Category — Friday Blog Roundup

We end the week with Beorn pretty much exactly the same as he was last week. He has not lost weight, but he isn’t eating a lot. I think the antibiotics are killing his appetite, so I’m eager to see if he bounces back next week because the antibiotics will be complete. In the meantime, it’s Critical Care three times per day.

Another bummer: spring break wraps up, and the twins go back to school. Trying to enjoy the weekend, but it’s kind of a teary mess coupled with the drippy stench of Critical Care. Cheers?

*******

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…

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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:

• Nothing… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

No Kidding in NZ highlights things she is thinking about as she ages without children. While she talks and writes about it, she also acknowledges that she needs to take action, and she has rounded up various tasks she needs to do. She writes: “Please forgive the repetition. I think I use these posts as motivation to actually get things done! Let’s hope it works.” I think it’s a good reminder for everyone.

Lastly, Finding a Different Path writes about her husband’s birthday celebration. She makes this point: “We are a family of two (plus cats), and we do everything we can to squeeze as much love and joy out of our time as possible. We have fun and, in a way, treat ourselves as our own kids.” I love that idea — to treat yourself to fun and celebration. Happy birthday, Bryce!

The roundup to the Roundup: A non-update update about Beorn. 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 March 14 – 21) 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.

Beorn has been off all week, not acting like himself, which means that I have been off all week, not feeling like myself. I feel such a deep responsibility for this guinea pig and the fact that he depends on me to figure out what is wrong and address it.

The two main issues are that (1) he isn’t consistent. One day, he’ll barely eat things he normally loves, such as lettuce, but he’ll chow down on an apple slice, and he never fails to beg for his vitamin. The pig LOVES his vitamin more than anything else in the world. So he eats, but he’s eating strangely. And (2) we no longer have a vet specializing in exotics. We now have a general vet who normally focuses on cats and dogs but will care for our guinea pig when needed. So, taking Beorn to the vet is a little different than taking a dog because it’s outside his focus. The only vet we know in the area who treats exotics wasn’t taking new patients the last time we called, and we don’t have an emergency situation where our vet could call in a favour for her expertise.

We’re going to our vet, but I wish Beorn could tell me whether to chill or whether something is wrong.

*******

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:

• “Beauty” (No Kidding in NZ)

Okay, now my choices this week.

In Search of Motherhood gives an update after a long time away. I liked the title because it’s no small thing to continue moving forward during an impossibly difficult time: In Which Our Heroine Is… Still Standing. Sending a hug because the pain comes through her words.

Lastly, Hopelessly Infertile and Surrounded by Fertiles closes out a hard month by reflecting on a difficult situation and the need for transparency and honesty when giving disappointing news. She admits: “I don’t know what to do with these feelings. They go away most of the time, but in this season, they come back. How happy I was to be there for them then. And how sad it makes me now that I was ever happy for someone who treated me so shabbily.” It’s a hard situation without an easy answer.

The roundup to the Roundup: Not sure what is up with Beorn. 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 March 7 – 14) 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.

We missed the Oscars last weekend. I know a lot of people watch the show even if they haven’t watched the movies, but I hadn’t even heard of many of this year’s movies. That feels strange, and I’m not even sure how it happened.

Back in 1993, the Mississippi flooded, and this chunk of land broke off and floated into the middle of the lake. We called it the Bog (a capital B because it was THE Bog), and people would go down to the lake to see where it was floating. The administration warned us not to step onto it because it wasn’t stable, and we’d likely fall through the marshy land.

That’s kind of what I think of when I think about movies right now. The concept of movies used to be attached to my brain. I knew what was out in theaters, even when I didn’t see the movie. But at some point in this past year, movies broke off from my main brain space and started floating out into the ether. I imagine all the movies hanging out on this figurative bog, and I’m on the shore, watching them float by. I’d like to reattach movies to my brain, but I’m not even sure how I missed so much this year, all things considered.

*******

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:

• “It’s Up to You” (Infertile Phoenix)

Okay, now my choices this week.

One thing I love about RSS feed readers is that they alert you if someone pops back up. Woulda Coulda Shoulda gave an update this week. She perfectly captures the current mood for so many of us: “Life goes on, of course. But the small measure of existential dread I’ve always lived with has multiplied a thousandfold.” It’s a lot. All of it is a lot. But grateful when people check in and share their a lot.

Lastly, Infertile Phoenix mark the 10-year anniversary of her final IVF cycle. She writes: “I want to celebrate in some small way on the actual day toward the end of the month, but I don’t have any ideas. How do you celebrate recovering from profound loss?” I agree that it must contain cake — not least of which to mark the sweetness of moving from not being able to imagine the next day to living a great life.

The roundup to the Roundup: Missing all of the movies. 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 Feb 28 – March 7) 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.

Back in 2023, I read One Puzzling Afternoon by Emily Critchley. The character eats parma violets throughout the book, which we don’t have here. Right after I read the book, I looked for them in the UK, but I never found them. I forgot about them and didn’t look for them this year.

This past weekend, we went into an expat store, and there was a display of parma violets. I convinced everyone except the Wolvog to try them the moment we left the store. The ChickieNob decided that they tasted like sugary soap and was out after a single disc. But Josh liked them, and I loved them. I sent him back into the store for a second roll.

It was such an expected happy find, all due to a story.

*******

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.

Both are about Bamberlamb, who died this month, and they’re both beautiful tributes.

I learned that Bamberlamb died from No Kidding in NZ. She writes about her friend, “She was always so eloquent, she always found the right words for the right occasion. It was a skill I often envied. But rather than envy, I tried to learn from her. To know what to say that might help, and most importantly, what not to say. I fall short, I am sure. But I will keep trying, for her.” It’s a beautiful way to not only remember someone but keep them in this world.

Lastly, The Road Less Travelled also has a tribute to Bamberlamb. (Though very strangely, she mentions Lemmondrops, and for some reason, I ended up on Lemmondrops’ blog a few weeks ago when I was Googling something and spent some time reading through old posts.). I think the part I loved the most was the ending: “There’s a saying in the Jewish community, when someone passes away: ‘May their memory be a blessing.’ In response to Bamberlamb’s death, I saw someone posting simply, ‘Her memory is a blessing’.” Perfectly said.

The roundup to the Roundup: Parma violets. 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 Feb 21 – Feb 28) 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.

When I grow up, I want to be my kids. They have much firmer boundaries with protecting their emotional health and sticking to them than I do. A case in point: when content on a social media site made them feel distressed as they scrolled, they signed out of the account. They need to log in via a computer to see their account, making it unlikely they’ll go on more than every few days. Enough to check up on people, not enough to get them upset.

They are the Michael Pollan of consuming creative content and information (consume content, not too much, mostly heart-filling things).

I noticed the same reaction, and all I did was check more. I would see something upsetting on the app that caused me to set down my phone and worry. But then I thought, “I must recheck the app to see if there are more upsetting things.” And because I mostly went on social media in the evening after work, I was also carrying those last things I saw into bed, worrying about everything in the dark.

I wish I could tell you that I took the twins’ lead and logged out of the app. I didn’t. Social media is how I stay in touch with many people. But I did start to ask myself if I needed to recheck the app, reminding myself that I had just checked it a few minutes ago and meditating on how the news makes me feel. My goal is to take my scrolling down to twice a day — two quick check-ins.

Let’s see if I stick to the plan.

*******

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.

Hopelessly Infertile and Surrounded by Fertiles comes to a profound thought while reading a romance book that applies to the political landscape happening right now. She explains: “So many people spend so much time denying women’s feelings and experiences. I want a space where women’s experiences and feelings and choices are respected.” As she points out, it’s not that we can’t make mistakes or change our mind; but sometimes you sense the character is leading the way, and sometimes you sense the author is making all of the choices.

The Barreness breaks down the current landscape, bringing in the personal including what she is doing to get her voice heard. This perfectly summarizes how so many of us feel right now: “I have found myself on more than one occasion staring off into space. Trying to figure out where the ground is, as everything seems to be floating in zero gravity.” That ending to the post — wow.

The roundup to the Roundup: Cutting back on social media. 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 Feb 14 – Feb 21) 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.