Reflect, Learn, Remember, Improve

It seems to be a week of slow food; warming soups, wholesome snacks, actually cooking the things that I pin, a simply lovely start.

While I was making the school runs today and thinking about more recipes to try, I was listening to one of my favorite radio shows.  There are always interesting conversations, and today there was a brief, yet fascinating interview with journalist Holly Finn of the Wall Street Journal that tore my attention away from my mental to do list.  It was about an article that she wrote last week titled 'Know Thyself'.   A fun conversation on a topic that stems from a phrase (coined by Gary Wolf; brief Ted talk here), the quantified self.   There are so many broad implications of today's technology.  Many of them are very exciting, some scary, and much uncharted.  What are you downloading?  How are you integrating technology into your life?  What are you finding out?   Are you 'reflecting, learning, remembering and wanting to improve'?  Talk of the Nation, keep it coming!

Thank you for pausing for station identification.  Now back to our regularly scheduled post....  For an awesome potato soup, check this out!  Oh the molten pepper jack cheese in there was just divine!

Simplicity and Technology

Most of the time I find myself running from project to project, task to task.  I enjoy being busy and have never been wholly comfortable with being idle.  It has been very few times that I have taken a few minutes of hammock time.  Primarily because of the above statement, but also due to the fact that peak hammock season is also accompanied by clouds of mosquitos that just seem to love me!  I can be thankful for the what is now approaching drought conditions, even though it means burning bans and extra attentive care to the garden and animals.  Why?  Even with the extra work and concern, there are almost no mosquitos which has done it's part in affording me this simple luxury. 

As I spent a little quality hammock time last weekend it struck me as funny how trying to live a simpler life can also be so tightly accompanied by the ease or unease (depending on how you see it) of technology.  Whether it be something as simple as reading a book and taking a photo (of said book on a device) or trying to share our experience through this blog, technology seems to go hand in hand with allowing it to happen.  I don't think that I would have seen this gorgeous reflection of the giant maple tree in a paperback.  I enjoy how technology and simplicity can work together to give a fuller experience, an outlet to reflect upon, capture and utilize those simple things to their fullest. 

It's Here!

You will have to excuse my limited posting this week, but it is here and I am having loads of fun trying to get it all figured out!  What a difference a decade makes in technology (as if I didn't know that, but it's still fun to find out)!  Now, we need to see if we can get all of our music and photos recovered from the old mac as well as the external hard drive which apparently has had some problems of its own.

I spoiled myself with a trip to the App store and downloaded Aperture, I have only used iPhoto in the past and played a little in picnik, so I am excited to learn more!  I thought this was an easy way to get my feet wet without making the financial commitment to photoshop....at least yet.

I am off this afternoon to my little man's birthday party, he seems to be doing pretty good after our appendicitis scare earlier this week.  Hopefully it is the last we hear of that nonsense!  Then, I will immerse myself back into figuring out my our new toy.

Happy Weekend!

The Restless Brain

Some people have restless leg syndrome, I have restless brain syndrome.

I guess I always choose to start new projects when I have a hundred other things to do, as a way to prepare myself for the larger ones. De-clutter the brain while I'm working out how to best approach the next task. When I was in school, I always worked best when I was under a deadline. The only deadlines I have for these homey creative tasks are self-imposed but necessary.

I have a favorite magazine that I read cover to cover and hold onto every issue to use for future reference. Well, it has now become a leaning tower on my bookshelf, I can't fit any more, I struggle to put my hands on the reference I need, and honestly it just looks pack-ratty ugly!

So this evening I'm going to begin extracting the articles I need and put them in a great binder that I found when we were organizing the basement yesterday. I obviously have had this thought before, because this little gem is labeled "Mom's Craft and Project Idea Book." It was like a gift finding this book that I had started and was full of ideas.

So now I can add to the pretty colored tabs things like bread making, garden & chicken tips, and energy efficiency. Ohhhh look at all the pretty colors of the dividers! I'm not type A at all! HA! At least I'm a laid back A, who just needs to organize her creative juices before putting them into action. And this time, the idea book will be within arms reach and not hidden in the basement to find 3 years from now :)

Reblog this post [with Zemanta]">