Ready for a brain dump? Let’s go.
- That grape jam I made the other day? Didn’t jell. Damn it. I have always made grape jelly in the past but decided to try something different this time and it failed. I’m not sure why but all those grapes Dale picked and all that work . . . for naught.
- The pistachio ice cream, on the other hand, was a great success. Recipe here for those that asked.
- I filled my first journal last week. I find it very satisfying that I started a new one on Labor Day since I consider September to be the other New Year.
- I’ve definitely been knitting more lately and I’m glad about that. We are watching more TV and TV = knitting time.
- Can I just say how annoying ads and videos are on blogs? I read a bunch of food blogs and crafty blogs and home improvement blogs. I know they need the ads but it seems like these ads are getting more and more in your face. And they slow down the whole she-bang which is making me want to stop reading some of these blogs.
- I’m starting to wonder about the whole Ten On Tuesday thing. It seems like participation has dropped significantly lately. I’m not sure if I’m coming up with crappy topics or if it has just run it’s course but I’m thinking of letting it go. I’d love to hear your thoughts.
- I really really need a pedicure. I almost got one last Friday but I knew I was going back to the beach and the sand just ruins it. Hopefully I can get it done this week but in the meantime I’m ashamed of my toes.
- I’m listening to 11/22/63 by Stephen King and truly enjoying it. It’s long and will probably take over a month to get through but it makes my time in the car fly by.
And that’s all I’ve got for today.
Have mixed feelings on ToT. Some weeks are so much fun. Others…..can’t imagine people really want to know what I did on a three day weekend (chores? sleep? exercise?) unless I make it funny. That is too much work for most days. No one wants to hear what I eat now. So don’t know how to vote on this.
I still like reading Ten on Tuesday.
HI Carole, thanks for the ice cream recipe – may need (emphasizing NEED) to make that this weekend! Sorry about your jam. My SIL had the same problem with her blueberry jam this year — and she’s been making it for 35+ years. She ended up re-doing it and it worked the 2nd time. Ditto on ads and videos…very annoying. I do enjoy your ToT posts and have fun participating when I have something to say/add (but my link doesn’t always work). And, finally, I am in desperate need of a pedicure but want to find a new place to have one. I seem to run out of time on the weekends. Note to self: make time!
I’m with Laurie and have mixed feelings about ToT. There have been many recent ones that I can’t come up with anything, but that’s because of the humdrum life I lead and not much free time to blog, not your fault. I’m a latecomer to ToT, but I think you have been doing it for years so maybe it has run its course. 11/22/63 is so good – enjoy!
I have perhaps a different view on ToT – have there been topics that were not “my cup of tea”? Yes, however, stretching my writing is important as well as my creative thinking. It is a fun challenge! I look forward to them, and it helps my blogging. However, if you feel that it has run its course – I support you wholeheartedly.
I am sorry about your un-jam. It is frustrating, I agree. I have had strawberry and raspberry jams that were syrups. (Although, my language was a bit more colorful than yours)
I love your comments on ads – I have stopped reading several blogs recently because of that very thing.
I like the ten on Tuesdays but that’s easy for me to say as I am the reader not the writer. Maybe scale back to once per month? Sorry about the jam – that’s a bummer.
Two things I enjoy about ToT: seeing what you chose as a topic, and finding new blogs by looking at those who participate. I have a huge collections of blogs that I read but only a few that I read obsessively and yours is one of them, so I guess I must enjoy the ToT too! Anyway, if you are tired of it I could see why. What if it was a once-monthly or every two weeks? Or would that be too hard to remember? Just so you don’t stop blogging altogether!
For the jam…simmer it into a thick sauce for all sorts of topping options.
ToT…some weeks are a slam dunk for me…some weeks, not so much. Some weeks, I am so busy that I can’t get it posted. I actually have several drafts from old prompts that I’ve thought of posting just randomly. I love that you host a prompt – but would be game for it being different rhythm…maybe a “10 on the 10th” just once a month?
I like reading ToT. I don’t have a blog, otherwise I would write one too. On the jam, same thing happened to me this year with my boysenberries. I used it over ice cream and it was yummy! Can also use with plain or vanilla yogurt. Not a totally lost cause.
I’m with you about the annoying ads but I also get them and delete the buggers every time I check my e-mail. Grr-rrr! I enjoy TOT and look forward to it every week. I also find new blogs this way, too.
Maybe a short version: i.e., five on Tuesday or Wednesday? Or a list of favorite new things or happenings? Have a great day! and kisses to Mason!
I hear you in regard to the ads. I read a certain quilting blog regularly and there are so many ads that if I try to bring it upon my tablet it crashes the browser. I only can read it from my PC.
Oh, BTW. I believe you quilt. Do you follow Barbara Brackman’s blog http://civilwarquilts.blogspot.com/ ?
She incorporates a lot of mid-1800s history into her blog. I think of you when I read it.
ToT is a good thing I think, so what do you do with the jelly that didn’t jell? I need a pedicure and hope to get one on Sunday. In the meantime I’ve been hiding my toes!
100%+ agree with you about the interrupting ads, videos and newsletter invites that get in the way of blog reading on many sites, there are a number of blogs I click away from without reading (and probably won’t return) because it is just too annoying/time consuming and seems like its getting worse. Or, I am getting crankier!
On the TonT subject: I enjoy reading them although I don’t participate–you’ve done a great job of coming up with topics, they can’t all be riveting! And I like that they make me think how I’d answer, as I read along on various blogs.
Though my attendance has been spotty lately I do like ToT. That said, I understand the pressure and maybe it should be a once a month thing going forward? And the ads…ugh. They are overwhelming these days. So sorry about that jam!
I like ToT most of the time, but some weeks I just don’t have time to pull together pictures and words for the post to be interesting. I need more lead time on the subject matter. I enjoy reading what everyone has to say, too. It’s an easy way to participate and find new/other blogs. That’s a lot of good stuff. I totally understand how hard it is to come up with topics, too. Get a pedi, it changes your outlook on life and makes you feel like a queen!
If I go to a blog or a website and the ads run and/or pop up, I just leave. Nothing is worth the aggravation of seeing an unwanted ad.
xox
I see grape syrup for pancakes in your future!!!
I’m with everyone else. I enjoy TOT for the most part, but I just can’t seem to keep up with everything these days, so I am reading more than blogging sadly.
I loathe all of the advertising on so many of the food blogs these days. I still read them, but if they have too many, I look for another one.
Are you going to re-do your jam? Additional pectin would make it set. Bummer! I did have a plum jam that finally set after 3 weeks; I had really given up on it. Good luck!
Some blogs do seem to have very intrusive ads. I’m slowly winnowing them from my reading. ToT is usually fun reading, but I am blog less so don’t contribute. As someone noted, maybe once a month?
Bummer about the grape jam. Can’t you redo it? A friend had similar problems with her raspberry jam and ended up freezing it for sauce and flavoring purposes.
The ToTs are always such a great glimpse of what’s on your mind. Said from a reader, not a blogger. Sorry about your jelly–I hope the idea about making it into sauce works for you.
I enjoy ToT – having someone tell me what to blog about is nice, and most of the friends I’ve made through my blog have been through those posts. AsKatKnits and I just got together this week! I’d certainly miss it if you stopped, but I’ll keep writing and reading regardless. (and YIKES we have NaBloPoMo coming up and we’re going to need topics!)
Some blogs I can only read on my iPhone. I use bloglovin’ as my compiler and I click on the blog in the app. Then I choose view original post. After that I go to the bottom and choose open in Safari. When it opens, there are four little lines on the left of the webpage title in the address bar. When you click on that, all the ads are gone, POOF! This works for most pages, including things like buzzfeeed and other high as pages. Some web pages don’t have the Reader View available, but most, including many newspaper sites do. This may only work on iPhones, but it has saved me from deleting a few knitting, crafting and home dec blogs from my list. Hope this helps at least some of your readers!