April 6 was National Tartan Day. Though I’ve s-l-o-w-l-y come to embrace my sister’s research that showed our lineage is Scottish, not Irish, which I was told all my life, information given to me by my college running buddy Kathy about Thomas Cochrane, tenth earl of Dundonald, whose burial place she saw at Westminster Abbey, helped pique my interest. You can see a little of the Cochrane tartan on that button.
And you can see how that interest in our Scottish side led me to this. I still keep these dolls in their kilts on display in the writing sanctuary every day. Muses.
I misdated this post so it published on Saturday instead of Sunday. I went back and put my actual Saturday post where it was supposed to be, corrected this one to April 7, and noted that National Tartan Day was April 6. Computers and me sometimes…
The good stuff: Tom worked a half-day so that he and I could go into the old ‘hood to see our friend Larry and get haircuts. Spending time with Larry is always fun and full of conversations about a random range of topics. Somewhere in the middle of it, he dropped the information that his partner has for years been a collector of Barbies. I had no idea. It sounds like the collection is one I’d be likely to drool over, so I hope to see at least some of it one day and promise not to drool on anything.
Afterward, we picked up dinner-to-go from one of our favorite restaurants and were home in time to feed the very aggrieved dogs who were sure they’d been abandoned (as if Debby isn’t here for them when needed).
The eh stuff: Not a lot of writing got done, but while I thought about writing, I did some coloring. It’s unfinished, and at some point, I got very frustrated with the pens I was using and slapped on a bunch of star stickers to cover up some of the coloring that displeased me. I don’t like that either. I’ll take a couple of days away from that activity before I decide what to do to fix it.
In any case, even that ended the day on a much higher note than how I started it, dealing with the frustrations of canceling a website I’m tired of overpaying for and no longer using. Technology…. I understand exactly how this woman feels.
My laptop is at Apple getting some battery care. So I’m using my old HP laptop. It’s a challenge to go back to Windows from Mac (Macs were actually part of my “origin story”; I used one of those little ones even before the first PCs I ever used).
Like this.
From Mac to HP: different command keys, different screen, different keyboard and mouse (I never use my touch pads no matter what make of laptop I use; I plug in a full size keyboard and a real mouse–except on the Mac, they’re wireless). See Becky relearn!
Our washing machine became possessed last night just before we went to bed. It turned itself on. Then the control panel wouldn’t light up. Tom unplugged it with a prudent “I’ll think about it tomorrow” attitude (though he also did a little research online and hoped he knew the problem). So far, we haven’t washed a load, but he does seem to have found the magic process to exorcise the demon. Fingers crossed.
While he was away volunteering today, I continued the manic need to organize and purge stuff. The end result is a much better organized cabinet in the writing sanctuary; many things put away after MY having that “I’ll think about it tomorrow” attitude for a few months; and a lot more reorganizing and labeling in my corner of the office.
You’ll have to take my word for it that my desk drawers are cleared of unnecessary stuff, those shelves are arranged much better, and that little green caddy, still loaded with office supplies, lost a lot of useless things and what’s left is better organized.
My little “fun” table where I blend essential oils, do a lot of my intentions rituals and random other things, all while overlooked by Superman, Darth Vader, and Batman, not to mention two Yankees and Cubs baseball fans, is cleared of random stuff and ready for whatever’s next…clearing crystals, looking at oracle cards, or enjoying breathing/meditating time.
In that first photo, maybe you noticed Aerosmith’s Joe Perry watching you from the wall on the upper left. One of the things Tom has been doing is moving photos (so far more than 25,000) from older, still working computers (I have one more that requires a consultant before we’ll know if those photos can be recovered). Today, he focused on my old HP laptop. I’m not sure it’s been turned on since 2017, unless David used it when he visited. The wallpaper on it was a great shot from my former job. It’s a nice photo, but three years after being laid off, I’ve long-since moved on. Tom decided to be funny and create a new wallpaper from among the laptop’s photo files, which apparently included a scan of the Joe Perry photo (I mean, why WOULDN’T IT? It’s Joe Perry!).
This is what greeted me the next time I glanced at the laptop.
Probably Tom’s just glad when one of my musical crushes is still on the planet. (RIP DW, TP, EVH, SRV, JL, GH, DF, and TH).
This week, sadly, we lost another legend. Tina Turner overcame one challenge after another and never seemed to lose her zest for living, her hope and optimism, her strength, and a phenomenal magic unparalleled by any performer in my lifetime. The tributes being paid her by her peers and her fans from every spectrum show the kind of impact she had. She truly was simply the best.
Today’s project was working on some gifts that have been in the planning stage since Christmas. For late 2022 Christmas that’ll eventually happen with a couple of people. And also starting a small bottle-cap art project, because it’s been a while since I did those.
And other than posting about it now, no computers involved. At least my blog’s caught up, but I have little idea what’s going on in the rest of anyone’s world. Maybe that’s for the best.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DEBBIE! (Not my sister Debby; my other Debbie.)
I was trying not to be dramatic, but apparently I need to clarify. I’m not on a fun break. Looking at any screen on any device is triggering migraine clusters. So if you are texting or messaging or commenting or whatever, any time I look at a screen on any device, I’m experiencing vision problems and headaches. I also can’t drive, watch TV, write on a computer (the only way I write fiction), etc. My eyes and my head need a break, and even when this resolves, I will be seriously curtailing screen time.
I’ll catch up later. For now, no blog, no social media, no comments and replies, no scrolling, and–ugh–no devices like phones and iPads and computers, so no writing.
More technical difficulties with the site and a spate of insomnia has me behind. I’m doing this post mostly to see if I can post, and if I can edit a post, or if I need to seek tech support again.
When I wrote, those times I could, this was the music I heard. Hopefully all this stuff will be cleared up and I can get back to whatever normal is. Thank you for your patience.
Marvin Gaye, Gold 2-disk set. Nobody like Marvin Gaye. <3
Couldn’t choose only one of Marvin Gaye’s spectacular grooves, so I’ll link to this old Commodores tribute to Marvin Gaye and Jackie Wilson (both died in 1984). I have Commodores-related stories, but I’ll save ’em for my memoirs. =)
