926th Friday Blog Roundup

Today is Befana Day, which makes last night Befana Eve. Befana rode her broomstick through the night sky to deposit her gifts and candy. Last night we had our big meal instead of tonight. It’s not really tradition; I didn’t remember that we usually have the meal on Befana Day and scheduled it for Befana Eve. And then it was too late to change it. It’s that kind of week. But Befana brought me something, too — a memento from the Queen’s Jubilee. She knows us so well.

The kids will likely be home for Befana Days in the future — this would still be their winter break — but there was something especially bittersweet about this last holiday before they leave.

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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.

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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:

• None… sniff.

Okay, now my choices this week.

I loved hearing how everyone celebrated Christmas last week. Much Ado About Nothing detailed pre-Christmas to post-Christmas in a post. I especially loved this: “My husband has learned how to make everything so he took over while I sat with the kids watching them play with their new stuff having my coffee. It was glorious.” It sounds like a great celebration.

Finding a Different Path writes about encountering the “desperate childless woman” trope in a book — her last one of the year. And how it ruined the moment for her. “It was almost a throw-it-across-the-room moment, but then I just…decided. Would I rather end 2022 with a disturbing but well written book about an increasingly unhinged woman with mother issues? Or with a book that is diametrically opposed to EVERYTHING I STAND FOR? Even if it only shows (so far) in one line?” Abandoning the book is exactly what I would have done, especially if that was the book I was going to end the year on.

Lastly, The Next 15000 Days has found the perfect strategy for avoiding hurtful small talk conversations — dancing! I also liked this: “I had nice December. I decided I am done skipping life so I attended almost all the parties I was invited to. It felt nice, being part of life.” But mostly, click over for the pretty pictures and to learn ChatGPT’s advice.

The roundup to the Roundup: Befana arrived. 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 December 30 – January 6) 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.