What I learned today!

There isn't a day that goes by when I don't learn something new. What amazes me is that as people get older, they seem to lose their curiosity and their ability to live like children (OK - children back in my day), a simple life, uncomplicated by all the stuff that life throws you. I do the basics of life, but I don't stress about many things. Life is too short.  

But the learning? Well, I'm still stunned by what I learned this morning. 

I'm doing my writing assignments while I'm not home. The first step in the process of writing is to load the photos I've taken and then write about the pictures. The previous document I was working on had been started at home, and I loaded the pictures there. This morning, when I went to load the photos, they went into the document as they should. WHAT????? By that, I mean that on my desktop, they all crowd onto one page on top of each other, and it can take a significant amount of time to reorder and rearrange them. 

This morning, when I loaded them into the document, each one went on its separate page, already tagged for the way the text should appear. NO WAY!!!! Is it the computer memory? Is it the version of Windows? OK -- that fact alone is enough to upgrade my home computer to Windows 11, and if that doesn't work, I need a new computer. OR I just start the document on my laptop and then move over to the desktop. I much prefer writing on the larger keyboard, but that's OK. My files are on my shared drive, so I can access them from any computer. 

I'm still sitting here in disbelief because that process can take up to half an hour and is very frustrating. WOW!!!!

OK -- so it pays to try new things! 

Here's the other thing that blew my mind! I've mentioned several times that my FitBit is dying and I need to replace it. Instead of buying another FitBit because they have been purchased by Google, and who knows what the future holds, it was time to find a new brand. I purchased the Galaxy Fit3 by Samsung. 

I took some time yesterday morning and charged it up, downloaded the app, and completed all the necessary tasks. I'm going to wear both of them over the next couple of days to see how different they are in tracking steps. 

My fitness trackers

Yes - it looks like I'm a geek, but that's OK!! I've since changed the face of the Fit3 - there are MANY configurations you can have on the front. I'm blown away!!

I also like the fact that the charger is small, so it's easy to travel with. The old one is big and clunky, the new one is tiny. What's even better is that someone here can use my old charger, so it's gone!! I've charged my watch up, and once it dies, bye-bye!!!

Two different chargers for the fitness trackers

Are they tracking the same? Because some of the "steps" were in fact hand movements, the Fit3 was a bit behind the FitBit. But when we went for a walk after dinner, the Fit3 gave me more steps. I like that! 

And it's all relative anyway. Is it 100% accurate? Probably not even close. I may need to turn off some of the notifications, especially on my hike, where we won't have electricity to charge it up. HEY -- I should turn on the stairs, not steps, for that hike. How many steps are there to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro? 

Anyway, it was amazing this morning when my alarms went off. I could turn them off on my watch. Oh yes, I'm going to love this new watch, and I'm glad I switched brands. 

The other thing I learned yesterday was related to audiobooks. That book about Facebook is very frightening, particularly in the world of politics, and how if you know what you are doing, you can influence things like elections, and MANY politicians around the world are doing just that. They have figured out how to make the algorithm work in their favor. That is scary beyond all belief. With the amount of incorrect information from around the world, it can blow your mind, and I think people are going to start to lose credibility in the information posted. 

We definitely need to be teaching people how to detect AI-generated content or false information. It requires a lot of time to fact-check, but you have to do that these days. 

What the people of the world need to do is to make that algorithm work in the people's favor and make it backfire on the politicians. I'm smart, but I don't think I'm that smart! 

Anyway, I wasn't able to finish the book because I only had a week. I learned that I can get 10 hours of audiobook listening monthly on Spotify. Hey, it's the last day of the month, so I could read some today. Tomorrow, I get 10 new hours. BUT, I only have 4 hours left, so either way, I can finish the book. Which is good because when I put the book back on hold at the library, it won't get back to me for MONTHS. 

As if that isn't enough, through six degrees of separation, I have a "new" people connection, and I won't share it at the moment. That's something to deal with in September. I can't wait! How small the world is!!!!

My brain could explode with all this learning. 

I took some cute pictures with my camera on my Samsung Galaxy 25+. Yep -- if I have the camera, I better learn how to use it, and I LOVE that new Zoom feature. Well, it's not new, but the settings to access it are new and I LOVE THEM. 

Chippie!!!

While eating dinner last night, I saw this little guy on someone else's plate. What do you think it is? It's a French fry -- but what animal does it look like? 

A French fry!!

And now back to sewing. These blocks were an experiment with one of those disappearing blocks years ago. I made one block as a sample. HEY -- doesn't that mean I have to make an entire quilt because I have one block? Anyway, the top is together, and now I want to add a darker border around it. I don't have any fabric left, so I'll look for something when I'm home, and I'll put it back in the retreat box for the next retreat. 

The quilt top is almost done

Then I pulled out a project from Diane. It's made from triangles, but I think she had trouble sewing it together. I decided to rip it apart and remake it. It was only in columns when I got it. 

I had ripped out four columns and trimmed the pieces, but I didn't pay attention when trimming, so I had to retrim almost all the triangles. DUH!!!

Trimming the triangles

Here's the pattern, which is quite attractive, but it seems long and skinny. I may have to add borders along the side. My version will be slightly smaller? I'm not sure. 

The pattern

I got two of the 18 columns back together, with two more ripped out, so I should be able to finish those this morning. Yes - it has that wonk in it as these are bias edges that have been handled many times. I'll make it work! 

Two columns of the quilt

Last night we decided to go into town to have dinner and we chose this restaurant. The Dufferin Public House in Shelbourne. 

The Duffy

It had intrigued one of our group because it's in an old church. How cool is that? We decided to eat in the garden, but it was a bit cool since the high temperatures we've had have gone!

A church converted into a restaurant

We needed patio blankets to keep us warm! 

Patio blankets to keep warm

I had a glass of cider - OK --- alcohol hits me pretty quickly these days, as I rarely drink any alcohol. Yikes!!! 

My glass of cider

A great chicken and bacon burger, with dill pickle flavored fries!!! 

My chicken burger

It was a great meal and a great way to end the retreat. We don't often go out for dinner, but when it's a small group (we are four), we have way more flexibility. I'm really a fan of the small groups, but any size group is fun. The dynamics change depending on the number, and each has its pros and cons. 

The gardens were beautiful, and there was this GIANT hosta in the garden. It looked just like those I have at home, but four times the size!!!!

A giant hosta

How about the QUILTsocial blog posts? Are you reading them? I'm so impressed with what I accomplished that week. I can't wait to get back and do more! The ideas are spinning in my head, and the technology is only going to get better and even more connected. I'll be right there waiting to use it. 

Here is the link to day four. 

QUILTsocial - OH -- shoot, I don't see the new link this morning. I'll post it tomorrow. 

And that's it for today. I hope you never lose your ability to learn, nor your ability to be curious, and ask questions. Life is too short to just accept everything at face value!! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!