I was alone in the house and anxious, so I cleaned out the refrigerator. I took everything off each shelf, bleached it, and then put things back in the correct place, dumping anything expired. I pulled out the drawers and bleached the area under them. I checked every piece of fruit or vegetable, making sure everything I returned to its place in the refrigerator was something we would eat this week.

I took everything off the outside of the refrigerator and bleached the doors, too. And then I sorted the magnets and lists and photographs into piles. I didn’t need to keep old Bat Mitzvah invitations, a calendar from 2019, or coupons that expired half a decade ago. I threw out the magnets from two different power-washing companies, a school calendar from a real estate agent for a school system we no longer attended, and a jury summons that had already been filled.

I looked through the old meal plans from the pandemic when we would shop once for two weeks, and I had to plot out fresh vegetables for the days after the shop and frozen vegetables for the days close to the end.

And in the end, instead of anxiety, I just felt sad. It’s strange how a cleaning session can do that to you.

I had Acts of Cupidity on my TBR for so long that the second book in the series was on the shelves before I could pick up a copy in Belfast. I knew within a few pages that it was the perfect book for me and that I would want to continue with the second book in the series. The only problem was that the bookstore was sold out of the book.

No worries. We would pass dozens of other bookstores on our travels, and I would pick it up at another one. But it was sold out throughout London. Sold out in Exeter. Sold out in every bookstore in Cornwall, except there was one copy for a hot minute in Truro, which disappeared before we could take three modes of transportation to stop at a bookstore. The ChickieNob ran into a bookstore in Oxford, which had a few copies, but they refused to sell them to her. They said it was embargoed, which made no sense because the second book had been out for months.

Not being able to get it just made me want it more.

I ordered it when I got home, after finishing the first book. (My instincts were correct! I knew I wanted the next book from the first few pages.) I was able to order it, though it got lost in the mail, and meandered across the states until it finally landed in my hands.

It was a rare case where a long-awaited story met expectations. I’ve been reading it slowly, only allowing myself a chapter each night, which means I have to balance multiple books at once. But I love being in this world.

And a third book is on the way in 2027. Something to look forward to when this one is done.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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I am normally not a fan of games with timers. Even if I tell myself that I won’t care about time, I still care about time. I try to work quickly. Or I cheat and turn off the phone to think. In any case, I usually click away the moment I see a timer that I cannot turn off in settings.

But I like 18 words because the timer doesn’t feel unreasonable. I’m not working frantically. It’s just trying to get me to focus. The timer resets with each word, and you rarely need more than 30 seconds per word. If you mess up one word, the game doesn’t stop. You keep your place and try again.

18 words is a gentle word unscrambling game, perfect for even people who dislike timers.

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts connected to businesses or sponsored posts.

I found a Moomin cruise that goes between Helsinki and Stockholm, and told everyone about it while I was making breakfast. The ChickieNob commented that seeing as she gets seasick easily, feeling queasy while surrounded by Moomin murals did not sound appealing, and Josh said, “What are Moomins?”

ChickieNob and I didn’t believe him, but his brain has somehow blocked out all things Moomin. Hippo-looking things? Vaguely problematic at times? All of it seems like a fever dream?

We found him a playlist with 78 episodes, as well as the books at the library.

For your viewing pleasure.

Welcome back, Ted Lasso. I don’t care if the first episode was a little rough around the edges. It will get better, and I got to see my tv friends again. I didn’t just feel weepy. I got weepy. I cried seeing all of them in Kansas City, even if that is not how people make job offers.

We went to Richmond during our last trip to London so we could walk the waterfront, and I also got choked up seeing Ted’s street, the bench, and the pub. We went into a pop-up shop selling Ted Lasso souvenirs, and when I turned around, I saw they had placed the Believe sign above the door.

Sometimes the world feels so hard, and it’s just nice to have something out there that reminds you to also notice the good. Thanks, Ted.

Who else is watching?

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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…

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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 feeling drained. This spoke to me deeply: “How does anyone get anything done? What is this world that we have created? I keep thinking how dumb and impossible it all is. I’m usually pretty positive. But I’m also very real.” Things feel unfamiliar for her, but she’s rolling with it and figuring it out.

Lastly, Finding a Different Path writes about the feelings that bubble up when you fill out medical paperwork. All past surgeries? She explains: “I started just lumping 2010-2015 together, because of all the hysteroscopies, egg retrievals, and the pericentesis when I had OHSS. It hurts less that way.” Here’s to deactivating your own grief bombs. (And glad you found a good PT situation.)

The roundup to the Roundup: New Ted Lasso 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 July 31 – August 7) 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.