Sunday, January 17, 2021

Sunday Sundry 1-17-21

Yesterday was tech day here at our house.  Nothing high end, but tech solutions nonetheless.

Unlike many people, I have not had to do a lot of video conferencing this past year.  I didn't have a job that required it (or a job, period), so there was no need from a workplace perspective.  But as the weather got colder and the pandemic dragged on, I finally hopped on the Zoom train (and Google Duo and Meet).  I am a happy introvert most of the time, but even that has its limits and I miss face time with friends and family.


I used my tablet to video chat a few times, because my main desktop PC is older and didn't come with a camera or microphone.  The tablet works so-so, but doesn't have the best sound and some of the Android apps seem to lack full functionality.

So yesterday I installed a webcam with built-in microphone (and by installed I mean plugged it into a USB port, ta-da!).  I also bought a ring light, since my PC sits in a pretty dim corner of the dining room.  I also intend to use the ring light when I'm photographing whatever's on the design wall in the basement, another not-well-lit space.  


I tested out the webcam setup today with my sister, and it seemed to work well.  It was so nice seeing her face for the first time in many months!


The rest of the afternoon yesterday was spent hooking up an indoor digital TV antenna.  Again, installing it was simple, but figuring out how to make our TV scan for channels involved a call to Samsung tech support, and then trying the antenna in different positions for the best reception.  Much to the chagrin of my husband, it ended up having to go up on the wall above the sliding door.  That then meant figuring out how to hide as much of the thing and its wires as possible, until he was more or less satisfied with the aesthetics.

Looks don't matter as much to me as will the monthly savings on our Spectrum bill when we officially cut the cord on cable TV in the next week or so.  As far as channels, I was happily surprised to pull in 27 stations with the antenna, even though we're at least 45 miles away from the nearest major market.  And with multiple streaming apps besides, we certainly won't lack for content.

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Today was all about putting away the rest of the Christmas decorations.  Funny how it always turns out to be more of an ordeal than simply reboxing and reshelving the trinkets.  Furniture has to get moved around, floors vacuumed, surfaces dusted, etc.  Plus I reorganized "the hole," i.e. the area behind a half wall in the basement where the seasonal decor gets stored, for the second time in a year.  But that's job done for another holiday season.

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I finished assembling another quilt top, the second one from sampler blocks made by one of Jo's Country Junction's readers (whose name I don't know, unfortunately).  This is another foster quilt that will be sent to The Joyful Quilter for quilting and donation to Lutheran World Relief.


It's similar to the other sampler quilt top (blogged HERE), but this time I used a dark espresso brown for the sashing and border, and I cut the border a little wider, as much as I could eek out of the fabric I had available.  It ended up about 63 x 77 inches.


The rich colors and varied geometric blocks make it an appealing quilt for a man or woman.


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This week I started (and finished) a table runner from leftover batik strips from the wedding quilt I made in October. 


The Joyful Quilter is hosting a Table Scraps Challenge, and this is my first project for that.  She'll have a link-up the last Saturday of the month, so I'll go into more detail in a separate post, but here's a peek!

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File this one under cheap thrills:  We swung by the local Dollar Tree store recently for some essentials, and I grabbed this BB Cream (Sassy+Chic brand in Light) as I was standing in the checkout line (which extended halfway down the cosmetics aisle due to six feet apart rules).  Oh my gosh, I love it!  For a buck, and a total impulse buy, it exceeded my expectations.  Has anyone else tried this (or another BB or CC cream)?  To be honest, I wasn't even sure what a BB cream was, but I'd heard about it somewhere.  It's like a tinted moisturizer, not as heavy as foundation, but decent coverage, smooths on easily, and feels like it's hydrating your skin.  I just set it with a little Mineral Veil translucent powder by Bare Minerals and I'm good to go.  "Go where?" you ask.  Good question!  LOL

7 comments:

Marei said...

So tell me about this ring light. I can honestly say I have never heard of this & it would probably be perfect for pictures of my design wall. No TV in our house so no bill! I like that & know you will enjoy the savings on your bill. Nice job with both the quilt & runner!!

Quiltdivajulie said...

LOL - great post! I have mentioned the light ring to DH because we both have to do board meetings for local groups via Zoom and the lighting can be tricky. He came up with another solution - but that's because he's an engineer. We Zoomed with my sister and her family on Christmas - first time we'd seen their faces in a year. Her husband said - we need to do this again soon (they live 15 hours away). Christmas take-down - I'm with you. We end up "spring cleaning" in many areas. We've kept one tree (white lights only - no ornaments) up in our foyer and it will stay until the end of January. For some reason it's solid presence and soft light is too comforting and contented to take down right now.

Quiltdivajulie said...

p.s. We've been an antenna family for years - haven't missed cable TV at all, especially now with streaming services.

QuiltGranma said...

Our flat screen TV is connected to hubby's lap top and we get plenty to watch, though no news which is FINE, via You tube, TUBI, and other free stuff.

Kaja said...

I like your set up. I zoom my various big kids on a tablet, but the visuals can be a bit hit-and-miss, especially when the kids still at home join in. I remember when I was a kid, all we had in the UK was three channels - seems like a different world entirely.

Anonymous said...

Playing catch up on blog reading today....

Electronics are such help, but a real aggravation when they don’t work. We cut our cable too. Too many channels with nothing in them. It certainly doesn’t warrant the cost.

The new quilt is so pretty! I know whoever gets it will appreciate it.

Anonymous said...

Playing catch up on blog reading today....

Electronics are such help, but a real aggravation when they don’t work. I’m glad you were able to fix your camera and audio woes so easily! I’ve been on a few FaceTime calls with friends myself.

We cut our cable too. Too many channels with nothing in them. It certainly doesn’t warrant the cost.

The new quilt is so pretty! I know whoever gets it will appreciate it.