Week 18, 2026: The Week in Pictures
Tag Archives: Apple iPhone 12 Pro
12MP digital camera with Ultra Wide, Wide, and Telephoto options. Minimum aperture f/1.6 and 4x optical zoom.
Purchased in November 2023 as an upgrade from the iPhone 8.
Week 17, 2026: Fifty Years of Me
On Monday morning, Connor called me from school saying that he didn’t feel well and wanted to come home. My route to the junior high goes past the high school he’ll be attending next year, and I always find myself peeking at their light-up sign as I drive past. Sometimes I’ll recognize one of the Student of the Week names, or I’ll see how the marching band did at State. This time it read, “1976-2026: 50 Years of Southview.”
I didn’t grow up around here, and I don’t know much about the history of the school district, but I found that interesting.
I’m as old as the high school. Fifty years of me.
On Wednesday morning, I came downstairs to find a gift bag on the kitchen table, with the traditional hand-drawn card by Connor standing next to it. In said gift bag was the macaroni and cheese T-shirt shown above, a wireless meat thermometer, a detailing kit for cleaning various crevices like charging ports, and a new lens for my DSLR. Each of these gifts have their own backstory, but I won’t get into those right now. Suffice to say they were all very much appreciated.
On my birthday, I always find myself comparing my phase of life to my Mom and my Memaw at my same age. It’s not really any kind of fair comparison on any level, but feels like kind of a “what if” exercise — like, what if I’d had a kid when I was in my early 20’s instead of my mid-30’s, for example.
When my Mom turned 50, she had recently moved down to Texas with my step-Gary. I forget the exact timing of everything, but she was either working as a portrait photographer or still job hunting in Fort Worth. I was a college graduate, newly married, with a house and a cat and a job at the bank.
When my Memaw turned 50, she lived in a two-bedroom apartment with my Mom and me (and possibly my Aunt Sammie, too, depending on the timing). She worked at the A. I. Root candle factory, running the (very loud) wick-braiding machine, while my Mom worked at a local nursing home as a Nursing Assistant. Both were within walking distance, since neither Mom nor Memaw had a driver’s license. I was in second grade.
As for me… At age 50, I’m living in a four-bedroom house with my husband of almost 23 years and our teenage son and our cat. I’ve been working the same tech job for about 17 years now. Our household has two cars and no car payment.
I’m grateful to be financially stable at this stage of my life, to have a family who loves me, and to get kitty snuggles on the regular. Life is good.
Week 16, 2026: A Slice of Life
Week number two of blogging about my week for Future Me! Plus anyone who happens to read my blog even when I don’t crosspost to Facebook. (Hi, hon! 👋)
I find it interesting how few pictures I take lately. Most of them are snapshots for sending along with a text, like this one of my morning coffee.
Early Wednesday morning, after saying something confusing on Teams, my work BFF texted me a photo of her nearly untouched coffee with the message, “I’ve only had this much coffee.” I sent her this photo in response (and solidarity).
While it really is more of a snapshot than a well-thought-out photograph, I kind of love that it’s a slice-of-life snapshot. The Ember mug that Aaron got me a couple Christmases ago is front and center, flanked by the axolotl pen holder that I got Connor as a stocking stuffer last year and subsequently reappropriated for my own, and the mug rug I made a few years back as a quilt-as-you-go test.
Behind my mug is the MacClock that Aaron gave me this past Christmas — important enough of a gift that he had to order it multiple times from different sources when his orders got cancelled for no good reason. Also behind my mug is my Healthier Happens Here mug from work. Since I have plenty of mugs in circulation, and since the decal is NOT dishwasher-safe, I opted to put it into service as a pen holder. Tucked away in the far background are my Apple Watch charger, my Spock ears (also gifted from Aaron) and my pink rubbery stress ball (a gift from Connor many years ago, if I recall correctly).
Also? Yes, my desk (and everything on it) is a major dust magnet.
Continue readingSunny Window Siesta
Baxter has discovered that Mei’s old seat in the kitchen window is the perfect sunny napping spot on a spring afternoon. It’s also ideal for bird-watching, chipmunk-watching, and other forms of seasonal Cat TV.
Spring is Approaching
It’s been a typically Midwestern March this year. Hoodie weather one day, followed by short sleeves, followed by winter coat again. The severe winds last week caused power outages all over the region — at least three of my remote co-workers either had to rely on battery power and a Wi-Fi hotspot to continue working, or had to go completely offline until power was restored.
The early spring flora has been typical, as well, despite all the fluctuations in temperature. The tree peony pictured above is putting out some fat buds, despite being in generally poor health overall. I’m seeing the daffodils in the front garden start to show signs of blooming, and I definitely saw at least one Dutch iris in bloom yesterday in the back flowerbed. (I need to get more of those — they’re a welcome harbinger of spring every time I see them.)
This is the ever-so-brief window of Very Early Spring when the snow has melted and the temperature is tolerable enough to get out and do some cleanup before new growth emerges. I’ve been going out for at least a few minutes during my lunch break this past week to take care of things like cutting down volunteer trees, pulling up dead vines and weeds, and pruning away dead branches from perennials.
I can make a good amount of headway by just stepping outside at lunch. No agenda, just spend time outside. I found myself being especially productive after it had been raining and there was nowhere dry to sit and just enjoy the outdoors. 😄
Every year, my goal is to make my garden more sustainable for my benignly-neglectful gardening style. Fewer fussy plants, more natives, see what volunteer plants the local birds sow from other gardens. I try not to get disappointed in myself for not being a better caretaker; all gardens are a work in progress, and a learning experience.
I’m feeling optimistic this spring.