This Week's Interesting Articles

I've pretty much quit Facebook. I have to pop in once in a while for business or to check on family, and I use Facebook Messenger to communicate with certain loved ones, but over all, I'm done.

Too many ads make it take too long to read my feed, which rumor has it is going away anyway. The feed is the whole reason I surf there, keeping up on friends and family. They are going more to groups. Not so fond of groups. So, meh.

Too much politics. Now, I have some firm, passionate beliefs in that arena, but I really don't want to be stirred up with the latest "he said, she said" of DC. I don't care. For the most part I am happiest with Hubby giving me the news of the day around the dinner table (no, we don't watch the evening news. Why would I want to devote an hour of my life each day to being lied at?)

So I am going to post the links to the articles I find valuable or interesting here instead. :-)



I do many of these things too.
My favorite time-saving strategies

Some very good thoughts. I find myself in a time of pruning. Actually, it's been going on for some time.
The Secret to “Doing it All” — & how We Can Not Judge Each Other

My mother was my best friend, next to Hubby. And she was a collector. Not quite a hoarder, but definitely a collector. She had tea pots, cookie jars, santas, cameos, and ducks. And when she decide to do a craft she would buy everything she could ever possibly need for that craft; crocheting, knitting, embroidery, painting (oil, water colors, acrylics, and fabric), sewing, wood carving (which she never got around to learning, but she had the tools, by golly!), quilting, writing (a couple books partly done), blogging, genealogy (actually, probably the most complete one in the family descending from my great-great grandpa), and I don't even remember what else (I found enough boxes of paper clips to last MY children for the rest of their lives!).

Mom's collecting influenced me, not so much in knick knack accumulation, but in project acquiring. I have written books, sew, crochet, knit, spin, garden, and a wanna be farmer, have studied midwifing, have a direct sales business, homeschool, blog, facebook, as well as am worship leader for our church and inherited my mom's job of secretary treasurer and chief cook and cleaner for the church. 

Are you tired yet? I am.

Since her death in 2015 I have been reevaluating every aspect of my life, one at a time. It finally donned me that it is ok to not do everything. It's ok to say "Yes, I know how to do that but didn't really enjoy it enough to ever do it again, or it just doesn't fit my life right now." and chuck it and its pariphanilia out the door.

A big part of this process it picturing what I really want my life to look like and then get rid of everything that doesn't fit into that picture.

Hubby isn't a farmer. Oh, he thinks its neat when we have strange pets, like milk cows, but he has no interest at all in farming. So, can I picture my life with no farm in it? Actually for the first time in my life I can. And it empties so much from the weight of my to do list. so much less stress!

So, things are slowly falling off my to do list, out of my storage, and away from my life. And I am much happier and less stressed now :-)

Are McMansions Making People Any Happier?

“It was really instructive. We assume that other people are paying attention to what we are wearing when they are all really more focused on their own lives.”
We asked two of our female editors to wear the same thing every day. Here’s what happened
I have worn a "uniform" for some time now, and I won't go back to the old way. I simply sat still long enough to picture what I look best in that is also comfortable. For me, this was a simple, A-line skirt (I've worn mostly skirts for a long time), with a colorful top. So, I gradually eased my wardrobe into black from the waist down (what's visible anyway :-) ) with pretty tops. I do still own one pair of jeans for messy things like weeding or painting, and my flip-flops are blue since there weren't any nice black ones when I needed them. I now know for a fact I look nice and put together at all times with no more effort than "what color top do I feel like today." It is SO  nice!

6 Reasons to wear the same thing everyday

Smartphones Are Toys First, Tools Second
I do need to delete some apps from my phone that I haven't used and probably never will. I think I will move the "Play" ones to the second page, too.

How to Pack a Natural Medicine and Toiletry Kit for Family Travel

Very interesting!

So what have you been reading this week? Comment and share with me :-)