Week 4: RSS

I have been subscribing to various blogs via Bloglines for several months and find it a very handy way to keep track of developments in the library and readers' advisory world now that I am retired and not entirely in the loop. Someone mentioned an article in Library Journal recently, and I realized how much I miss reading book reviews. I'm going to add a few more book review blogs to my list of subscriptions. If you have a favorite blog, please let me know.

I also subscribe to several quilt-related blogs since I am always looking for new ideas. One quilter even has a separate blog for sharing recipes. One of my favorite blogs is http://www.sewmamasew.com/blog2. This month there is a "quilt of the day" feature which has been lots of fun.

Week 3: Flickr and its mashups

I have a bunch of photos of quilts I've made posted for some time, but I only made one "public." If you want to look at it, its URL is http://www.flickr.com/photos/7799607@N03/2202574254/ It took me several years to make the 93 blocks for this quilt, which I put together during the first two weeks of my retirement. Each block is 4.5" so many of the blocks are quite detailed. I don't know if I will make more of my quilts public, as I am a little uncomfortable having them "out there." It's like a virtual quilt show! I did explore making a calendar, photo album, or other gifts using them but the holidays came and went before I could make up my mind. I am really not a great digital photographer yet.


Still, I enjoyed playing Flickr Sudoku, even though I found the photos a little hard to see. The other mashups were interesting to fool around with, too.

Life in the slow lane

Everyone asks how I am liking retirement. Simply put, it is an incredible amount of fun! This morning I watched a steady stream of cars crawl by my house and down the hill to work. I didn't turn on WCAX to see if schools were cancelled or state offices had a delayed opening. I just went back to sewing, thankful that I didn't have to navigate the traffic, worry about the front walk at MRL, or clean off my car in a hurry. I can take my time doing just about anything. I can even read in the middle of the day! I have not worn a watch since January 1.

Week 2: creating a blog

This was easy enough to do but I had trouble signing into Blogger once I left it. Google noted that I needed to make sure I could accept cookies. When I checked my settings, I found cookies enabled but then learned that I had to delete the many cookies I have accepted lately. Guess I will need to go to the gym more often!