Taking my computer out of sleep mode was a good thing. Before I knew it, the syncing had finished, and my folders in the Classic Version of Outlook now have email in them!!! I must get busy and start deleting and resorting what's in there. I don't want to have to go through that again.
And the program is no longer frozen. It wouldn't allow me to do anything while the syncing process was happening, so that is one positive thing that happened!!!
I went to the post office to check on my missing parcel, and they couldn't find the number in their tracking system. I knew that since I had also tried. But I did learn something - there is a GLOBAL tracking system, and it will track parcels coming from other countries, which happens a lot these days. It contains the same information as the one the company gave me. It seems that the package was delivered on February 7.
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| The tracking history of my missing package |
The information looks very sketchy and not detailed at all. You would think that when it hit Canada Post, it would say so. And it keeps saying France, not Canada. It started in France, and it should end up in Canada. I called the number the post office person gave me, but when I listened to the messages, it basically said the tracking number I was looking for wasn't found, and there were five reasons why. If the computer can't find it, I doubt a person will. I sent a note back to the original company to ask what the next steps are—do I reorder? Will they give me the new ones at the same price as the old ones?
I am NOT good with follow-up, and here I am with multiple situations that require constant follow-up. Sigh............ I still have a couple of other things (as mentioned yesterday) that I need to find solutions to, but I dare not overstretch my time on follow-up. I need to wait for a resolution to at least one issue before I can move on.
I did not take the girls for a walk in the morning. It was hovering around freezing, and the sidewalks and the streets - at least my street was covered in ice. I was not taking chances, so they were not happy, but I walked them in the afternoon.
It was a very weird day because it was very foggy. This was on the way to the mall, and the mall is very visible from this distance, but yesterday? You could see nothing! It's very foggy again today and is supposed to hit a high of 15 by this afternoon, but it's cloudy!
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| The mall is just a short distance away and lost in the fog. |
It's amazing how many little errands one has in a day. I had some old eyeglasses that I rounded up and dropped off at a drop-off in the mall while I went to the post office, which is also in the mall. I learned that, yes, the little post office near me is closed permanently!
I managed to empty a few more folders. I would love to clear up all the folders that are sitting in three piles on the floor so I can find some new paper to throw away. Can you believe I still have this brochure from the very first quilter's retreat house I went to in 2006? Quilter's Mis Bee Haven --- how many of you remember that place? It was small compared to some of the houses we go to now, but so many memories!!! This brochure is now in the recycling bin.
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| Brochure from Quilter's Mis Bee Haven |
I found receipts from years ago, and can you tell me why I kept a receipt from Gymboree to buy clothes? By the way -- it's dated November 9 or September 11, 1996. Good grief --- I am my own worst enemy in this decluttering thing. I allowed this to happen.
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| A thirty-year-old receipt! |
But there is no time to beat myself up -- I can do the happy dance, realizing that I've made the decision to get this mess cleaned up, and the more I do, the easier it becomes. I will get it done.
Speaking of decluttering, you know that one technique the professional organizers use is to grab something and ask you if you really need it? They ask questions like, "Why are you keeping this? What will you do with it?", etc. I once hired a professional organizer, and we did some of that. Still, obviously not nearly enough, because I didn't learn from it, and she developed this filing system for me that was totally useless. I think that was the case because I didn't know what I wanted and couldn't communicate it to her.
Anyway, as I was reading Smartphone Nation yesterday, something similar came up. I think it's common knowledge that most of what comes through on social media these days is questionable content, since people and companies are just in it to earn money and don't care about the messages we get. We are targeted with all kinds of stuff, and we continue to seek out NEW experiences on our phones. The author equates the addiction to scrolling or refreshing to see what just came in with a SLOT MACHINE in a casino.
While I totally see the comparisons, I had never thought of it that way. But yes -- those that scroll have a one-armed bandit in front of them called a smartphone. And they don't even know it! It's passive behavior and extremely scary.
OK -- so here's the deal. Just like you declutter your house and we all need someone to hold out the things we want to keep, what if you scrolled through your phone with someone at your side to see what you are looking at? Would you be embarrassed/upset if someone saw what you are looking at? What if it was your grandchild watching you, your children, your partner, a total stranger? That's a bit mind-blowing, but imagine! What would they say? What do the things you look at say about you?
The premise of that in the book was more for you, as a parent, to sit with your child, once a week, and see what they are scrolling through -- you'd have to start at an early age and then ask questions --- why do you watch these posts, what makes you feel good or bad about them. Too much content directed at children is extremely damaging, involving suicide, hate, bullying, sex, and violence. That's very scary!!!
I'm afraid that if someone sat down to watch my weekly scrolling, they would be bored before it even started. I follow Max, the 10-year-old fashion prodigy; a farmer who talks about sprayer equipment (I have no idea why that one, but it's interesting); a couple from Wales renovating an old house; and the young couple from Vancouver who are rebuilding their house. I don't watch anyone else, and after this book, I do NOT stop on reels. I'm cured. I take a quick swipe up to see if any family members have posted something, and I'm done! I check in on Facebook and IG about three times a day. In total, I might be on there for 10 minutes all day! I may not check my phone for messages until 9 or 10 AM.
I'm also not a good candidate for watching anything on a screen. It's taken me an entire week to finish watching two 60-minute educational videos. My time is precious to me, and I'm not wasting it on some addiction to a screen where people are making money off of my time.
I'm sure there will be more to share as I still have 130 pages or so to finish the book.
I managed to get some machine embroidery done. I finished the two mug rugs - my plan was to only make one, but I ended up making two. Solidified the learning that way!
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| Two machine embroidered mug rugs |
I now have a very thorough understanding of this process and why it went wonky the first time I made one. I can also remove this from the Visual To-Do list!! The picture is now in the little pouch on the Visual To-Do list. I messed up a bit on the first one and had to put a binding on in sewing mode, and then I got messed up even further by sewing it to the front, requiring me to hand-stitch the binding in place. That's how I managed to finish watching one of the videos. The other video got watched because I wasn't walking the dogs.
Then I moved on to another machine embroidery project, which I completed as well. I also did some more stitching for my upcoming Facebook Live, and I really need to focus on making a few more samples for that.
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| Another machine embroidery project |
I got a customer quilt done. The quilt was beautiful to quilt, but it seemed to take forever as the pattern was quite busy. But it's done, and I have an even larger one to put on the machine and get finished by Monday.
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| Customer quilt - done! |
Of course, the girls had to entertain me while I was eating.
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| MOM - are you watching us? |
And while we always think that Murphy is the bully, she is not the instigator of these play fights. Yes -- it's that sweet girl Lexi. She wants to play, but only on her terms, and I think Murphy goes down on the floor to make Lexi happy! They are a funny pair to watch.
Well, I didn't sleep well and thus slept in, so now I must run or my day will be totally off.
Have a super day!!! (happy scrolling!!!!)
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