Patti O'Shea's Blog, page 93
January 5, 2017
Crochet Class
If you follow me on Facebook, you already know that I've signed up for an online crochet class. I've always been craft challenged, so this is a major undertaking for me. These wonderful crafty people who can pick up a new skill easily amaze me. I've always struggled.
What prompted my desire was those kitchen towels with the crocheted tops that fasten to stoves and whatnot. I have one my mom gave me that I love, but it's getting old and replacing it is difficult. The first problem is the towel itself. A lot of the people who make these towels use ones that are worthless to wipe your hands on--they're strictly decorative. I don't want this.
I did find some on Etsy that used a pretty good towel, but that led me to problem two. The drop was too long. The towel I have and love has a short drop, no button, and a wide enough button hole that I can push it around the knob on my cabinets and have it hang that way. Basically, I want the exact same towel I already have, but new and refreshed. It seemed easier to make my own than try to describe what I want to someone else.
There's another crocheted item that I'd love to learn how to make, too. Those dragon scale fingerless gloves. It's cold in my office and they're super cute! I already have a pair favorited on Etsy, but I haven't quite managed to hit the buy button yet. Surely, I can become good enough to make them?
The other reason I'd like to learn crochet is to have another creative outlet aside from writing. What I found while I was actively scrapbooking was that ideas for the story I was working on would come while I was working on a page. It was a nice zone to fall into and I'm hoping something similar will happen once I get okay enough at crochet that I'm nothing thinking about where my fingers are and the tension on the yarn and yadda, yadda, yadda.
And the final thing I'm looking for is a way to keep myself off the computer. Between my day job and writing, I spend far too much time on the PC/Mac. My default while I'm watching television is fingers on the keyboard. I'd like less time online, but I can't just sit and watch TV. I get too restless. I'm looking for crochet to take the place of surfing the net.
If you follow me on Facebook, you'll also know that I finished lesson one. The chain stitch. Holding the hook hasn't been difficult to grab, but it's been a lot harder to figure out a way to hold the yarn. Even worse for me has been yarn tension. It seems as if all my stitches have either been too tight or too loose, but I can't seem to hit the sweet spot. The only thing I can do is to continue to practice and hope that eventually I can grasp it, so that I can attempt lesson two.
What prompted my desire was those kitchen towels with the crocheted tops that fasten to stoves and whatnot. I have one my mom gave me that I love, but it's getting old and replacing it is difficult. The first problem is the towel itself. A lot of the people who make these towels use ones that are worthless to wipe your hands on--they're strictly decorative. I don't want this.
I did find some on Etsy that used a pretty good towel, but that led me to problem two. The drop was too long. The towel I have and love has a short drop, no button, and a wide enough button hole that I can push it around the knob on my cabinets and have it hang that way. Basically, I want the exact same towel I already have, but new and refreshed. It seemed easier to make my own than try to describe what I want to someone else.
There's another crocheted item that I'd love to learn how to make, too. Those dragon scale fingerless gloves. It's cold in my office and they're super cute! I already have a pair favorited on Etsy, but I haven't quite managed to hit the buy button yet. Surely, I can become good enough to make them?
The other reason I'd like to learn crochet is to have another creative outlet aside from writing. What I found while I was actively scrapbooking was that ideas for the story I was working on would come while I was working on a page. It was a nice zone to fall into and I'm hoping something similar will happen once I get okay enough at crochet that I'm nothing thinking about where my fingers are and the tension on the yarn and yadda, yadda, yadda.
And the final thing I'm looking for is a way to keep myself off the computer. Between my day job and writing, I spend far too much time on the PC/Mac. My default while I'm watching television is fingers on the keyboard. I'd like less time online, but I can't just sit and watch TV. I get too restless. I'm looking for crochet to take the place of surfing the net.
If you follow me on Facebook, you'll also know that I finished lesson one. The chain stitch. Holding the hook hasn't been difficult to grab, but it's been a lot harder to figure out a way to hold the yarn. Even worse for me has been yarn tension. It seems as if all my stitches have either been too tight or too loose, but I can't seem to hit the sweet spot. The only thing I can do is to continue to practice and hope that eventually I can grasp it, so that I can attempt lesson two.
January 3, 2017
No Resolutions
I don't make New Year's resolutions and haven't in a very long time. My experience has been--at least when it comes to me--that whenever I make them, they quickly fall by the wayside. That's not to say that I don't have goals for the year. I do. But goals are different.
Resolutions (and I make the caveat that I speak only for myself) are rather vague and difficult to quantify. This year I'm going to exercise more. Okay, great, but how do you do anything with "more?" Goals, on the other hand, should be measurable. My goal is to walk 3 miles five days a week. This is so much more doable. Of course, the actual doing requires forcing new habits, but there's a measurable target here.
This year I bought three different goal-setting workbooks in addition to the goals section in the front of my Start Planner. I know, overkill, but that's just me. :-) I have an Author Life planner, Powersheets, and Your Best Year 2017. One is for writing, one for personal, and the third more business oriented.
Of course, making time to work on these three different systems is a problem. Life is busy and time to think hard to come by sometimes. I'm determined, though, to use them and get myself on track for 2017. Some of the questions aren't easy, but maybe that's what I need.
And I did manage to make one of my 2017 goals early. Like I did it in December 2016 early. I wanted to do a 5K race this year and there was one particular race I was interested in. Lots of pink stuff for entrants and it looks like it's for people who want to have fun. I'd hate to end up in a group of serious runners. :-) Anyway, I thought this 5K would be in Atlanta in fall of 2017, so I set my goal (with measurable milestones) and then found out they weren't coming until spring 2018.
Very disappointing. Then they offered a virtual race! I still received some pink stuff for entering, although not everything I'd get for a live race, and I needed to complete the 5K by Dec 31, 2016. I finished on Dec 18th. Yea! And I did my 5K in 37 minutes which is average for a beginner which is a huge achievement for me. Of course, I did it on a treadmill, so if I'd been outside, I probably wouldn't have gone that fast, but hey, now I have my first goal for 2018!
Resolutions (and I make the caveat that I speak only for myself) are rather vague and difficult to quantify. This year I'm going to exercise more. Okay, great, but how do you do anything with "more?" Goals, on the other hand, should be measurable. My goal is to walk 3 miles five days a week. This is so much more doable. Of course, the actual doing requires forcing new habits, but there's a measurable target here.
This year I bought three different goal-setting workbooks in addition to the goals section in the front of my Start Planner. I know, overkill, but that's just me. :-) I have an Author Life planner, Powersheets, and Your Best Year 2017. One is for writing, one for personal, and the third more business oriented.
Of course, making time to work on these three different systems is a problem. Life is busy and time to think hard to come by sometimes. I'm determined, though, to use them and get myself on track for 2017. Some of the questions aren't easy, but maybe that's what I need.
And I did manage to make one of my 2017 goals early. Like I did it in December 2016 early. I wanted to do a 5K race this year and there was one particular race I was interested in. Lots of pink stuff for entrants and it looks like it's for people who want to have fun. I'd hate to end up in a group of serious runners. :-) Anyway, I thought this 5K would be in Atlanta in fall of 2017, so I set my goal (with measurable milestones) and then found out they weren't coming until spring 2018.
Very disappointing. Then they offered a virtual race! I still received some pink stuff for entering, although not everything I'd get for a live race, and I needed to complete the 5K by Dec 31, 2016. I finished on Dec 18th. Yea! And I did my 5K in 37 minutes which is average for a beginner which is a huge achievement for me. Of course, I did it on a treadmill, so if I'd been outside, I probably wouldn't have gone that fast, but hey, now I have my first goal for 2018!
January 1, 2017
Happy New Year!
Happy New Year! Wishing everyone a healthy, happy 2017. Let's hope it's a better year than 2016.
December 29, 2016
Paper Snob
I love paper. And pens. And office supplies. A lot of writers do. I was never a paper snob, though, until I tried some really good paper. Believe it or not, it was in a spiral-bound notebook.
Let me backup a minute. I always carry a notebook with me to make writing notes. I started with a steno notebook--whatever quality paper--and made notes for any story in there. It didn't matter if it was just a stray idea or the Work In Progress (WIP). I did this for three notebooks and it was cumbersome. Do I have the note with me that I need? Maybe it's in notebook 1 which is at home. The only good thing was the pages were perforated so I could cleanly tear out finished projects and file the notes.
But I still had a ton of notes for projects/ideas that I might never work on. Seriously, any stray idea, no matter how unlikely it was something I'd ever actually ant to work on, is in one of these notebooks.
Then I hit on a new plan. One notebook for each project, maximum of two notebooks.
I started out with a bound notebook for the WIP. I had another idea that was tangentially related to it, so that went in the same notebook. The paper was okay, but it didn't make me a snob.
No, the notebook that made me a snob was spiral bound. It was something I'd picked up only because it was 25% off. I have notes for a trilogy-in-progress in there. The only problem? By the time I realized how much I love, love, love the quality of this paper and want like 60 million more of this exact same notebook, it was out of stock. ::sobs::
I went to the manufacturer's website and they don't have this particular notebook there either which has to mean they're not making it any longer.
The paper is nice, thick paper without any bleed through even when I use a fountain pen. It has perforation along the spiral side so that when I'm done, I'll be able to tear the notes out cleanly. This is a big deal for me. The size was perfect--a little larger than A5. But the best part? Thick plastic covers to protect the notebook and the paper. It's absolutely ruined me for any other notebook.
My only consolation is that maybe the company that made my notebook will come out with something similar in the near future. Please.
Let me backup a minute. I always carry a notebook with me to make writing notes. I started with a steno notebook--whatever quality paper--and made notes for any story in there. It didn't matter if it was just a stray idea or the Work In Progress (WIP). I did this for three notebooks and it was cumbersome. Do I have the note with me that I need? Maybe it's in notebook 1 which is at home. The only good thing was the pages were perforated so I could cleanly tear out finished projects and file the notes.
But I still had a ton of notes for projects/ideas that I might never work on. Seriously, any stray idea, no matter how unlikely it was something I'd ever actually ant to work on, is in one of these notebooks.
Then I hit on a new plan. One notebook for each project, maximum of two notebooks.
I started out with a bound notebook for the WIP. I had another idea that was tangentially related to it, so that went in the same notebook. The paper was okay, but it didn't make me a snob.
No, the notebook that made me a snob was spiral bound. It was something I'd picked up only because it was 25% off. I have notes for a trilogy-in-progress in there. The only problem? By the time I realized how much I love, love, love the quality of this paper and want like 60 million more of this exact same notebook, it was out of stock. ::sobs::
I went to the manufacturer's website and they don't have this particular notebook there either which has to mean they're not making it any longer.
The paper is nice, thick paper without any bleed through even when I use a fountain pen. It has perforation along the spiral side so that when I'm done, I'll be able to tear the notes out cleanly. This is a big deal for me. The size was perfect--a little larger than A5. But the best part? Thick plastic covers to protect the notebook and the paper. It's absolutely ruined me for any other notebook.
My only consolation is that maybe the company that made my notebook will come out with something similar in the near future. Please.
December 27, 2016
What Happened, YouTube?
Once, not all that long ago, YouTube's weekly emails with links to videos I might be interested in was extremely accurate. It included new videos from channels I've subscribed to and videos from other channels that were similar in nature. It was awesome and I would save these emails until I had time to click through on the many links that sounded interesting to me.
Then something changed. I don't know what or how, but now my emails from YouTube and pretty much scan and delete. It now only highlights three videos from channels that I've subscribed to and the choices are...interesting. You'd think the fact that I never click through any longer might improve the algorithm, but nothing has changed. And just to make it ever less exciting, they sometimes repeat the same video two weeks in a row. What? Do you think I missed it the first time?
These highlighted videos, BTW, are not from channels where I watch a lot of what they make and would love to know when they have something new out. No, these are from channels I rarely watch because they only occasionally have content that interests me. YouTube doesn't care.
It used to be easy to find content for my Sunday videos, but no more thanks to the changes YouTube made to their newsletter. Woo hoo. ::heavy sarcasm::
Then something changed. I don't know what or how, but now my emails from YouTube and pretty much scan and delete. It now only highlights three videos from channels that I've subscribed to and the choices are...interesting. You'd think the fact that I never click through any longer might improve the algorithm, but nothing has changed. And just to make it ever less exciting, they sometimes repeat the same video two weeks in a row. What? Do you think I missed it the first time?
These highlighted videos, BTW, are not from channels where I watch a lot of what they make and would love to know when they have something new out. No, these are from channels I rarely watch because they only occasionally have content that interests me. YouTube doesn't care.
It used to be easy to find content for my Sunday videos, but no more thanks to the changes YouTube made to their newsletter. Woo hoo. ::heavy sarcasm::
December 25, 2016
Merry Christmas!
To those of you who celebrate, Merry Christmas!
Enjoy a little Andy Williams Christmas music.
Enjoy a little Andy Williams Christmas music.
December 22, 2016
The Great Cereal Controversy
I read an article the other day that said cereal sales are down because millennials believe it's too much work to clean a cereal bowl. This is an old article, so clearly I wasn't paying attention at the time. There is a counter-article that says laziness is not why millennials are avoiding cereal and a third article that kind of takes the middle ground.
However, even the article in the middle shows that 39% of millennials agreed with the statement that "Cereal is inconvenient because I have to clean the dishes after preparing it." In contrast, 17% of Gen Xers agreed with the statement and 10% of baby boomers. So seriously, double the number of millennials as compared to gen X find rinsing a cereal bowl to be too inconvenient to bother with. This amazes me to no end.
I'm as lazy as they come when it involves preparing food. I loathe cooking with the fire of a thousand suns. In fact, when I do cook, my food frequently looks as if it was cooked with the heat of a thousand suns. ::blush:: I get bored, wander away and things get burned.
But despite my immense hatred of food prep, cereal is one of my go-to meals. You pour it in a bowl, add milk, and ta-da! Dinner! Afterward, I run some water on the bowl and put it in the dishwasher.
One of these three articles, I can't remember which now, says that no, millennials aren't lazy. They're trying to eat healthier than a bowl full of sugary cereal. (Um, dudes, there are plenty of non-sweetened cereals out there. I don't eat sugared cereal at all.) Healthy apparently means breakfast sandwiches and cites the popularity of McDonald's all-day breakfast. I'm sorry, but if you're eating a breakfast sandwich from a fast food restaurant, health is not your priority. Convenience is.
I'm all for convenience--see my earlier paragraph about hating to cook--but how is waiting in line for a fast food breakfast sandwich more convenient than cereal? I've seen the line at the drive thrus on my way to work. I literally could pour my cereal, eat it, and rinse the bowl before a car at the back of the line makes it to the front.
Anyway, I don't have a dog in this fight. I don't work in the food/cereal industry and I understand culinary laziness, but I am astonished by that anyone, let alone 39% of an age group, found cereal for breakfast to be too much work. Apparently, some eat cereal for a snack, but there we go back to sugar again. It has to be sugar because no one is going to eat bran flakes for a snack. I remain flabbergasted.
However, even the article in the middle shows that 39% of millennials agreed with the statement that "Cereal is inconvenient because I have to clean the dishes after preparing it." In contrast, 17% of Gen Xers agreed with the statement and 10% of baby boomers. So seriously, double the number of millennials as compared to gen X find rinsing a cereal bowl to be too inconvenient to bother with. This amazes me to no end.
I'm as lazy as they come when it involves preparing food. I loathe cooking with the fire of a thousand suns. In fact, when I do cook, my food frequently looks as if it was cooked with the heat of a thousand suns. ::blush:: I get bored, wander away and things get burned.
But despite my immense hatred of food prep, cereal is one of my go-to meals. You pour it in a bowl, add milk, and ta-da! Dinner! Afterward, I run some water on the bowl and put it in the dishwasher.
One of these three articles, I can't remember which now, says that no, millennials aren't lazy. They're trying to eat healthier than a bowl full of sugary cereal. (Um, dudes, there are plenty of non-sweetened cereals out there. I don't eat sugared cereal at all.) Healthy apparently means breakfast sandwiches and cites the popularity of McDonald's all-day breakfast. I'm sorry, but if you're eating a breakfast sandwich from a fast food restaurant, health is not your priority. Convenience is.
I'm all for convenience--see my earlier paragraph about hating to cook--but how is waiting in line for a fast food breakfast sandwich more convenient than cereal? I've seen the line at the drive thrus on my way to work. I literally could pour my cereal, eat it, and rinse the bowl before a car at the back of the line makes it to the front.
Anyway, I don't have a dog in this fight. I don't work in the food/cereal industry and I understand culinary laziness, but I am astonished by that anyone, let alone 39% of an age group, found cereal for breakfast to be too much work. Apparently, some eat cereal for a snack, but there we go back to sugar again. It has to be sugar because no one is going to eat bran flakes for a snack. I remain flabbergasted.
December 20, 2016
Old People Radio
When I was in growing up, the only radio station my parents ever listened to was a news/weather/talk show kind of format station. Not political talk. The talk show stuff was cooking or entertaining or household hints kind of things. In fact, I didn't know there was such a thing as FM radio OR music on the radio until (I think) fourth grade when someone in my class asked me what radio station I listened to. I thought there was only one, so I gave them that answer. And got laughed at.
Everyone listens to this top 40 station, I was told. And of course, I immediately found it and started listening to it myself.
When I was a little older, I called my parents' station of choice "old people radio" and didn't understand why they liked to listen to it.
Guess what? I still don't understand why anyone likes the format and it's on steroids in Atlanta. Not only is the station all yakking, it's obnoxiously loud yakking, especially in the morning. I hate talking in the morning. I hate loud in the morning. They do both. And I'm not sure if this is the right term or not, but the station over-modulates their voices making it even worse. There are no words for how much I hate this station. Loathe is too mild a term.
Sadly, because of my van pool, I'm subjected to this hideousness pretty much every weekday morning. I plug a headset into my phone and listen to instrumental music to block it out. Because of how obnoxious it is, I had to go with drumming music which is a little more robust than I'd like at that time of day, but there's nothing milder that will cover up the station from hell.
Even today, I still think of this type of station as being for old people and I'm not quite sure why anyone driving my van pool wants to listen to it. When I drive my car to work (which seldom happens), I don't have the radio on at all in the morning, and when I drive home in the afternoon, I put on music I can sing along with to make the ride shorter. Much, much better than blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
PS: Radio in Atlanta is bad! Even a couple of Atlanta natives who I work with think it's lousy. I didn't believe I'd find worse radio down here than what I had in Minneapolis, but I was wrong. It's at least 100x worse down here. IMO, of course.
Everyone listens to this top 40 station, I was told. And of course, I immediately found it and started listening to it myself.
When I was a little older, I called my parents' station of choice "old people radio" and didn't understand why they liked to listen to it.
Guess what? I still don't understand why anyone likes the format and it's on steroids in Atlanta. Not only is the station all yakking, it's obnoxiously loud yakking, especially in the morning. I hate talking in the morning. I hate loud in the morning. They do both. And I'm not sure if this is the right term or not, but the station over-modulates their voices making it even worse. There are no words for how much I hate this station. Loathe is too mild a term.
Sadly, because of my van pool, I'm subjected to this hideousness pretty much every weekday morning. I plug a headset into my phone and listen to instrumental music to block it out. Because of how obnoxious it is, I had to go with drumming music which is a little more robust than I'd like at that time of day, but there's nothing milder that will cover up the station from hell.
Even today, I still think of this type of station as being for old people and I'm not quite sure why anyone driving my van pool wants to listen to it. When I drive my car to work (which seldom happens), I don't have the radio on at all in the morning, and when I drive home in the afternoon, I put on music I can sing along with to make the ride shorter. Much, much better than blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
PS: Radio in Atlanta is bad! Even a couple of Atlanta natives who I work with think it's lousy. I didn't believe I'd find worse radio down here than what I had in Minneapolis, but I was wrong. It's at least 100x worse down here. IMO, of course.
December 18, 2016
How Much History Is Beneath the Sea?
There's probably so much cool stuff there.
December 15, 2016
Gratitude
I'm still talking about that happiness podcast today, but this will be the last one, I promise! The other topic the duo talked about that I wanted to discuss was gratitude.
On the podcast, one of the women talked about remembering to be grateful for everyday things, small things that we might not think about very often. She mentioned electricity. That we take it for granted until it goes out. An example she used that related to her own life was contact lenses.
There are so many everyday things to be grateful for: Electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, modern sewage/sanitation systems, our transportation network (roads, airplanes, etc), computers that allow us to connect with people around the world and also do computations/simulations to help science/math/etc, satellites to help us in a million ways including letting meteorologists know when big storms are coming in, and probably thousands of other things that are such a daily part of life that I can't think of them.
On Tuesday, I mentioned that one of the happiness hacks was keeping a gratitude journal. I think this is a great idea and I'm going to try it. Although instead of a journal, I'll just make a note each day in my planner about something I'm grateful for.
Today I am grateful that the mail carrier brought my mail to the door so that I didn't have to walk down the hill to get it.
On the podcast, one of the women talked about remembering to be grateful for everyday things, small things that we might not think about very often. She mentioned electricity. That we take it for granted until it goes out. An example she used that related to her own life was contact lenses.
There are so many everyday things to be grateful for: Electricity, running water, indoor plumbing, modern sewage/sanitation systems, our transportation network (roads, airplanes, etc), computers that allow us to connect with people around the world and also do computations/simulations to help science/math/etc, satellites to help us in a million ways including letting meteorologists know when big storms are coming in, and probably thousands of other things that are such a daily part of life that I can't think of them.
On Tuesday, I mentioned that one of the happiness hacks was keeping a gratitude journal. I think this is a great idea and I'm going to try it. Although instead of a journal, I'll just make a note each day in my planner about something I'm grateful for.
Today I am grateful that the mail carrier brought my mail to the door so that I didn't have to walk down the hill to get it.
