Footle and Grok

Messing about with empathy

A lyrical and inspirational read

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

I love reading good books.

It can be hard to know if a book is good before I read it, so sometimes I’m reluctant to try new books. I reread books because I know I like them.

That is why I like reading challenges. They force me to try new books, and even if I don’t like the book, at least I finished the challenge. I’m currently doing a sixty book reading challenge through the Potterhead Running Club (PHRC.) I receive a virtual badge for each catagory that I finish. I’m aiming to get them all, even if I have to read books I don’t like.

I was looking through the new book section of my marvelous library, and one caught my eye. I needed to read a book with a blue cover for my reading challenge, and this book had one. It was also small and thin, which I appreciated.

I found the title intriguing, but I balked when I read the blurb. A memoir. I don’t usually like memoirs, but I did need to read a book with a blue cover, and this one wouldn’t take too long. I checked it out.

It turned out to be amazing, and I’m so glad I read it. There was so much to like even though it was about a horrible event. It had a lyrical flow and was  inspirational in a stubborn way.

The book is Broken Places & Outer Spaces* by Nnedi Okorafor. It’s based on a TED talk that she gave. TED has published a few books, and this is one of them. They’re small so they can be enjoyed in one sitting but deep and meaningful. I’ve put some other TED books on hold. That’s how much I enjoyed this book.

If you’re looking for a great read that doesn’t take up all your time (whether you need a blue cover or not), check out Broken Places & Outer Spaces. It opened my mind, and I’m ready to give other new books a chance.

*Amazon affiliate link

This is a test (but also a survey) and a guinea pig

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Technology often confounds me.

As a few of you have noticed, you couldn’t leave a comment on this blog. (Of course, you could always leave a message on the Facebook page.) This glitch wasn’t intentional, but I hadn’t learned how to fix it.

Thanks to my hubby and reader Jim, I finally learned what the problem was. The first solution I found online was not something I was willing to do as it involved undoing things that had taken me forever to get right.

More research led me to an easy answer, and it worked!!! You can now leave me comments on the website, and everyone will see them. However, I have more questions.

Most people who read this blog do so inside an email (if you don’t, you can subscribe and receive a post a day.) Have you ever tried to leave a comment from the email? Is it possible? Or do you go to the website and leave a comment?

I really want to know, so I can make the blog as user-friendly as possible. So, here is a survey for everyone to answer. When you do, please let me know whether you left the message using the email or the website. Thank you so much for being my guinea pigs. My appreciation knows no bounds.

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Many thanks to all my readers!!!

My survey (so I can receive a comment)

How many times have you seen Star Wars, Episode IV, A New Hope? Choose an answer from below and let me know in the comments, along with where you left the comment.

A: 0 – 5

B: 6 – 10

C: 10 – 20

D: More than 21

Smells bad, tastes good, grows huge

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

My hubby is cleaning razor clams, and it’s stinking up the kitchen.

I like to eat clams, so I only complained a little (well, maybe more than a little.) To get out of the kitchen, I hid in my office and researched clams. That is where I learned about the giant clam. I’m happy my hubby is not cleaning one of these bad boys, but they are remarkable.

Fun Facts about Giant Clams:

  • Giant clams can live 100 years or more
  • They can grow to four feet in diameter and weigh more than 500 pounds
  • Giant clams do not move. Once they fasten to the reef, they sit there for the rest of their life
  • They live in the warm waters of the South Pacific and Indian Oceans
  • Giant clams may be huge, but they survive thanks to algae. The algae live in their tissues and produce sugars and proteins that the clam consumes. In exchange, the algae get a safe home and access to sunlight when the clams open its shell
  • The giant clams also have a siphon so they can filter plankton from the water
  • Even though they are almost as tall as a human, they are not man-eaters. Rumors, aside, their shells close too slow to catch a swimmer

I’ve heard of one-upping, but swan-upping?

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Have you ever heard that the Queen owns all the swans in England?

I hadn’t until I went looking for odd facts this morning. This one seemed really bizarre. In fact, I had a hard time believing it, so I researched further. It turns out the Queen doesn’t own all the swans, just the unmarked mute swans in open water in the UK. I have no idea how many swans that is, but I bet it’s a lot.

Mute swans are not actually mute, they re just quieter than other swans. They are white with orange bills. Apparently, the monarch can hunt these swans to eat them, but nobody does that anymore.

Nowadays, the only swans the Queen concerns herself with are the ones she owns on the Thames. The Warden of Swans and the Marker of the Swans (before 1993, these two positions were held by the Keeper of the Queen’s Swans) annually count, examine, and release the Queen’s swans on the Thames. This event is called the swan-upping ceremony.

The Worshipful Companies of Vintners and Dyers also own swans on the Thames (I assume these are marked swans.) They have a swan-upping ceremony at the same time as the Queen.

My goal was to learn something new today and share it with you. I hope I succeeded.

 

My review of Hobbs and Shaw

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Anyone who knows me knows I was excited to see this movie.

I didn’t see Hobbs and Shaw* in the theater because the timing was wrong and I couldn’t find anyone who wanted to see it with me. I don’t know why. I’d watch any movie with Jason Statham, Dwayne Johnson, and Idris Elba sharing the spotlight.

Hobbs and Shaw is a spinoff from the Fast & Furious franchise. I like those movies, but if you haven’t seen them it doesn’t matter.  Hobbs and Shaw is not focused on cars (although there was a gorgeous one), and they did a great job of introducing the main characters again. The only connection I noticed is that this movie was about family and so is the Fast & Furious franchise.

Okay, it’s pretty obvious that I liked this movie. I would have liked it if it was just a good-looking guys bash fest, but it was a lot more. There was a kick-ass woman, a solid plot, funny dialogue, strong chemistry between the characters, twists and turns that were unexpected, a smart kid who didn’t do anything stupid, and a solid ending (with great post-credit scenes.) It’s everything it was advertised to be and more.  Truly, my only complaint was that a few of the cameos were a little long, and that was a minor issue.

If you like solid action movies (think Terminator), I highly recommend Hobbs and Shaw. If all you want to watch is three great-looking guys beating each other up in exotic locales, this is also the movie for you. I hope they do another.

*Amazon affiliate link

A day for being productive

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

Today is 1/10/20.

I don’t know why but I like the pattern that today’s date makes. 1 – 10 – 20. It makes me want to use those numbers to get something done. So today I will finish one task I’ve been procrastinating on, declutter ten items, and work on cleaning my back porch for twenty minutes. Fun!!!

I’ve been having a problem receiving comments on this blog (I do get emails from some readers.) I’m going to work on that today, so I’d love it if you left a comment. Let me know what your 1 – 10 – 20 plan will be. It’s fun to go into the weekend with a smaller to-do list. Or maybe you’ll have your fun today using this plan.

Fighting procrastination

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

I have not won the procrastination battle (yet.)

Actually, I’m about even in this war. I’ve won some, and procrastination has won some. I think I lose because the jobs seem too big. For example, I want to declutter my house. That is a big job, so I tend to procrastinate, which drives me crazy. I know I want an organized house.

Yesterday, I found a ray of help. I read a meme on a Facebook decluttering page that said, “Drop everything and declutter something for five minutes.”

Since I am an obliger, I stopped what I was doing and cleaned out a bathroom drawer. Thanks to the mice, there a lot of items that were now trash. In five minutes, I had a clean drawer, and my unopened soap was now stored in a Tupperware container.

I’d say hooray for me, but I’d wanted to work on that drawer for a couple of weeks. It took five minutes once I finally did it. Two weeks of thinking about it vs. five minutes of getting it done. I guess procrastination won that round.

How are you doing on your goals for 2020? Like me, you might not be having blazing success, but it’s only January. If we improve a little each month, we’ll be procrastination-busting, goal-reaching winners by December. The trick is to never give up.

I’ll keep fighting, and I hope you will too. It’s worth it.

What am I doing?

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

I’m going to measure how I spend my time.

If I successfully do this, I’ll be impressed. I tend to start projects like this and then stop after the first day. Perhaps if I tell you what I’m doing, you can hold me accountable.

I have mentioned the Before Breakfast podcast before. Laura Vanderkam is a time management expert, and her short, daily podcast provides real-life ideas for making the most of our time. She suggests that people track their time for a week to see how it is actually being used.

It’s easy to say, “I have no time,” but that probably isn’t true. You’re probably spending your time on things that don’t matter to you. One way to find out where your time is going is to write down everything you do for a week. I decided to attempt this because I want to manage my time better.

Laura has a free spreadsheet on her website, so I didn’t have to create my own. (Click here if you want to try this exercise for yourself.) I chose to measure my time in 15-minute chunks. I could have done thirty, but I wanted to be as accurate as possible.

I’ve been recording my time for just a few hours, and I’ve already learned something. I’m a flitter. I flit from task to task, often before anything is finished. For example, while I wrote this blog, I trimmed Hela’s nails, talked to my hubby, answered an email, and changed the kitty litter. I’ve read a lot of self-help books, so I know I’m not being productive. Or maybe I am. I’ll finish the chart and see.

As I stated above, I’m horrible at filling out charts on a long term basis. This is why I don’t record what I eat. I occasionally download a food app and use it for a day or two, and then I forget. I’d like to fill out my time chart for the whole week, so I set my phone timer to ding every half hour. Hopefully, that will keep me going.

If I actually fill out this chart, I’ll let you know what I learned. Ideally, I’ll see where I’m wasting time and make some changes, but that is a whole different focus. Right now, I’m just going to write down my activities. It shouldn’t take too much time.

Spending time with “the boy who lived”

Posted on by Jennifer Vandenberg

“Mr. and Mrs. Dursley, of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say they were perfectly normal, thank you very much. They were the last people you’d expect to be involved in anything strange or mysterious because they just didn’t hold with such nonsense.”

That is the opening paragraph of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.* This book was published in 1997. I probably read it for the first time in early 1999. My friend, Arlene, loaned me the first two books, and I was mad that the third was wasn’t out. I’ve reread the entire series a couple of times, but it’s been at least ten years.

I was watching Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire and decided I really wanted to reread all seven books. Most of the movies are okay (I have severe problems with the third one), but the books are more complete. So I’ve started a new streak.

I’m not going to stress about this streak. I’ll just read a little Harry Potter each day. Perhaps a chapter or perhaps a scene. What will probably happen is that I’ll start reading and not want to stop. Either way, I hope to read all seven books this year. I can’t wait.

When was the last time you read the Harry Potter series? Which book is your favorite? My favorite is book three,  Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (which is probably why I get so upset by everything they changed in the movie).

I’d love it if you reread (or read for the first time) the series with me. You can’t borrow my books, but I’m sure the library has them all. Accio The End.

*All links are Amazon affiliate links