Category — Friday Blog Roundup

After many years of talking about getting a symphony membership, Josh and I got ourselves a symphony membership. It came with 28 concerts, which may be too many concerts. We’ve narrowed it down to 14 that fit our schedule, and we can always add in more on a whim if we have time. It gives us a discount for popular performances that are not part of the package, and we have three that we’ll purchase separately for the spring.

It feels super grown-up to have a symphony membership. Who are these adult people living in our house with a symphony membership? Oh, they’re just us.

I like being a member somewhere again. We now have to talk friends into getting their own membership so we can have a group that goes together and nerds out on Chopin.

*******

Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

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And now the blogs…

But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• “Fractured Internet” (Stirrup Queens) — thank you, Phoenix!

Okay, now my choices this week.

I have never prepped for election results, but there are things in Swistle’s election prep piece that I’ve decided to do, too, after reading her post. Anything that doesn’t go out of my way to get anything or do anything I wouldn’t normally do, at least. If I end up going out next week, I’m two steps ahead of where I need to be. If I don’t, I’ll be happy I prepared.

Lastly, No Kidding in NZ talks about the misogyny of ignoring women without children, especially in dismissing another person’s emotions. She writes: “By dismissing our emotions and feelings of loss over infertility and the life we now have, we are being told our feelings are not important … it reinforces that feeling of invisibility, of worthlessness, that so many childless women have to battle against.” Don’t want to harm women? Give space for women to feel what they are feeling without shame or dismissal.

The roundup to the Roundup: Feeling massively grown-up. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between October 25 – November 1) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.

A final update (I hope) of our scaredy pig situation: Beorn is pretty much back to normal and walking into all areas of his cage. It started when he was playing with his treat ball, and he accidentally pushed it with his nose across the invisible line in his cage that he wouldn’t cross. He followed it to get the treat, realized nothing was scary about the other half of his cage, and started going in there to get food or hang out.

He went back to sleeping in his house. And eating food from his green food bowl, no matter where it was placed. And not trembling in fear. The only thing he still won’t do is drink from his water bottle. He’s not scared of it — he’ll walk over to it but won’t take a drink. I’ve tried rubbing cucumber slices on it, which he thinks is a game, and he tries to snatch the slices from our fingers (giving a proud little wiggle jump when he succeeds). But he won’t drink from it, no matter how much I try to cajole him to take a sip. He’s getting water from vegetables, so it’s technically fine. I’d just like him to also drink water from the bottle.

Happy that he’s in a better emotional space.

*******

Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

*******

And now the blogs…

But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

The Road Less Travelled writes about an opportunity in Ontario for bereaved parents. They can finally apply for and receive a free certificate of stillbirth for this child. She explains: “I have a little certificate that the nurses gave us at the hospital, with Katie’s tiny hand & footprints on it — but something from the government seems so much more ‘official,’ if you know what I mean, even if it’s only ceremonial.” It’s a small thing for government to do that has a big emotional impact for families.

Lastly, Finding a Different Path has an amusing exchange with a parent — well, amusing in retrospect. But it’s kind of an awesome general follow-up question for all questions in life: Do you have cats?

The roundup to the Roundup: Pig is back to normal. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between October 18 – 25) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.

Last week, for several reasons, we decided to watch services online rather than go in-person for the holiday. There’s a moment in the service where they blow a horn called the shofar, and it’s a mitzvah — one of the commandments — to hear it.

As the rabbi talked about the shofar (they always give people time to get back into the sanctuary so they can hear it), a family of five deer stepped into our yard. They were eating the grass a few feet away from the window.

When the man blew the shofar, the deer looked up and stared in one direction, twisting their ears. Another blast from the shofar, and they looked in a different direction, twisting their ears again. Each time the shofar sounded, the deer looked around, trying to locate the sound.

I’m not sure if it meant anything, but it felt like a sign of something.

*******

Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

*******

And now the blogs…

But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

A Separate Life has a beautiful post about staying in touch with people, and the difference between the letter-writing years and the instant communication made possible by the internet. She writes, “I think I’ve lived in the best of times. I had amazing formative experiences in independence. Then the internet arrived in my 30s, when I could and did easily adapt to these new technologies, using them daily for work. But I wasn’t reliant on them.”

Lastly, Infertile Phoenix has a thought that I sat with for a long time. She writes about attending weddings alone now vs. before infertility/divorce. She writes: “Interestingly, I don’t think divorce changed weddings too much for me. I loved being married. And I love being divorced … But still, my experience with marriage and divorce doesn’t change my feelings about weddings.” It made me think about attending baby-centered events without children. While I don’t think weddings have changed a lot for me — I like a wedding and don’t think about the baby stuff connected to weddings while I’m there — I feel differently about attending baby-centered events, such as showers, after infertility vs. before.

The roundup to the Roundup: Signs abound. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between October 4 – 11) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.

This weekend begins apple season. Apple season is a tradition with Beorn, where we get fancy apples on Fridays and then share them with Beorn on Saturday mornings while we read. He runs around and loops back occasionally for a chunk of apple, and I like to think that his wheeks are sharing his thoughts on my TBR list.

A local farm has two walls of apples so you can mix and match. Everything along one wall is one price per pound, and everything along the other wall is a different price per pound. So we never think of writing down the types of apples we like. We just play roulette with the apples, trying a bunch of different types each weekend.

Happy apple season.

*******

Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

*******

And now the blogs…

But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

Infertile Phoenix writes about the concept of “getting over” childlessness. She explains: “Once you’re a mom, you’re a mom. It doesn’t change. Why do I feel like some people want me to ‘get over’ my childlessness? It’s a part of me. It’s who I am.” Not having kids impacts life just as much as having kids.

Lastly, The Road Less Travelled has a recurring post that I wish I had started many years ago, too, because her archive is wonderful. She recaps how life is right now; what is happening, what she is reading, how she spends her time. They’re all labeled with Right Now if you want to peruse history.

The roundup to the Roundup: Happy apple season. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between September 27 – October 4) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.

A bookstore I frequent sent me a free audiobook credit on Libro.fm for being a loyal customer. Free audiobook! Yes, please.

But which one to choose? I think I spent more time narrowing down my list and debating the merits of each option with ChickieNob than I did sleep last week. Should I choose a book I knew and loved that I would like read to me? Should I choose a narrator whose voice I love and listen to a book I don’t know? Do I aim for a wild card and choose a book difficult to get in the US but available as an audiobook?

After much hand-wringing, I opted for Rainbow Rowell’s Carry On. (1) I like the narrator’s voice. (2) I like the story. (3) I’ve checked it out from the library before, and I would like to listen to it again. (4) It was the type of story that would work well to listen to in small bursts because I’m familiar with it enough that I would remember where I was and what had happened before and after.

What would you have gotten if you could have any audio book?

*******

Stop procrastinating. Go make your backups. Don’t have regrets.

Seriously. Stop what you’re doing for a moment. It will take you fifteen minutes, tops. But you will have peace of mind for days and days. It’s the gift to yourself that keeps on giving.

As always, add any new thoughts to the Friday Backup post and peruse new comments to find out about methods, plug-ins, and devices that help you quickly back up your data and accounts.

*******

And now the blogs…

But first, second, helpings of the posts that appeared in the open comment thread last week. To read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

Middle Girl captures how time passes quickly and good intentions sometimes fly out the window. It’s just the way things go sometimes. Glad she was able to return with a check-in.

Lastly, Infertile Phoenix writes about extreme burnout. She explains, “I have been very tired for a very, very long time” after detailing all of the steps that brought her to this moment. (It’s a lot.) Taking “good care of yourself” is excellent advice. And you’re the only one who can do it.

The roundup to the Roundup: Free audiobook. Your weekly backup nudge. And lots of great posts to read. So what did you find this week? Please use a permalink to the blog post (written between September 20 – 27) and not the blog’s main URL. Not understanding why I’m asking you what you found this week. Read the original open thread post here.