting in the strangeness of the morning that had unfolded. A whirlwind of people, drugs, questions…. What had just happened? What was happening?” My heart went out to her, thinking about sitting with those unknowns and strangeness. Don’t worry — the post lands in a good place.

Lastly, Middle Girl writes about a birthday celebration for her 70-year-old cousin. I love this: “A joy-filled event. Love in action!” Love in action is the best way to describe a birthday event.

The roundup to the Roundup: 1,500 days of exercise in a row. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between April 18 – April 25) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.