Blog on Home Screen

 

Did you know that you can add Life with Riley to your phone's home screen so it can be accessed just like any APP?

I learned this three years ago. I had no idea at the time. I know most people are more technically inclined than I am, but just in case you didn't know, you can have my blog at your fingertips! Here's how:

1. Launch Safari on your phone.

2. Type mriley1208.blogspot.com in the search box.

3. Tap the Share icon at the bottom of the screen (box with an arrow pointing up).

4. Scroll down to the list of actions and tap "Add to Home Screen"

5. Tap Add in the top right corner of the screen.

7. Life with Riley will appear in the next available space on your screen. It might be several screens in depending on how many APPs you have. You can move it to the first screen for easy access! 

If you have an Android phone, you can do this too. Just Google "Add website to Android home screen."

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Pepe Le Pew, etc.

Some news from the homefront:

1. Pepe Le Pew has moved into our neighborhood. A couple of weeks ago, I smelled a skunk in our driveway. A few days later, I saw a skunk in the side yard. On Friday, he was in the front yard when I took Riley out to pee around 10:00 p.m. Thankfully Riley was on a leash or Pepe's Pew would have been all over him.

Upon examination, it looks like the skunk is digging little holes in our yard to get grubs. So Don went to the store yesterday and purchased grub killer. He also hooked up a very bright floodlight to light up our yard. Apparently, the floodlight has not deterred the skunk because when I came up the driveway this morning at 6:30 a.m., Pepe was in the yard with the light shining on him. I am not sure, but I think he might have smirked at me.

2. The reason I was coming up my driveway this morning at 6:30 a.m. is because I took Uncle Danny and Aunt Cladia to the airport for their flight back to Phoenix. They were here for two weeks, staying partially at our house and partially at my brother, Mike's house. Daniel and Heidi hosted a family cookout one night while they were here. Uncle Danny loved going to the annual Lebanese Festival at Our Lady of the Cedars Church where he got to see many friends. He had a good time golfing with some buddies and going to lots of breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. I think they visited with every friend they had not seen since they moved last September.

3. Last Saturday, Crystal's daughter, Bailey, got married. The reception was a lot of fun because we had a little reunion with some of the couples we used to go to church with. We still go to church with some of them but at a new church now. The mother of the bride is front and center.

4. Lucy has been hanging out with us again. She is right at home with her ball and a bed.

5.  I have only read a few books this summer: The Woman in Cabin 10 by Ruth Ware (Rating: 3), Coming Clean by Kimberly Rae Miller (Rating: 3), and From Scratch by Tembi Locke (Rating: 4). I would definitely recommend From Scratch. It's a beautiful memoir about love, loss, and Sicilian culture.

6. On a sad note, Kendall's grandpa passed away this week at the age of 87. Here, he is giving marital advice to the young couple...words I am sure they will always remember.

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Just Not Right!

The display outside the Bainbridge Giant Eagle on July 28, 2019.

What's wrong with this picture?

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Planning My Week

I've started a weekly practice of planning and preparing for the week ahead on Sunday night.

I think it is making me more efficient, and I'm accomplishing more than I did before.

Here are the steps I use to plan my week:

1. Dump my brain. I take a blank piece of paper and write down everything that is floating around in my head. Afterward, I look at each item and decide if it belongs on my To Do list or if it goes somewhere else. It might be an item I don't want to forget to buy. If so, it will go in my phone on my grocery list.

2. Look at my calendar. Looking ahead at what is on my calendar will help me get the big picture for the week. If there are any birthdays coming up, I make sure I have a card or a gift ready. If I'm going to be out any nights, I won't have to plan dinner.

3. Plan meals for the week. Decide how many nights I want to make dinner and decide what to make. Add needed groceries to my phone.

4. Plan Errands. If I have any errands that need to be done, I will plug them into my calendar on the day that makes the most sense.

5. Go through In-Basket. During the week, all mail that can wait until the following Monday goes into my In-Basket. I'll go through each piece of paper and decide whether it needs to get done this week. If not, it goes back in the In-Basket until next Sunday. Bills are paid, notes are written, cards are sent, etc.

6. Review my three quarterly goals. I'm setting three quarterly goals this year. Each week, I record the progress I've made on the goals and plan steps to take toward accomplishing the goals during the coming week.

7. Re-boot my computer and phone. I always forget to turn off /on my computer and phone, so this is a weekly reminder to do that.

8. Charge electronics. Charge Fit Bit, iPad, wireless earbuds, and Kindle so they are ready for the week.

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Encourage Someone

15 Ways to Encourage Someone

1. Write a letter of appreciation to someone in your life. Tell them how much they mean to you and why.

2. Give someone a book to help them through rough circumstances or pass along a favorite book to a friend who will enjoy it.

3. Do you have a skill that could help a friend finish a project or start something new? Volunteer your services.

4. Send or deliver a bouquet of flowers for no reason other than that you were thinking of them.

5. Bake some cookies or a loaf of bread and ring your neighbor's doorbell. Say hello and tell them to Enjoy!

6. Plan an outing for a group of friends and invite them all to join you for some fun.

7. Go out of your way to make someone feel needed or wanted.

8. Freely share your sense of humor with a funny text message.

9. The next time someone is talking to you in person, look them in the eye and give them your full, undivided attention.

10. When someone does something that hurts you, show mercy and forgiveness.

11. Be the calm one in the midst of chaos and confusion.

12. Compliment someone for a job well done.

13. Delegate responsibility for a task you would normally do yourself so someone else can grow and mature.

14. Laugh with those who laugh and weep with those who weep.

15. Tell someone you will pray for them, and then do it.

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Off We Go!

"When the spirits are low, when the day appears dark, when work becomes monotonous, when hope hardly seems worth having, just mount a bicycle and go out for a spin down the road, without thought on anything but the ride you are taking." - Sherlock Holmes author, Arthur Conan Doyle 1896

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Happy Half Birthday

I'm celebrating my half birthday today. Today I am 58 1/2 years old.

Did you know that Giant Eagle sells half birthday cakes?

If you want to surprise someone with a special day, the perfect way to do it is have a half birthday party. They will never guess it is coming.

You can serve half a birthday cake, fill glasses half full, make a platter full of half sandwiches or half hot dogs on half buns.

The party could start at half past the hour.

For party favors, send home several half cookies in a zip-lock bag.

I'm not really having a party today, but I thought I'd serve cake to Don for dessert.

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No More Procrastination

Last year, I read a book by Stephen Guise called Mini Habits. The book was not about procrastination, but it helped me look at achieving goals in a new way. He suggested breaking down a large goal into mini challenges that would get you started. For instance, if you wanted to be able to do 50 push ups, just start with one. Each day, make it your goal to do one push up until you do two. Then make it your goal to do two push ups. His point was to make the goal so ridiculously small that you could not help but achieve it. This would encourage you to move on to the next step.

This concept can be applied to procrastination of items on your to do list. What keeps me from starting a task is realizing I can't do the task in a reasonable amount of time.The result is that I keep moving my task from one day to the next, and it never gets done. It could be the prospect of pain, in the case of: Schedule Mammogram, but more often than not, it is the magnitude of the line item.

An item on my to do list right now is: Print Wedding Photos.  I have pictures to print from Katherine and Josh's wedding, Daniel and Heidi's wedding and Peter and Kendall's wedding. I want to print one nice photo from each wedding and put them somewhere in the house. I keep moving the to do from one day to the next because it is too daunting a task to think about.

So what's the solution? Break it down into mini to do's. Print Wedding Photos is really a project, not a task. If I break it down into small steps and list those on my to do list, I can chip away at it until I can finally cross it off!

Here are the steps as an example:

1.  Decide on the style of photo I want to print from each wedding.
2.  Look through K + J wedding photos and choose one photo to print.
3.  Look through D + H wedding photos and choose one photo to print.
4.  Look through P + K wedding photos and choose one photo to print.
5.  Decide where the photos will be displayed.
6.  Decide how large the photos should be.
7.  Ask Daniel where he gets his photo enlargements printed.
8.  Put photos on jump drive.
9.  Drive to photo shop and have photos printed.
10. Select frames.
11. Put photos in frames.
12. Ask Don to hang the framed photos!

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Loving People

This is the kind of person I want to be - having no notion of loving people by halves. When bad things happen, and they do...to all of us...we need people who won't love us by halves.

If a friend's life is falling apart, and I don't know what to do or say, I pray that I won't do nothing.

If I don't have the words to say, I can still do something.

Send a text. Pray. Drop off a gift. Give a ride. Create a playlist. Organize meals. Do yard work. Run errands. Take care of the kids. Donate money. Open my home. Send flowers. Clean. Buy groceries. Arrange a massage. Send a card every week. Do laundry. Offer a hug. Be there.

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Get Out of Your Seat

From Flickr

Do you find yourself sitting for hours on end during the day? Reading? Watching TV? Working at your desk? If so, you need to do something about that. It's not good for your health.

Standing too much isn't good either. That can give you varicose veins as well as back and foot problems. The trick is to meet somewhere in the middle.

The Pomodoro Technique was created to solve this too much sitting problem. A Pomodoro is a sauce made from tomatoes, and it doesn't have anything to do with the Pomodoro Technique except that the cute little timer they created looks like a tomato.

Here's what you do: for every 25 minutes you sit, you should get up and move for 5-15 minutes. This helps your blood circulate, keeps your muscles from tightening up, burns a few calories and gives your eyes and mind a break.

You can use a tomato timer, but why spend money on that? You can also use your kitchen timer or a timer built into your phone or your computer. There is a tomato timer program if you like. And a tomato timer app you can get on your phone.

The point is, don't sit for more than 25 minutes at a time. Your butt, your back and your arteries will thank you.

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The Commonplace Book

I want to start keeping a commonplace book. It's an old-school way of collecting thoughts, letters, quotes, poems, prayers, pictures, comics, and ideas that you come across and don't want to lose. You can keep these collected items in a notebook, on a set of index cards, or in a journal or scrapbook.

Commonplace books have been around since the 15th century, so they are nothing new. People like Thomas Jefferson and Napoleon kept one.

Almost always, when I read a non-fiction book, I highlight on the pages or take notes on paper. Those notes eventually get lost or thrown out. If I capture the most important passages of the books I read in a commonplace book, I will always know where to find them. These clippings can even help me formulate blog post ideas.

There are many examples of modern-day and long-ago commonplace books on Pinterest. The great thing about them is that they take on your personal style. Some people like to illustrate their books, and some people like to glue scraps of paper to the pages.

I think mine will be in the form of a journal/scrapbook. I'll paste some clippings and hand write everything else. Since I am no good at illustrating, I can embellish the pages with colorful Washi tape.

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RSVP

I have two pet peeves (so far) in life. I wrote about the splash of an automatically flushing toilet in 2010. Here, I am going to complain about people who do not respond to invitations.

If you get an invitation in the mail or in your email or any other way, please respond! Don't be rude. The host was nice enough to want you to come to his party, so have the decency to let him know if you are able to go.

I've noticed a trend in the rude direction in the past several years. Not that I send out that many invitations, but I talk to people.

When you get an invitation, don't throw it in a pile on your desk to be discovered four weeks later. Don't set it aside to see if something better comes up and respond at the last minute. Respond immediately. Look at your calendar and decide if you can or cannot make it.

If you can't go, or you simply don't want to go, let the hostess know right away. It's what you would want if you were throwing a party.

I'm stepping down from my soap box now. Just had to get that out.

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Lifelong Learning

I love to learn new things, especially in the areas of history, literature, Bible and the arts. I don't have any interest in the sciences: biology, chemistry, physics or even math.

One way to keep learning beyond the classroom is to watch YouTube videos. I learned to make a t-shirt quilt, how to grill a great steak, and how to put together 10 outfits with one dress on YouTube.

Another way to keep on learning is to listen to The Great Courses. You can learn from college professors and experts about everything from public speaking to gardening to electronics. Here are some more of their listings: Everyday Gourmet, The Mathematics of Games and Puzzles, The American Civil War, Great Tours: Greece and Turkey, Nutrition Made Clear, How to Listen to and Understand Great Music and Fundamentals of Photography.

I was pleased to find out that Audible offers over 400 of the Great Courses. Normally, the audio courses cost about $20-$40 each. I can get one each month using one of my Audible credits.

Read The Well-Educated Mind by Susan Wise Bauer. It is a guide to the classical education you never had.

The chapters include: Wrestling with Books, Keeping a Journal, Reading Through History with the Novel, Autobiography and Memoir, Tales of Historians, Reading Through History with Drama and The Poets and their Poems.

At the end of each chapter is an annotated bibliography of recommended reading.

Others ways to expand your mind:

Local Lifelong Learning Programs

Art Workshops at the Public Library

Free College Course if you are over 60

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Oh the Places You'll Go!

You are never too old to set another goal or to dream a new dream.

- C. S. Lewis

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One-Sentence Journal

Gretchen Rubin, author of The Happiness Project and the just released Better Than Before, had a great idea. I heard it on a podcast this week.

She suggests keeping a one-sentence journal. By writing down just one sentence a day, you can capture the essence of each day and create a time capsule for the year. Here's what my week looked like:

Sunday - Cheered for Laura and Rachel at the Brown-Aveda scholarship contest.
Monday - Said good-bye to my life-long friend Paul.
Tuesday - Began online classes with Moody Bible Institute.
Wednesday - Discussed Big Little Lies at book group.
Thursday - Began painting Daniel's upstairs bathroom.
Friday - Finished painting Daniel's upstairs bathroom.
Saturday - Had fun bidding on silent auction items at CVCA fundraiser.

You can buy Gretchen Rubin's One-Sentence Journal, or even better, you can use a  journal or spiral notebook of your own.

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Twenty Fun Date Ideas

Some of these date ideas can be done in the winter, but some will have to wait until summer.


1. Go bowling. Low score wins.

2. Roast S'mores at the fire pit after dark.

3. Wine and cheese in the hot tub.

4. A friendly game of tennis.

5. Go to a coffee shop on a Saturday morning and create a bucket list together.

6. Restaurant hop your dinner. Appetizers at one place, dinner at a second place and dessert somewhere else.

7. Go on a day-long road trip.

8. Take a bike ride, stopping for lunch along the way.

9. Do a volunteer project together.

10. Cook a meal together.

11. Create a map of all the places you've been together.

12. Have a water gun fight.

13. Arrange a photo shoot of the two of you.

14. Stroll around a Farmer's Market on a Saturday morning.

15. Go to a drive-in movie.

16. Go roller skating.

17. Take a dance lesson together.

18. Attend a wine tasting at the local winery.

19. Cozy up on the couch for a movie marathon.

20. Build a snowman together.

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Poison Ivy

Don and I have broken out in a poison ivy rash. We were weeding last Monday at his current rental property where apparently we were exposed to the oil from the Poison Ivy plant. The rash didn't appear until last Wednesday.

This is only the second time in my life I have contracted this dreaded ailment. I'm lucky, I guess. Don seems to get it every summer.

His worst case was the summer we got married. We bought two Siberian Huskies when we returned from our honeymoon. In order to keep Alex and Nicholas in the yard, Don put up a fence about 30 feet into the woods behind our house. He had a raging case of Poison Ivy for about a month. Not much fun for young newlyweds!

I've been researching how to get rid of Poison Ivy since I really don't want to take it with me on our bike trip. New sores seem to be popping up daily, and the itch wakes me up every morning around 2:00. The only weapon I've been using so far has been 1% hydrocortisone cream. Today I bought some Calamine lotion and antihistamine pills.

The internet is a great resource for finding cures. I'd like to share just a few of the suggestions people made for curing the poison ivy itch:

tea tree oil
goat's milk
Clorox bleach
Vagisil cream
mint julep facial mask
SOS brillo pad
baking soda
rubbing alcohol
witch hazel
mint mouthwash
toothpaste mixed with salt
apple cider vinegar mixed with Dawn green dish soap
stalk of rhubarb
Tabasco sauce

Since no one can agree on a solution, I think I will just stick with my Up & Up generic hydrocortisone cream! It's got to work just as well as some of these crazy ideas.

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On Slugs and Sluggards

berkshirebotanical.org

Are you a sluggard? The dictionary says it is a lazy, sluggish person. Synonyms are: ne'er-do-well, layabout, do nothing, idler, loafer, lounger, good for nothing. No one wants to own up to a description like that.

Contrary to popular belief, sluggards are not the same as slugs. From what little I know about slugs, they work pretty hard, devouring plants faster than they can grow. Slugs are ugly, but they are not good for nothing. They have a purpose in life: they help decompose leaves, fungus and decaying vegetables.

I'll be the first to admit I can be a sluggard. There are always tasks I want to put off or never do at all. Those dishes that pile up every day, and the laundry that cycles through every week make me want to be a sluggard. When I have a To Do list more than five pages long, I want to curl up in a ball like a slug. I've been known to sit idle and loaf and lounge and lay about.

The sluggard is mentioned ten times in Proverbs, but my favorite description of him is, "The sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he will not even bring it back to his mouth!"

Let's hope I never become that sluggardish.

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The Worst Thing First

I like To Do lists. I like making them, and I like checking things off. It gives me a sense of accomplishment.

Each day, I move the unchecked items from my To Do list onto another page, plus I usually add more.

I've noticed that one item keeps getting moved to the next day. Over and over again, I move it. Don calls this procrastination....something he knows nothing about.

I need to make a phone call, and the phone call will be confrontational. That's why I keep moving it. I figure if I move it enough times, it will move off the bottom of the page and I won't have to do it.

There is a solution to this problem. It's called do the worst thing first. By doing the worst thing first while your energy is fresh, you get rid of that looming feeling that will follow you around the rest of the day.

Tomorrow. No excuses. Just do it. Check it off.

"Eat a live frog first thing in the morning and nothing worse will happen to you the rest of the day." - Mark Twain

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Do Something Creative

Break out of the mundane tasks of life and do something creative this week. Here are some suggestions to get you started:

1. Color a page from a coloring book.
2. Go for a walk and photograph all the interesting things you see.
3. Stop by the library and check out a book on a subject you know nothing about. Read the book.
4. Watch a foreign film with subtitles.
5. Spend an hour in a fabric shop.
6. Grab a stack of magazines and cut out pictures of things you think are pretty. Glue them to a piece of cardboard.
7. Plant some seeds.
8. Take $10 to a thrift store and see what you can buy.
9. Write a letter on old-fashioned stationery. Send it to an old friend.
10. Send a care package to someone.
11. Create a new Pinterest board.
12. Make a new recipe.
13. Take a self-portrait with your camera or iPhone.
14. Plan a road trip.
15. Have a technology-free day.
16. Visit your childhood home.
17. Spend $10 in the Dollar Store.
18. Visit an art museum. Take notes.
19. Go out to breakfast by yourself.
20. Watch a documentary.

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