Wow -- it's the start of another week. While I'm thoroughly enjoying each and every day, it just seems that Monday comes along very quickly!
We have no snow left. We had two days of temperatures in the low teens, and you could almost see the snow melt. It was crazy because I was thinking it was going to take forever for all this snow to melt, and then poof — it was gone. I did more cleaning up in the backyard and hope to finish this afternoon. Then we need a nice, gentle rain to clean things up. But WAIT-- we have snow in the forecast. But still, it'll be nice to get some of the backyard tasks done before we get more snow. It's not a lot and likely won't stick around.
It's still muddy and wet, but there's no danger of falling on the sidewalks, although the well-trodden path in the forest is still slippery, so I continue to avoid that for a few more days or weeks.
I even spotted new growth in someone's garden on our morning walk.
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| Green shoots!! |
And this opossum took it upon himself to walk down our street in the morning, which causes no end of excitement to Murphy.
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| Opossum crossing the street |
One more sign of spring - the first e-scooter of the season passed Murphy and me on our walk, and Murphy was beyond herself. She hates those things and would tear them apart if I let her. I keep a very tight grip on her when she spots one. And if someone comes from behind me and surprises us both, there is no telling what will happen, but god help the e-scooter driver!
I'm not quite finished with the Smartphone Nation, but I've got enough information. The last chapter talks about regulation, defunding hate, harm, and disinformation. I'll read it this afternoon.
My takeaways from yesterday's readings are that you should keep a phone journal for a day or two. Write down why you picked up your phone. What you eventually ended up doing on your phone. Did you actually do the thing you picked your phone up for? How long were you on your phone? And how did you feel when you were done?
There is something called algorithm resistance (gaming the algorithm), which means you are working the algorithms to work for you, not against you. I'll see if I can dig up more information on that, but not this morning.
Ensure your screen time is ACTIVE by spending time on education (including language learning, games, math tutorials or quizzes), creativity (making or reading), communication (keeping in touch with friends and family), and participation (searching or gaming).
AVOID the passive activities of mindless scrolling.
The bottom line in this is to be MINDFUL of why you are reaching for your phone. Were you bored, so you watched reels to entertain yourself? Were you going to do an active activity with your phone and then got sucked into social media? Like all aspects of life - be MINDFUL of what you do, don't let time just pass you by!
In addition to making samples for my upcoming Facebook Live, I finished the customer quilt.
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| Customer Quilt - done |
I've got some trimming to do later today. I also took an "emergency" trip to Fabricland yesterday. I was making samples for the Facebook Live, and as I made some, I started thinking about others I could make (typical), and I needed a few extra supplies. I arrived at 4:41, and they close at 5. I grabbed an employee I knew, and we got everything I needed. OH MY --- once you get outside the world of quilting cotton, there are so many exciting things in a fabric store! But I was mindful of what I bought, and less than $50 later, I was on my way home!
As a reward for the day's activities, I worked on the jigsaw puzzle. I'm loving working on it this way!! I have all the pieces of the puzzle laid out on those boards, which I could never do using the trays. I started by working on the circles.
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| Progress on the 1000-piece green puzzle |
Now all the pieces fit on one board, and I scour it for specific pieces. Then I grab those pieces, bring them to the puzzle, and see if I can find a home for them. When I find the home for all, then I go back to the pieces board and look for more distinctive pieces. It is working just fine. But I doubt that method will work for all puzzles. There are so many things in this one, and I spend a LOT of time looking at the picture to figure out where some of them are. I know there are different colors in other puzzles. I think I have the orange one. I might just have to find all the other colors, since I really like this puzzle style. i think my friend has the red one!
I'm having great fun, and it's a great way to leave that phone alone. Not that I'm on my phone a lot, and I'm much more conscientious of it after reading that book.
I have to investigate a bit more about changing the algorithms, but I'm in pretty good shape, so I'm not really worried. But being mindful about everything you do is so important. It's easy to slip into a rut and just get caught up, but then I don't get to do the things I REALLY want to spend my time on, and that makes me feel bad, so I try to be as mindful as I can.
As I was sitting by the embroidery machine making samples, a book on the bottom shelf caught my eye. Actually, the coil-bound spine did. I pulled the book out to find a book of quotes I had purchased a long time ago. I really have some great books, and sadly, one day, I will need to start culling them.
I found an entire category of quotes dealing with "to-do" lists. I got a chuckle and then started reading them. OH MY!!!! These are amazing quotes.
Here is one:
"Every person you meet knows something you don't: Learn from them." H. Jackson Brown
So true—do not be afraid to ask others questions, and stop talking about yourself unless you are asked. And then we want to acknowledge your woes or your family, but do NOT belabor the point unless it's a close friend. Share your KNOWLEDGE.
WOW --- I think I'm going to have to keep this book out as there are so many good quotes. The book is called "Quote" Unquote - Volume 2: Inspirational Quotes for Meaningful Moments. It was a book meant for scrapbooking, but it can be used in daily life.
OH MY—time is running out, and I need to get to the gym!! Still not putting full pressure on the bike, but slowly increasing the intensity. Keeping an eye on my knee -- I have good days and bad.
Have a super day and be MINDFUL - whatever you do, do it mindfully!!!
Ciao!!!
Here is the link to the Facebook Live on Wednesday, as I always have trouble finding these links. Once the session starts, select the ONLINE button to get in. I'll post this link every day for the next two days so you can easily find it. I think that is the correct button. I think the other button works once the video has been saved.
https://www.facebook.com/events/3548708531933619
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