This week went by in a blink. We spent the holiday weekend in Minnesota visiting Andy’s brother and family. Due to storms in Chicago, our flight was delayed on Monday evening. We were supposed to arrive home at midnight, but our heads finally hit our pillows at 3 AM. Poor Andy! He had to get right up the next morning to head to Colorado for work. Fortunately, he was able to push back his departure time from 8 AM to 11 AM.
Tuesday, after dragging myself out of bed, I spent all day wrapping up the details of the podcast launch. Speaking of the launch, it was a rousing success by my amateur standards. Thank you for listening and being so supportive. I will release the next episode on September 19th.
In general, are you an avid podcast listener, or are podcasts new for you? I thought I would kick off today’s Friday post by sharing some of my favorites.
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My Favorite Podcasts
Most of my favorites are from NPR. Instead of listening to episodes each week, we tend to binge-listen to them on long car rides or during plaster repair. The majority of my choices are suitable only for teens+ or jaded tweens+ who have older siblings. (#parentingfail) If you have content concerns, please listen alone first.
- Wait Wait…Don’t Tell Me
- Ask Me AnotherÂ
- Radiolab
- Gonads – This is a six-episode season about reproduction. Don’t let the name put you off. It’s fascinating.
- S-Town – S-Town is a seven-episode true story. It starts out as an investigation into a possible murder cover-up, and it veers wildly from there. This podcast contains very explicit language and content. My youngest did not listen to it.
- Serial – I devoured season one but abandoned season two. I’ll give season three a shot.
- Stuff You Should Know
- Stuff You Missed in History Class
What are your favorites? Do you have suggestions for podcasts that are more child-friendly? Let me know in the comments.
30 Projects in 30 Days: Windows & Doors Edition
With the podcast underway, I’m a little overwhelmed by the amount of work that we have to do around here. Nonetheless, I cannot pretend there is no work even though I would like to. This year, our September 30 Projects in 30 Days is all about windows and doors since winter is coming.
Even though we officially declared the street side front porch done, there is still a gaping hole on one side, now covered with plastic.
Also, I never got around to finishing the window in the guest bathroom. This before shot is the only picture I have with the window in it.
Both windows are ready for glass. Hopefully, I will be able to do that this weekend.
Even though we received excellent input on what to do with our enormous front door, we have not done anything yet. Time’s a-wastin’ if we are painting. It will soon be too cold. Thanks to the comments from JC on the latest door post, I have an action plan to improve the function. That is the first step.
Finally, if I can squeeze it in this month, I’ll begin work on a couple of small window projects. If not, I’ll at least cover them up for the winter. There is never enough time during the warmer months.
Clean-talk Plug-in For Bloggers
I wasn’t sure when and where to post about this, so I’ll sneak it in here. I visit many blogs, and I am often amazed at how difficult it is to leave a comment. First, I might have to log in to an approved comment platform or even worse; I might have to create an account to a specific service to leave a comment.
Side note: Did you know Disqus had a data breach? We got a Lifelock notification a couple of months ago.Â
I’ve been asked to check a box to prove I am not a spammer, or enter a wonky code I cannot read because my eyes are terrible, or even solve a math problem just to leave a comment. Spam on blogs is a huge problem, and no one has time to filter through the noise to get to the good stuff. However, the spam deterrents mentioned above are also a turn-off for real people who might want to engage with your blog. (Some of us, ahem..me, cannot remember passwords to save our lives!) Many times, I opt not to leave a comment–especially on mobile.
We have been using Clean Talk on this blog for over two years, and I cannot say enough good things about it. I installed Clean Talk as a plugin through WordPress. If you do not use WordPress, there are likely other ways to get it on your blog. This service costs a mere $8/year, and it is 99.9% effective. (That’s a made up stat, but it works!) Poof! Your spam comments disappear, and real people who are not bots, don’t have to jump through hoops to leave a comment. Why not make it easy?
My Brother-in-law’s Beautiful Home
While we were in Minnesota, I posted a picture of this beautiful home on Instagram.
I had many requests for a full house tour, but ultimately, I decided not to ask them if I could do a photo shoot. I’m sorry! They are not public people, and I felt it would be an invasion of their privacy.
I encourage you to visit the George Nakashima Woodworkers website for some eye candy. My brother-in-law and his wife are big fans of Nakashima, Eames, and authentic Danish furniture.
What’s on the docket for you this weekend? Did you send any kids back to school this week?
8 Comments
Marta
I have a question not really related to anything in your Friday post, but that’s sort of in keeping with the Friday post theme, right? I’m wondering how you structure your DIY time. Do you devote certain days (say, Monday and Wednesday) to DIY work, or certain times of days (say 9 to noon Monday thru Friday)? How do you balance your DIY work with everything else — kids/family, running, blogging, etc? Do you have a strict schedule or something else? I know you have successfully used the ORC as a way to create deadlines, but do you have any other tricks that work (other than throwing a party, which i know works but I can’t do on a regular basis). I’m always looking for insight into how other people balance the need for structure and routine with their creative drives and desires, which for me at least are not always easily routinized!
Stacy
You asked a good question, Marta. I try to keep a loose schedule with the emphasis on loose. If I create a rigid plan, I become a rebel and revolt. It’s just one of those fun games I play with my brain. 😀 Instead, I think about what I want to accomplish for the week and prioritize. Then, I calculate how many hours that might take, and fit it in where my schedule allows.
I tend to work, blog, DIY, and run between the hours of 7am-12pm. The main reason for that is that I am more alert in the morning, and the kids sleep late. Now that A. has gone back to college, I am also the chauffeur again, three nights per week. Often, I will schedule all of my errands during my “waiting around” time on those evenings. I shop for groceries and DIY supplies during that time. If I don’t have errands, I try to write at a coffee shop instead.
When I have a big weekend project to do, I make sure and buy the supplies for it during the week. Then, I can get right to work on Saturday and Sunday instead of losing my momentum with a hardware store run.
The kids are old enough to occupy their time while I work. Keeping the schedule flexible allows me to drop everything if my family’s needs are more important.
Does that answer your question?
Jeri
I have appreciated how easy it is to leave comments on your blog even though I often leave them on the FB links to the blog. Much appreciated by a very non-tech, regular person!
Stacy
I am glad to read this, Jeri. I want it to be easy for everyone.
Devyn
Again congrats on your Podcast launch…. Very well done.
I have always had a hit or miss relationship with podcasts. When I had to sit on the NYC Subway for 90-100 minutes a day, it was fairly easy to keep up with a few different podcasts and especially “This American Life”. When my commute got shorter a few years later, I switched to music because I could never finish a podcast without it being interrupted on either end of my ride. Now that I am no longer doing a commute at all, I have to make a much bigger effort to listen to them. Since moving to Philly, I have been hooked on (and catching up on) “99% Invisible” with Roman Mars while spending my 30 minutes on the treadmill.
Now I can look forward to adding yours to the mix. ???
I find making a 30 projects in 30 days list too overwhelming. For now, slow and steady wins the race.
As for blog comments, I agree that making folks log-in to leave a comment or enter math problems is not ideal. For my blog, I have chosen to require all new commenters to be moderated the first time they post, and once approved, I allow them to freely post future comments. That said, I do try to keep up with them via the WordPress app on my phone to ensure there isn’t anything inappropriate posted. And I have occasionally deleted comments I have deemed inappropriate (and notified the submitter why it was removed/not approved).
Stacy
Thank you! I enjoy This American Life too. I do not listen to it on a regular basis, and I am not sure why. I appreciate the recommendation for 99% Invisible. It is new to me, and I will check it out. After a quick glance at the website, it looks like it could be right up my alley.
Your choice to moderate first-time commenters is a smart compromise.
Kim
I love How I Built This, also an NPR show. It’s fascinating!
I was about to tell you that I hadn’t been able to find your podcast thru my iTunes app, but I checked one more time and there it was! Looking forward to listening soon.
Stacy
Glad you found it on Itunes. It takes a few days for it to filter into the different services.
How I Built This sounds right up my alley. How did I miss it? I’ll listen to it for sure.