computer less day 3

I am finding it easier to be without a computer only because I know I will have mine back in a few days.

Because I knew I couldn't upload my photo of the day, I didn't even take the shot until 5 pm.

Today I miss being able to order online easily. I use 1Password and it is simple to fill in logins, passwords and credit card information when using a computer. 1Password is available on the iPhone and iPad, but it is not as easy to fill in some of the information. I went to JetPens and found that password field would not accept a copy and paste. My passwords are not easy to remember which is the point of 1Password and I sure didn't want to try to remember that 12 hexadecimal password. Or better yet, write it down so I could type it again into the password field. But I found that if I used the link to JetPens from 1Password, it filled in the information when it got to the page. But how will it work with credit card information?

computer less day 2

There are so many little ways I miss my computer.

music playlists

While I walk, I listen to songs which Tangerine chose for my pace. Tangerine isn't perfect so I rate songs that work well for walking and those that don't. Some don't work at all and I skip them. When I get back home, I look at my walking playlist and remove those with low ratings or skips. While walking this morning, a song came up on shuffle and I didn't like it for walking. I skipped it to go to the next song. I realized that I would not be able to take that out of my walking playlist. Well, I could remove it from my iPhone but what happens when I sync?

tv episodes

I watch TV episodes on my iPad. I purchase episodes through iTunes on my computer and download them there then sync to my iPad. I only keep current seasons that I am watching. On my iPad, I only keep the latest unwatched episode. Two of my current favorite shows are Bones and Castle which air on Mondays. I wasn't able to get the new shows before the computer problems. I decided to try to download to my iPad using wifi. It is a slow process and my iPad 1 tends to crash while in iTunes app.

rss

I use Reeder on my computer and iPad and sometimes on my iPhone. I subscribe to too many feeds. In the morning, the unread count is high and I can go through a lot of feeds quicker on my computer using keyboard shortcuts. Using the iPad is OK but slower.

tumblr

I love to look through tumblr and if I have away for a while, it is best to use the computer. Again, keyboard shortcuts are key. The tumblr app is OK but I miss being able to click on link in another tab. If I go out to safari, then go back to tumblr, it takes me back to the top of the dashboard. It is annoying having the scroll through all the read posts. Tumblr app on my iPad 1 will crash if I try to move it along too quickly.

watching Internet videos

Some videos are just not compatible with iOS. And some are too long or are slow to load. With those I save them to Instapaper to view on my computer. I will have a bunch to view next week. And many will no longer be timely.

computer less

Every evening before I go to bed, I connect my devices to their chargers for the night. I do this at my computer so they can sync at the same time and so that I do not use them in bed.

Monday night, I noticed that SuperDuper! failed to back up my hard drive. I set it to try to copy again but didn't wait to see if it worked. Backing up my hard drive to a boot drive takes a while, about 20 minutes. I wasn't too concerned since I back up nightly and I also have a Time Machine backup. I went to bed.

I got up the next morning to a gray screen. My first thought it is that it was stuck between awake and sleep and needed a nudge. I tried the track pad and tried the mouse. Nothing worked. I had to force shut down my machine. I restarted the iMac and it took forever to boot up. Then it seemed stuck in one of the login items. Force quit was not working so I had to force shut down again. This time I opened in safe mode. It took a while but did get me to the login screen. I tried my account and had the same hang ups. Repeat. This time I logged into my Test account. It seemed to work a little faster since I don't have any start up items. I clicked on safari and it took forever! Force quite took minutes to show up, minutes to allow me to click on anything.

More restarts resulted in the same thing. I tried using Disk Warrior but it ejected the disk when I tried to reboot. I tried resetting PRaM. Finally I took out the added ram and made an appointment with the Apple Genius.

I got my iMac in early 2010 but it is a model introduced in late 2009. A few months ago, there was a recall on those iMacs to replace the hard drive. I did not take it in because I wasn't having any problems. I didn't want to be without a computer for a few days. And the iMac is heavy to haul somewhere. It is only 21.5" and after taking it in Tuesday, I was glad I didn't get the 24". Jonathan was my Apple Store genius. He tried to boot up the computer and then ran diagnostics. He said that the hard drive was covered under the recall and that they would replace it then test to make sure everything worked. He asked if I had a back up. I have two. The bad news is that it would 4-5 days for the repair. Ugh.

The boys noticed right away when they got home from school. They weren't too concerned since their computers work and so does the wifi. Then Ryan remembered that he syncs his iPod on Wednesday mornings. He backs up his iPod and then chooses his music for the week. In typical Ryan fashion, he said he would never be allowed to sync again. I told him that would could sync if I set up iTunes through his computer. He thought about it but didn't want me using his computer. I understand his reluctance and I am doing my best not to need to use his computer. Ryan said he would OK for a week with not syncing.

I miss my computer but am OK with my iPad and iPhone. There are a few things I miss and cannot do on my devices. I cannot use Lightroom nor Photoshop so POTD, Project Life, scrapbooking and cards will have to wait for a few days.

pink eye

Health wise, we have been pretty lucky. The boys have had their share of colds and flu but we haven’t needed the doctor in years. During spring break, Andy woke up with a red and swollen eye. There didn’t appear to be any injury and I took a wait-and-see approach. The eye continued to be red and puffy through the day and the next. It starting weeping the next day. Again, I wasn’t too concerned. I have had my own problems with allergies affecting my eyes. Perhaps Andy was developing and allergy? I told Andy not to touch his eye but to use a tissue to wipe it.

When the drainage became thicker, I should have called the doctor. I knew Andy would not want to go. I didn’t want to go. I thought we could try some over-the-counter eye drops. Due to Easter holiday, that took a few days to get done. By the time I got eyes drops, Andy’s eye was red and gross.

I showed Andy that getting the drops wouldn’t be difficult by putting a drop in my own eye. I had him lie on the bed and look the other way. It wasn’t easy but we got it done. I was hoping we would see improvement by the end of the day.

The next day, Andy’s eye was not quite improved but not worse either. We continued with the drops. By the end of the day, it did seemed improved. The drainage had lessened.

Andy was supposed to got to school Tuesday morning. But his eye was still bad. He had had only 2 days with the drops and maybe a third would be the trick. I let him stay home. He spent the morning in his room.

On Wednesday morning, there was no improvement and Andy wanted to stay home. Again he spent the morning in his room. When he came out for lunch, I saw that his eye was worse. I called the doctor.

We got in right away. Dr LaCross was pleasant and patient with Andy. She said it was conjunctivitis and that he would need eye drops. She tried to look in his ears. Andy is blessed with heavy ear wax and she couldn’t see in his right ear. She said that there is sometimes ear infections on the same side as the eye. It was Andy’s right eye that was infected. She offered to clear the ear but I knew that wasn’t going to go well. I said I could do it at home and she agreed. She also gave us some sample eye drops so we wouldn’t have to pay for a prescription.

We went home and I put in an eye drop. This stuff in concentrated so 1 drop, twice a day is all that is needed. The thicker drops are harder to get out of the tiny bottle.

Andy wanted to go to school on Thursday. He wanted to go 2 days, not just one. I let him go even though he should have stayed home the 24 hours after the first dose. The clinic called right away and told me Andy’s eye was bothering him. I asked Andy if he wanted to go home but he did not. I said he could call if he wanted to come home later. The clinic called at 10:30. I figured this coincided with Andy’s work time at school.

We went through drive-thru at Chick-Fil-A and went home. Andy stayed in his room until Ryan came home. Andy’s eye continued to improve but he wanted an exact time when his eye would be better.

On Friday morning, Andy wanted to stay home. I didn’t argue with him. I felt guilty enough for ignoring the problem in the first place and let him stay home. He stayed in his room during the morning but came out in the afternoon bouncing to music. His eye is still a little red but the drainage is gone and it doesn’t seem to bother him at all.

doodling tools

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After starting my Doodle365 project on dot grid paper, I am sold on the format. Dot grid is a great compromise between ruled and grid papers. I can use the grid when I need it, but it doesn't have the vertical lines to get in the way of writing. Dot grid is not very popular yet. Moleskine does not have any products with dot grid. The Field Notes Day Game books I was using are not a standard option. I remembered that I had purchased a small Rhodia notebook with dot grid. But the pocket size notebooks are too small for my doodles.

Looking online, there are few options for dot grid notebooks. Rhodia makes the most options but they are not cheap. JetPens has the best price if you buy 2 books at a time. I ordered two A5 Webnotebook with the orange cover. I like the orange cover. The color is great and doesn't look like just another Moleskine.

My love for Moleskine grows dim. After using the Rhodia Webnotebooks, Moleskine paper just doesn't feel as good. And the covers have not been holding up.

I did try a Leuchtturm1917 Medium Notebook. They are available in ruled, squared, dotted and plain papers. They are also available in a variety of colors but I have only seen black. The pages are numbered and there is an index in the front for keeping track of what your write. I think this might be a good option for my journaling so I do not need to thumb through the book to find a specific entry. The books are not quite as nice as the Rhodia Webnotebooks. I am going to use the Leuchhturm1917 Notebook for journaling rather than doodling. 

One issue I have with doodling is taking a photo after I am done to post on the web. Most notebooks do not lie flat. I decided to try a Rhodia Dot Pad. It is less expensive that the Webnotebooks and has perforated pages. The paper is a bit thinner but seems to be working out OK. I have not yet removed any pages to photograph them. I like having all my doodles together. I have removed a couple of pages that I messed up.

Pens.

I had some Sakura Pigma Micron pens from my scrapbooking days. They seem to work well for doodling. I got a second set to keep in my bag but I find I don't doodle often when I am out. I read about drawing pens and decided to try the Staedtler Pigment Liners. I find I like them better. They seem to write a bit smoother and last longer than the Sakura pens. They are not as easy to find as the Sakura pens. I have only found the Staedtler pens locally in sets.

journaling

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I started keeping a journal in 1990 when things were beyond my control and I needed a place to vent and daily phone calls to my mom were expensive. It may have been those cute pocket size journals with cloth plaid covers that made me want to write. Eventually I switched to larger journals. When I started carrying a planner, I used extra pages in there. Even though I started using a Palm Pilot in 2002, I didn't go digital with my journal until 2011. I have several Moleskine journals filled with my thoughts and rants.

Some people say a blog can be an online journal. Not for me. Journal writing is something else. Mostly just bits of facts from my day or sometimes I random thought I should explore later. 

I started journaling when I was miserable. I used it to vent my frustration with my life. When I tried blogging this stuff and got yelled at by my sister. She didn't think it should be online and that I was wrong. 

I journaled less as I became friends with B. She called daily and I got most of those thoughts out into the world. Blogging wasn't as important anymore. 

As I get older, I have less to kvetch about. But I feel the need the need to share my thoughts. Maybe not share but get them down on "paper." Bonnie doesn't call every day. She doesn't even call every week. She is busy. I am not. 

My days are filled with little unimportant tasks to everyone but me. 

I was in another scrapbooking frenzy wanting to get it all done. I want the photos and stories recorded. There are a lot of stories that have no photos and they are still important to record and treasure. OK maybe not treasure. I mean who will want to read about me in 20 years? Fifty years?  Sometimes, I don't even want to read them next week.  

When I moved to digital, I started with Momento on my iPhone. Then I moved to DayOne for iOS and MacOS. I love DayOne but I tend not write long entries. I use it more for general notes and quotes I want to remember for later. I still use Momento as an aggregator of my web activity and FourSquare logging. (I know that Brett Terpstra made something to aggregate those things in DayOne but I have not tried it. I am too anxious about doing things in coding.)

When I have an idea for a longer journal entry, I note it in Drafts. I add notes until I am ready to write.

I am not a writer and think of writing a chore. I tend to try to get it out of the way and done. I have never been one to read and reread and school essay and make revisions. I was lucky to write it once and then a final time to correct typos. I am so old that we didn't even have an electric typewriter let alone a computer or word processor. When I blogged, I would type something up, scan quickly for typos and post.

Writing is not something I enjoy like photography or drawing. I never enter FLOW. I enjoy the physical aspects of writing, of forming letters by hand. At least until my carpal tunnel acts up and my hand begins to tingle.

But I do like getting thoughts out of my head and onto paper. 

cold but walking

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We are having weird weather in Florida. It is cold. We typically only need to turn on the heat a handful of days each year. It seems like the heat has been on most of the winter. 

I go walking most mornings. I don't own running tights or sweatpants. I walk in a skort made for biking. Most mornings I am OK. Today is was cold and windy and even my teeth got cold.

Thankfully I had a playlist that kept me moving. I use Tangerine to evaluate my music and give me tracks that will keep me moving at a fairly steady pace. My dad thinks I should walk to Sousa Marches. I like my eclectic mix.

1. California Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers
2. Girlfriend Is Better Talking Heads 126bpm
3. Phone Call From Leavenworth Chris Whitley 124bpm
4. Wind Up Foo Fighters 126bpm
5. Say You Love Me Fleetwood Mac 127bpm
6. Wild Vanilla Kristin Hersh
7. Wouldn't It Be Nice The Beach Boys

housework

I hate housework. 

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I don't know anyone who likes it but a few who do it knowing it has to be done and that they want  to make their home the best it can be. 

Growing up, we had to clean a room in the house each week. We earned 50¢ for our effort. For some reason, I remember getting stuck with the bathroom way too often. I hated having to clean that room. The floors had to be mopped and I did it on my knees. Our bathroom was small and all seven of us used it. Yep, it was gross. 

As we got older, the boys moved out and all the housework fell to my sister and me and then finally just me. Mom was not a taskmaster regarding housework. We only got paid when we did the work. She was lazy too. The only times we had to do chores was before holidays. Mom mopped the kitchen floor. Everything got cleaned before Easter, Thanksgiving and Christmas. During those times, mom was busy in the kitchen cooking up a storm so she didn't help with the rest of the housework. And the mess she made in the kitchen!

I don't remember any whole-family cleaning effort except a few times when mom wanted all the windows cleaned. The screens were removed and I had the job of scrubbing them clean with a brush and a hose full of very cold water. 

I do enjoy a clean house. I am not crazy. But I am lazy and hate to do with those little things that are so easily ignored. I have no problem doing the dishes and the laundry on a daily basis. Dusting, vacuuming and mopping are last on my to do list. 

Gail liked a clean house. He felt that a clean house was the equivalent of telling him "I love you." I didn't know this until after he died. After each boy was born, he put up with the mess and clutter for about three months. Then one day he would snap and yell. Gail did not mind doing the floors and I happily let him do them.

After Gail died, I had lots of free time once the boys were in school. I started really cleaning the house. I picked a room each day and did a big clean. This lasted for a few months. Until I joined the YMCA. And discovered scrapbooking. I went back to doing a crazy clean before I hosted a scrapbooking evening.

When I began my online business, I got very lazy with housework. I cringe when I see old photos and the boxes and boxes and crap all over the house. 

I did a major clean in 2008. My siblings were coming to celebrate my dad turning 80. I let things go again after that but not nearly as bad. 

There were times when I read things like How to Clean Your House in 20 Minutes a Day for 30 Days. But I needed a big clean first. And I kept putting it off. Then my sister planned to visit. My sister is good at housework. I think she likes cleaning. With her husband working from home, she couldn't sit around like Peg Bundy eating Bonbons and watching TV.  Not that Nancy is anything like Peg Bundy. But I think Charlie expected her to be home and cleaning. Anyway, she is picky about a clean house I knew I had to do something. 

Last fall, I started cleaning. I cleaned so much I broke my vacuum. The house is not spotless. I just can't work that hard. But it is passable and I feel good. I have started a routine and keep it that way. 

I looked for some cleaning routines to adopt. I found a few check lists and saved them. Then I remembered about seeing an iPhone app with cleaning routines. I checked a few out and downloaded Home Routines. 

Home Routines comes with some tasks already loaded and suggested room zones. I did some modifications and started using the app.  Then I realized this was just another to do app with repeating tasks. I already have an app like that did I really want another app to open and keep track? Nope. I entered those tasks into Reminders.

Home Routines is a good app if all you want it to get working on good home cleaning tasks and don't want to think about how to set it up in Reminders or Things. 

I have been doing some cleaning each week. Some weeks I do better than others and I complete all the tasks on my lists. Other times I don't. I don't let it bother me since each area gets repeated every 4 weeks. (Toilets get cleaned each week.) And I am still working through areas that tend to get ignored like the tops of tall furniture.

I will never be The Hostess with the Mostess. But I won't be embarrassed to let guests into my home.

toronto

​University of Toronto, 1890 (Library of Congress)

In senior year, we had a class trip. We went to Toronto for a weekend. Mom drove me to Windsor, Canada to take the train. Tina, Jane and I shared a room. I cannot remember if the fourth person was Cathy or Aimee. The train took about 4 hours. The four of us sat together and talked. I recall others talking and walking around and drinking. Did we walk through the train? I don't remember. It was early. 

We stayed at the hotel that used to be the Four Seasons. It was the same hotel our family stayed at when dad had his convention in 1974. The room was nice and large. A photography blog posted a photo of the demolition of the old Four Seasons. Except that it wasn't that old. It was built in the 1970s.

We went shopping in the underground mall. I bought a blouse with a turtleneck type collar. I thought it was cool. It was about $50. Mom lent me her credit card and I felt a bit guilty spending such and amount on one blouse. But I also felt cool for using a credit card. 

We had dinner at the The Old Spaghetti Factory. I think we went as a group but split into many tables. The drinking age was 19 and I was 18 at the time. They did not card me when I asked for a manhattan. Dad drank those and would let Nancy & me have his maraschino cherries. Dad's drink were sweeter & milder than this one. I only had one. 

The next night, the four of us got into a cab and asked the driver for a good club to go to. The club was dark and loud and full of foreign students. I danced with Milad. He was very aggressive with his moves and rubbed his erection against my thigh. We kissed. It was my first kiss! I was too drunk to know if it was any good. Milad and his friends called the hotel the next day. Why did I tell him where we were staying? Jane called him Midol. 

We did more walking around the city. It was cold and gray. 

There was mention of Sharon pulling the hotel fire alarm. But that was the other Sharon, Sharon McGann. The cool, popular Sharon. 

We took the train back home. Everyone was tired and quiet. 

mixed signals

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Minimalism and simplify  are all over the interwebs these days. Then someone posts how to make proper coffee or proper cup of tea.

John Gruber made the case (tongue in cheek) for how to be successful in blogging. You need a clicky keyboard, fizzy water and fussy coffee. 

Why can't we be satisfied with the keyboard that came with our computer, tap water and bagged tea? 

At the same time Patrick Rhone is talking about enough, he also talks about the great bag he has.

So while I make endless trips to Goodwill to donate the items I didn't need and don't use, I purchase different loose teas to try. I add teaware to my amazon wish list.

All this can probably be blamed on me having too much free time. I listen to many podcasts and read even more blogs. Thanks to Dan Moren's article, My Cup of Tea, I am back trying and drinking loose tea. The Pen Addict has renewed my interest in pens and paper. I am opening myself to new things which is good. But most of these things come with a price of new things and gadgets to acquire which is not.

This is where Pinterest helps. I pin things that I like or would to have or want to remember. When I do this, I feel like a part of that "thing" is mine to look at whenever I choose. I get to share my discovery with others. Most of the time this is enough and I don't feel the need to purchase anything. Most of the time.