Monthly Archives: June 2024

What’s on your phone?

This is one of those weeks where every idea I’ve had for possible posts went… somewhere. So, in a bit of a throwaway post, today’s topic of conversation is cell phones and how they can be personalized. I’ve probably got phones on my mind because Kenn’s phone began malfunctioning a week ago and much drama has ensued. (Even though he denies it, the drama gene is strong in Kenn’s family.) Fortunately, after a trip to the Verizon store, we were able to order a replacement under warranty. Now that the new phone has arrived and is configured, our drama levels have returned to normal.

I’m big on personalizing my stuff, phones included. Kenn has had an impact on my personalizations. Kenn’s home and lock screen have always been family photos whereas mine have been video game themed. I guess you could say that I started feeling a little guilty. Kenn always has a picture of me on his screen. Why did I not have one of him? So, a year or so ago, I changed things up. My lock screen is still video game themed, but my home screen now features Kenn. For a while it was a picture of both of us taken at a wedding, now it’s Kenn and Bear. So, here’s a peek into my world.

The Mass Effect video games are my comfort games; these are the games I go to when my heart hurts, or when I’m missing my virtual friends. (I played a lot of Mass Effect during the eighteen month period in which we lost our remaining three parents.) In Mass Effect, you play as Commander Shepard. I play as a female Shepard, whom I have named Sascha. Sascha’s chosen love interest is Garrus Vakarian. (Garrus is one of the best video game characters ever created in my opinion.) So, my phone’s lock screen is a screen shot of Sascha and Garrus.

The photo on my home screen was taken Christmas day 2024 after our celebrations ended and the kids and grandkids had moved onto other locations. Bear is a fairly social cat and had spent most of the day mingling. I couldn’t help but laugh at him though. Once everyone left, Bear climbed into the chair with Kenn, wedged himself in the corner, and went to sleep. Poor baby Bear was exhausted. Peopling is hard!

Of course, my ringtones are personalized. My default ringtone is my favorite happy, feel-good song: Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go by Wham! Kenn, however, gets his own ringtone: Still the One by Orleans. Text messages go back to a video game theme. Incoming texts are announced by Kelly Chambers from Mass Effect 2 saying “You have unread messages at your private terminal.”

How do you personalize your phone? Do you use family photos, pet photos, or something else? How about your ringtones? Do you choose one of the ones that comes with the phone or something a little more personal to you?

Seeing Red

Crape myrtles are ubiquitous in the South. Honestly, I’m not much of a plant person, but I do like crape myrtles; they produce beautiful blooms and are extremely low maintenance. Since the blooms are available in a variety of colors, there’s something for everyone. That said, it has taken decades for me to get the red blooming crape myrtles that I’ve always wanted.

Kenn is the plant person in this relationship. When we moved into our last house, one of the first things we did was get rid of the scraggly bushes in the narrow strip of land separating our driveway from our neighbor’s driveway. Kenn said he wanted to plant crape myrtles, which was fine with me. My only request was that we get trees with red blooms instead of the pink ones that are everywhere. Kenn bought the trees, planted them, babied them, and, in turn, they presented us with fushia (aka pink) blooms. Kenn seemed surprised to learn that pink is not red.🙄

When we moved into The Cabin, another (short lived) chance for red blooming crape myrtles presented itself. The previous owners had planted a couple of white blooming crape myrtles of the Black Diamond variety. Black Diamond crape myrtles have dark purplish foliage instead of the traditional green. At that time, what we couldn’t find was a Black Diamond variety with red blooms. So, when we decided to buy additional trees, I sighed, and gave up on my dreams of red flowers and we purchased more of the white blooming Black Diamond variety. What a mistake. Neither of us was pleased with the pre-existing trees or the new ones; they just didn’t grow or bloom.

A couple of years ago, we decided to dig up the Black Diamond trees and replace them. This time, I insisted that we get a red blooming variety. We even drove around the local area while I pointed out to Kenn all of the colors that are not red. You know, things like white, pink, and lavendar. Sometimes I wonder if the man is color blind. We did some research and found the perfect red in a relatively new variety. Meet Miss Frances!

The bright red blooms with the yellow centers are exactly what I have been looking for! I smile every time I see them. Oh, and the Black Diamond trees we replaced? I would have tossed them in the gully and let them decompose. Kenn, however, moved them to another area where they basically get ignored – and they’re doing great, LOL.

Do crape myrtles grow in your area? Have you used them in your landscaping? If so, what color blooms do you prefer?

Anti-Hermit Mode Engaged

Kenn and I are both introverts, so it’s easy for us to spend time alone or with just each other. I have to admit that I occasionally worry about us becoming hermits. In an effort to combat my hermit-like tendencies, I decided to push myself outside of my comfort zone by joining some sort of group. Of course, joining a random group just to join the group is a recipe for disaster. As I was trying to decide where I might best find people with similar interests, a friend invited me to join a book club. Boom! A book club is a perfect fit for me.

I’m an avid reader and have been as long as I can remember. I also have to admit that I have actively avoided book clubs in the past. Why? Because I’m not very good at being told what to do, including what to read. However, I decided to give the group a try; if it’s not a good fit, I can always leave. Easy-peasy.

Image from depositphotos.com

So far, the book club and I seem to be a good fit. I’ve been a member for three months now, but only made it to my first in-person meeting in May. Even though there are seventy or so people in the Facebook group for the club, there were only seven of us at the meeting I attended. Based on comments by the other attendees, that seems to be the standard turnout. Walking into a roomful of people I don’t know is hard for me, but I’ve gotten better at it over the years. I enjoyed getting to know the other attendees and even enjoyed the discussion of the book. (Of the three books I’ve read since joining, the May book was my least favorite.) The books we have read since I have joined are:

  • The Seven Year Slip by Ashley Poston; I liked this one a lot.
  • The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon; Much to my surprise, I really enjoyed this one even though historical fiction isn’t usually my thing.
  • One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid; This one was just “okay” to me.

In addition to getting me out of the house and helping me meet new people, the club is introducing me to books I probably wouldn’t have otherwise read. It’s easy for me to get stuck in my sci-fi/paranormal/urban fantasy worlds and not venture out into others. So, I’m glad I’ve pushed myself to step outside of my admittedly very small comfort zone.

Are you a reader? If so, are you in a book club? Are you an introvert or an extrovert? If you’re an introvert how do you avoid the hermit tendencies?