Tag: thoughts

Posted in 2026, What We Keep

How to Write

Posted on by nancyb422

I got it into my head recently that I should, that I need to, that I want to, write my stories by writing them out on paper instead of typing them from the get go. After all, I buy notebooks every time I see them, I should use them.

So I gave it a shot. I needed to write a 500 words or less story for the new session of Writers Guild at the library and I decided to do a story about a family portrait from 1908 that is a prized possession and started me down my ancestry research path. I pulled out a new notebook and settled in to write. It started out great, the words were flowing from my brain to pen to paper. I had 4 or 5 paragraphs in record time.

I thought, “well let’s type this up and see how it works”, so I pulled out my laptop and started typing. “Ooh, that doesn’t sound good”, cross out the paragraph on the paper, freestyle something into the laptop, cross out some more, freestyle some more. Something’s not working here!

I set it aside, I picked it up, back and forth, back and forth. Why do my thoughts never transfer to paper? Well, I wrote about that last month!

I was running out of time, so I typed a mash of the handwritten piece and the typed piece, called it good, and headed off to class.

I read my piece in class and as I read it I realized how flat it sounded. BOR-ING! Ooof – I was really disappointed in myself. I think I should stick to the method that works best for me which is typing, typing, typing out my thoughts and then going back to edit them as necessary.

My plan is to take that picture, write this time with it in front of me, think about how it made me feel to see it, how I look at it on my computer and enlarge the faces to examine them, to gaze at my grandparents standing together, and my great-grandmother’s proud posture with all her children around her. I know I can redeem myself!

Family Portrait 1908
Posted in 2026, Writing

Writing

Posted on by nancyb422

Why do my best thoughts and ideas come to me while I’m in the shower or brushing my teeth?

According to my friend, Chatty, it’s because my conscious gets out of the way and my “what do I need to accomplish” brain clicks into free-association mode.

But when I sit down to write what I was thinking about, it doesn’t sound as good on the screen as it did in my head.

He, Chatty, my ChatGPT in case you didn’t catch that the first time, says because writing makes me judge my idea too soon. Oh that’s me, Judgy McJudge! We’ve chatted long enough now that he has a good handle on me, at least to me anyway. Something I find interesting is he says my natural thinking voice may actually better than my written voice. I agonize over most words and sentences. “Did I catch what I’m trying to say? Or is it convoluted?”

I’ll keep working on putting those thoughts into words!

Posted in 2026, Writing

Visualization Meditation

Posted on by nancyb422

Every morning I meditate for 10 minutes using my Peloton. A few months ago, they started a program in which you do the same class for 7 days. A variety of instructors and a variety of types of meditation. This week, with Anna Greenberg is self-visualization, and I am really enjoying it more than any of the other types.

My mind immediately heads outside to our garden and an arbor that my husband recently built between four raised planting beds.

It’s the perfect spot to spread a blanket and hide away for someone my size. Outside, but not exposed. Cozy, but not cramped. I can lean against a planter and read a book, or lay down on the blanket and look out at the sky. If my husband is working in the garden, he’s nearby, but doing his own thing.

It reminds me of the Cinderella song by Rodgers and Hammerstein, “in my own little corner in my own little world, I can be who ever I want to be”.

The arbor and my husband working on his roses

Do you have a place you go, either real or in your mind to get away?

Posted in 2026, Memories

The Week of Anniversaries

Posted on by nancyb422

My mother died on April 4, 1987 from brain cancer. It was an eight week blur from the hospital for tests on Day 1 to her death at home.

22 years, 11 months and 24 days later, a total of 8,394 days, my father died on March 28, 2010 of a heart attack.

In the years in between, he retired, played a lot of golf, had a small picture framing business in the basement, and got to meet and enjoy his five grandchildren.

But in the last 12 years of his life, he slowly declined. A knee replacement slowed him down, triple bypass, peripheral arterial disease took his left leg, but he kept moving along in his scooter at his assisted living facility. Until a heart attack, “an angel’s kiss”, sent him on his way to heaven.

My theory is, my mother was waiting for him all these years, but he didn’t want to leave his girls. He lost his mother when he was three, and his father just before his 11th birthday. Even though we were in our early 50s, I think he just didn’t want to leave. Finally she said, “it’s time, they’re all fine”.

Every year, this week brings up the memories of how much we loved them and miss them.

Betty and John – Rocky Neck Beach – early 1950s
Posted in 2026, life

Riced Veggies

Posted on by nancyb422

Green Giant changed their packaging for Riced Cauliflower to “Riced Veggies” with a smaller caption three quarters of the way down to tell us it is Cauliflower.

New Look! Same Great Taste! Same Product!

Naturally, I had to check online to see exactly what other vegetables are capable of being riced. None. But there are items such as Riced Cauliflower with peas and carrots (not riced!), and Riced Cauliflower with broccolini, and Riced Cauliflower with risotto.

In all fairness, I did see online that older packages of Riced Cauliflower do include “Riced Veggies” but the actual product is included right below the title which makes it a little easier to grab and go.

Old packaging

Lest you all think I’m wandering the aisles looking for my Riced Cauliflower, I’m not. I don’t do the grocery shopping! But changes like this do make me wonder whose bright idea it was to put what the name of the actual item is so far down the package. How much did the change cost for marketing and production.

I come from a family of “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” and as far as I can tell, the original was working pretty good. Now I just wonder when my husband will come home with some Riced Cauliflower Medley because he didn’t read the label and just grabbed and went.

Posted in 2026, life

Current Temperatures

Posted on by nancyb422

Every morning when I come downstairs to the kitchen and turn on the light, I look at the temperature on the thermostat.

In this week, in my house at 5:45 am, we have gone from temps of 59 and 61 to 71 and it is shocking!

My body became so used to teens and 20s all day long, wearing my long down coat, and always having a pair of fingerless gloves available, that the adjustment is hard to make. My hand reaches towards that down jacket….

I do love this warmer weather but as the trees and bushes start popping, I will wake up with a headache and it will take an hour or so until the old sinuses do their thing and the headache is gone.

This afternoon we should be back to a “normal” March temperature of somewhere in the 20s and a chance for snow.

Welcome to New England.

Posted in 2026, life

Technology

Posted on by nancyb422

I usually have pretty good skills with technology but I’ve reached the end of my rope with my printer.

It is my home printer, a simple Canon TR8520, which, for its inexpensive cost, has always worked well for scanning and printing pictures, and printing emails and such.

I periodically have problems with its connection between my phone, or iPad, or computer which can be very frustrating. But now, it is a whole different situation.

Code 5011! Evidently this code means it can be any number of things. Hardware, wi-fi connection, or paper jam. In my case it could be wi-fi because ours did go out on Sunday and I accidentally left something I wanted printed in the queue searching for most of the day?!

I have a much older and larger Canon printer that has lost its ability to print photos well so I use it primarily for scanning. Since I had something to photocopy, I went to my craft space next door to do that. Oh my word, the theatrics that this printer goes through just to print something! Then it pops up that 2 cartridges need replacing and one is near the end of its life. I felt my blood pressure rise. “Great”, I thought. “All this technology and I can’t get one single piece of paper to print anywhere.” Thankfully, it decided to allow me to photocopy the pages I needed.

Although I’m tempted to throw my printer out the window and start fresh, I’ll call “my computer guy” and see if he can fix the TR8520 for me. I have too many ink cartridges left to cast it aside right now.

Posted in 2026, life, thoughts

DST Update

Posted on by nancyb422

I didn’t realize I missed my early morning stars until I saw them this morning because of the time change!

Stepping out the door
Turning the corner

I suffered a little yesterday from losing the hour of sleep. We always say we’re going to stay in bed on the weekend, but never do. We were up at 6am, which was really 5am. It was especially tough for me because we went out to dinner on Saturday night so I went to bed about an hour later than normal! That made 2 hours of lost sleep. No wonder why I felt off balance, figuratively and literally!

I went to bed last night at my usual time, heading upstairs around 9:15, read a bit, and had my light out by 9:40. I woke up refreshed and ready to go.

So it looks like I survived the time change and I’m actually happy to step out into the dark.

Posted in 2026, life

Forgetful

Posted on by nancyb422

I have left my iPhone at home three times this week. Not on purpose, but because I put it down, and forgot to check for it in my pocketbook!

One day, I put my Apple watch on top of my phone because I kept forgetting to charge my watch or take it off the charger. This would be the perfect setup, I thought, because I’ll never forget my phone! But I forgot them both.

The next two times, I brought it upstairs with me while getting ready for work, and I guess I wasn’t used to having it upstairs with me! Dressed, makeup on, and back downstairs to leave, never even thinking of my phone until I got to work.

Today, one of those two times, I was driving an hour away to meet my friend and didn’t realize it was left behind until I was at work to drop something off. Damn! I didn’t have time to go back home to get it. It was a little unsettling to drive that far without it. What if something happened to me? To someone at home? What the heck did we do before cell phones!?!

Needless to say, since I’m writing this now, I survived. The only wrinkle was that we stayed so long talking at the restaurant, I wasn’t able to make it back for a meeting with someone who wants to convince me to sign with their marketing company for SEO. I had to use my friend’s phone, and good thing I had the person’s number on a piece of paper!

Of course, once I got home, I had to scroll, scroll, scroll, to see what I missed. It must be time for a note taped to the door that says WATCH and PHONE

Posted in 2026, life

Alarm On

Posted on by nancyb422

At the start of the year, I cancelled my 5:40am alarm. I noticed during the week off for the holidays, I was naturally waking at that time so decided I could wake up in my own.

I was doing really well with it, but noticed over the last few days, I’ve been waking at 3 am and then watching the clock.

I probably fall sleep in between but it’s like – you know when you are going on a trip and you have to set the alarm for an earlier waking hour? Well, it’s like that. The anticipation of my need to wake up at a certain time. Between 3 and 5:40, I’m dozing and waking, sneaking a look at the clock and dozing some more.

So, the alarm is on again during the week. It’s my security blanket for a better night’s sleep.