The saddle chair (stool) review and fixing camera woes

Thanks for the tip on eliminating SO from my vocabulary. That's all good advice. I used those techniques to switch "hit" with touch or select. This, too, will happen, but until you are aware, you can't change a thing! It's like the quote from the other day. 

Quote of the day

Self-awareness is crucial to self-improvement, but most of us are unaware of the little annoying things we do. Getting constructive criticism or someone to film you is key to fixing that. I understand that no one wants to watch themselves on video, but ignore how you look and concentrate on what you say and how you do things. What mannerisms do you use? If someone has an annoying trait that drives you mad, gently tell them. Video them if they don't believe you, and that's the first step to correcting it. That correction doesn't happen overnight! It took me months to switch hit for select. 

A lot happened at my house yesterday, but it wasn't the most productive day. To start, I did NOT get to a 60-minute-or-less project. However, I moved things around and tried reorganizing the sewing spaces somewhat. Let's say the cutting table is clear, allowing me to work on the entire surface. I picked a few things off the floor, but all that did was create two more heaping tables with stuff that needs to be addressed. 

Two tables heaped with stuff to deal with

There are now THREE tables like this, and I need to take action. Even if my 60-minute-or-less project of the day is to grab something and deal with it, this mess needs to be cleaned up! While I have some relatively quiet time in the next couple of months, I MUST deal with it. I hate this mess, and it's so unproductive to look at it. I must find homes for things, finish off the project, or trash it. 

Let's chat about the saddle stool or chair. I'm not sure what to call it. 

The saddle chair or stool

I love it because it is small but relatively stable. I also love that it's easy to move around, and while I was doing the Facebook Live, it was beautiful to move from one spot to another. I have no regrets about purchasing it for the area where I needed it most, but I regret not buying one long before. 

I decided to add the back to see if I liked it. I needed a wrench, as the chair did not come with one, but that's OK. Attaching the back was easy enough using the two included bolts.  

Attaching the back

And here it is. It's the weirdest-looking thing, but I find it quite comfortable. 

The saddle chair (stool) with the back

Now, here are a couple of things to watch for if you are thinking of purchasing one. I apologize for this picture, but it's important to consider. 

There is only one way to sit in this chair; you certainly do not want to sit on the edge. There is this hump between your legs. I wonder how comfortable it is if you have larger thighs than mine. I know someone I can ask. I also don't know if the back would be comfortable if I were larger. It fits me perfectly, and I'm a size M. 

The hump between your legs

Are there different sizes of seats? You'd have to check that if you were worried about the fit. 

As I mentioned, you must sit on the chair correctly. You must not second-guess where it is, or you will fall on the floor. And this is a good thing. I have to sit PROPERLY every time—no slouching in the chair or sitting on the edge. I am sitting much straighter in the chair, only because I'm forced to. Crossing your legs is uncomfortable if that's something you do when sitting down. 

I used it for sewing yesterday afternoon, and it works fine. The height is adjustable, and it's a keeper. The other thing I love is the small profile. No more bumping into my embroidery arm (not that I ever let that happen), but because of its small profile, it doesn't hit anything behind it and doesn't swing like a larger office chair would. There are no arms to catch under the surface of the table. YES - I will always use this for sewing, but be careful - you could easily fall off when sitting down. 

I learned stuff yesterday! I use two Sony camcorders and a document camera to stream live events. I don't like the camcorders because there are symbols (six of them) that I can't remove from the screen. I tried to find a menu that would allow me to do that, spoke to the people at the camera store, and tried to find an answer in the manual. Look at how sad this is. 

I wasn't sure where my manuals were, but I found them online. One page says to look through the menus and make changes. That's it for the menus! Seriously? 

Sad instructions from the manual

I decided to bite the bullet and chat directly with Sony to find the answer. I tried finding the answer on the website but had no luck, so I had a written conversation with a person online. The agent took the time to help me find the DISPLAY menu, only to discover that it was already set for AUTO. It removes MANY other symbols, but does not remove the final 6. That just stays on the screen, which is super annoying. The battery life doesn't need to stay on the screen, but can merely pop up when the battery is getting low. The Tight and Wide commands are physical outside the camera and do not need to be shown on the screen. It's a silly design, and I'm surprised Sony would do that. 

Bad news

That means I'm stuck with those six symbols. But hey - a colleague of mine does Facebook Live events, and she has nothing on her screen. I was just about to email her when she emailed me! It was meant to be. She uses her iPad to film! WAIT!!!!! An iPad? Yes - with an app on it for filming. 

That saved me the expense of purchasing another camcorder, but do I need a new iPad? I need some accessories, which will be relatively inexpensive, and I'm sure my iPad will work, so I need to investigate that. I need to replace my iPad at some point, as Apple no longer wants to update the iOS. I get it. Is the darn thing ten years old? I think that's what I discovered when I went in and looked at the information on it.

No—I found that information on my blog—December 17, 2017. That's when I purchased it, so it will be time to replace it, but I can probably continue to use this one for filming. Either way, I do NOT need to buy a new camera. An iPad is much more versatile than a camcorder anyway! Thanks for all that information; this will be a better solution!

I checked out the cost of a new iPad, and the camcorder is much cheaper! I have the iPad Pro, and I will not give up that larger screen, so I must pay the price. I'm OK with that, but there is no need to replace it immediately. Armed with new information, I can almost be considered dangerously smart! 

I decided to try returning the other camera at the local Best Buy in the mall. Yes - they took it and didn't charge a restocking fee. It was my lucky day! 

Miss Lexi had a traumatic day. She needed a booster shot at the vet, and we hopped in the car. I am practising eliminating the SO from my vocabulary by NOT writing it in the blog. It's incredible how often I want to use that word! 

Not only did she get a booster, but she needs some dental work next week, and they need to do bloodwork for that. They tried to get blood the last time she went to test for Lyme disease, and that was an ordeal and a half. The poor thing has very thick hair, so thick you can't really find her skin, let alone a vein. 

They had to shave her leg and try that way. They tried the back legs first but found nothing. Then they shaved a front leg and nothing. The vet came in to help and shaved the other leg. Nothing. All the while, the technician assistant and I were holding her down, and she was NOT happy. I had so much hair on my clothes and in my nose that it was—well, it was awful. Sorry, Lexi! 

MOM - I have no blood! 

As we left the house and left Miss Murphy alone, she was beside herself with jealousy. I swear the entire neighborhood could hear her barking! 

When Miss Lexi and I arrived home, it was a busy place! Flyers were slapped on our door in two locations, while the package waiting for pickup remained on the front step! 

MOM - thank god I'm home

As mentioned, loads happened in Studio B, but I don't have time to share them this morning, so you'll have to wait until tomorrow, when hopefully, something will have changed. I struggled yesterday, but I got this customer quilt quilted. I did NOT struggle with the quilt, but with my own stuff. 

Customer quilt - DONE

So it was a good day, but I have more paperwork to take care of today, one Zoom class for software, and then the rest of the day is mine to sew or continue to tidy up! I want those three tables cleared! I'm fed up with the mess! 

Oh, I see a "SO" just slipped into the sentence above, and I wasn't even aware of it as I wrote that. I'm making progress, and we can't change overnight. Self-awareness is key. It pays to watch yourself on video, and you'll find yourself doing all sorts of things that you may think you don't do, but you do. Try it sometime—we all have cellphones, making it easy to film a few minutes of yourself. What bad habits do you have? 

On that note, I'm out of here. I'm off to see Brooke at a ridiculous hour in the morning, meaning that I wrote the blog before that ridiculous time. I had a great sleep but just woke up an hour early, so I may as well make use of that time. I can always have a 30-minute nap in the afternoon if I need to. 

Have a super day!!!

Ciao!!!