794th Friday Blog Roundup

Eadwynn didn’t survive the transfer to the bigger pot. Eadwynn II didn’t survive. Period. She was dead on arrival, though I still attempted to coax her back to life. I went back to the nursery to get Eadwynn III (third time is a charm!), and the horticulture teacher at the local high school was there. She stood 18 feet away from me in the tent and gave me a 10-minute lesson in gardening.

I used her advice to pick out a few new plants. Please meet Mary the chive plant, Edith the parsley plant, and Sybil the basil plant:

What I really need (clearly) is an indoor gardening class because when I checked out, the woman ringing me up said, “Just know, we’ll still have plants all summer if you need a fourth try.”

Don’t break my heart, little plants.

I am really bad at this, but I want plant friends.

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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 in order 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. In order to read the description before clicking over, please return to the open thread:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

Risakerslake has a beautiful set of watercolours based on embryo photos. She found an artist who makes them on Instagram. You provide the embryo picture, choose the colours, and the woman paints the print. What a cool keepsake.

Amateur Nester has a guest post about how Covid-19 is affecting IVF cycles. She writes: “They are open 365 days a year — weekends, holidays, even Christmas and Easter. It seemed our treatments always fell on holidays and Sundays (and my husband is a Pastor!). Thanksgiving, New Years were two of our treatment dates, just to name a few. Amazed the staff was available EVERY SINGLE DAY… and then… COVID. Closed, shut down, no IVF treatment cycles would proceed for the indefinite future.” Read how she’s navigating the emotional side of the experience.

No Kidding in NZ unpacks Mother’s Day. She wrote it before the day began. “This year, though, I know it might be harder. I think we’re all a bit more vulnerable at the moment. I know I am … I have had the occasional moments when I have felt emotions welling up. Unexpectedly so. Uncertainty does that to us. Loneliness does that too.” Mother’s Day can be hard any year, but the pandemic amplifies emotions.

Lastly, Searching for Our Silver Lining has a post about balancing the return to the old normal with looking forward after The Great Pause. She explains: “But my hope is that despite the attempts at gaslighting, people will not be able to easily forget what has come from this period. That in addition to making right all the wrongs, they remember the good that came out of this. And that combined, it makes us a better species.” The post is like getting a hug from afar.

The roundup to the Roundup: Still attempting to have plant friends. 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 May 8 – 15) 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.