About that Blog Break

February 2, 2023 By Carole

a vintage typewriter — Photo by Suzy Hazelwood on Pexels.com

So. Here’s what happened as I understand it. I went over (and by over I mean way over) my storage capacity on my server. After a few days of unsuccessful attempts to get help from GoDaddy, my IT guy Steve was finally able to talk to them Tuesday night. The good news is that there’s nothing fishy happening regarding file creation. The bad news is that we aren’t entirely sure why I have so many files.

I mean, sure, I’ve been at this for a loooooong time. 18 years this week, as a matter of fact. But this massive increase in files only began about two years ago.

Right about the time that I started uploading my photos with the WordPress app. I think (and I understand very little about this and can really only relate my user experience) that there might be an issue with the app and Jetpack and it might have been uploading each photo many, many times. Steve was able to delete some files that he knew were redundant and he and I will be getting together soon to work out what else can be deleted and how I can prevent it from happening again.

In the meantime, I’m just glad to be back as I really missed writing for all of you. I had 2 anxiety dreams related (in weird roundabout ways) to technology which further confirms for me that blogging is very very important.

And that, my friends, is the rest of the story.

One Little Word: Bloom January 2023 Update

February 1, 2023 By Carole

Hello! I’m back although I’m not sure if this is temporary or permanent as I haven’t spoken to my IT guy yet . . . but I tried logging in this morning and it worked so I’m publishing this post which was supposed to go up yesterday. I miss you all and I’m hoping I will be blogging regularly again going forward but if you don’t see me here please know that we are working on the problem.
XOXO
Carole

It’s the last Tuesday of the month and I have put my nose to the grindstone and gotten my January OLW prompt done.

There are always a lot of decisions to make when it comes to documenting a new word. I like to have some things be consistent from month to month, so I always want to make sure that I like how I set things up in January since I’ll be following some of the format for the whole year.

And my first consideration for this year was a big one . . . for me, at least. I have always started a new journal for a new word. However, for this year I had some issues with that. First of all, Ali Edward’s new journal has a horizontal rather than vertical format and I wasn’t super excited about that. Also, I still had quite a bit of room in my Practice journal and I didn’t love the idea of having those pages go to waste. So you know what I did? I continued on in the rainbow stripe journal I was already using and I ordered another one so that I’ll have space when this one runs out in a couple of months. This is how I approach all of my other journaling so I’m pretty comfortable with it even if it does feel a tiny bit weird.

I do want to say, I really enjoy the January prompt. It’s always a lot of writing, which I love. And it really helps me to start thinking about my word and how I want to invite it to enhance my life. I took photos of my January pages and here they are:

I really liked having a selfie on the first page of every month last year so I’m continuing that into this year. It was sort of a hassle last year but I think I’ve figured out a way to print out the correct size for the monthly frame that came with the OLW 2023 kit.

My intentions are on a double page spread. And I used those chipboard flowers that came in the winter mini kit to embellish all of this month’s pages.

And my thoughts about the year ahead round out this month’s prompt. I think bloom is going to be just great and I’m excited to see where it takes me.

Eye Candy Friday

January 27, 2023 By Carole

Update: I know the blog is problematic right now and loading very very slowly. I am getting most of your comments but not all. I have reached out to my IT person and am hoping they will be able to help me fix all of this soon. In the meantime, I appreciate your patience.

We’ve finally had a few mini snow events this last week and I captured this photo of the sled and skates that we have by our back door. You can see by the rust on them that neither are used anymore and they are strictly decorative!

Have a fun weekend, friends!

A Library Mini Reunion

January 26, 2023 By Carole

The other night I had the privilege of speaking at the dedication of a new Teen Zone at my town public library. This special area of the library was revamped and created with money raised after a former library employee died last year and her family requested that donations be made in her memory to the library. What a wonderful thing they did! And what a wonderful event it was.

Connie was an avid reader and long time patron when I hired her to work part time at the library back in the early 1990s. She was a model employee, a fierce advocate for the library, and a wonderful friend. We had so much fun together back in the day and Tuesday night was like a mini library reunion as several of my former coworkers were in attendance for the dedication.

In what can only be called great timing, Hannah texted me just as I was arriving at the program. When I realized so many of my dear friends were there, I told her to jump in her car and head to the library, because I knew she would want to see the women who supported me in so many ways. They saw me through my pregnancy, my return to work when Hannah was 3 months old, and those early days of being a working mom. They were there for me when my first marriage fell apart and they celebrated with me when I married Dale. Hannah spent a lot of time at the library when she was a little one and these friends of mine were part of her village and I knew she’d want to see them.

I’m so glad Dale snapped this photo of Hannah and I with my friend Anne, who was the Children’s Librarian for many years. I haven’t seen Anne for many years and it was fantastic to catch up and reconnect. When Hannah arrived at the library after our brief text exchange, Anne remarked how lucky I am to have Hannah live so close and I know she feels this keenly as her own daughter lives in Kentucky. While I know I’m lucky, it was a perfect reminder to never take this for granted.

The whole evening was a wonderful reunion of friends and a beautiful tribute to Connie. Life in a small town can be truly special sometimes.

Wednesdays Are For Knitting: Advent Socks

January 25, 2023 By Carole

If there’s anything I’ve learned since bringing Fred & George into our lives, it’s that my knitting projects needs to be small. As in, small enough to stuff into a zippered bag quickly should the little ~~devils~~ sweethearts show any interest in what I’m doing. Spoiler alert: they almost always show interest when the yarn comes out.

Believe me, I would love to be working on my Daytripper Cardigan with my souvenir Icelandic yarn. But the wool fumes from that yarn are quite obviously stronger than any other wool fumes in the house and the only way I can work on that is to either lock Fred & George in a room away from me or lock myself in a room away from them. And I’m just not willing to do that.

So. I’m knitting socks.

The yarn is from The Cozy Knitter and it’s the 2022 Advent 24 stripe skein. The colors are wonderful and the stripes are wildly entertaining. I’m using yarn from the stash for the cuff, heel and toe. I’m really enjoying the heck out of knitting these.

Even if it is only when Fred & George are asleep.