Secret Life of Bloggers Blog Party: Post 28: My Fuzzy Brain

This month has been interesting.  I've done a lot of things out of my comfort zone in a short period of time which has been good but I've also had to change my work habits which turned out to be horrible. I was working from another home and alone most of the time so I found myself using technology more than ever to detrimental effect.       


I have found that my switch from listening to music on my computer to listening on my ipod touch has been bad for my focus as I get facebook notifications and email notifications. The time it takes me to check the notification takes a few seconds, but the time it takes to get my brain back on track is a lot longer. A study conducted by Michigan State reported that a 3 second distraction doubles work related errors and I believe it.

I've also been doing a lot of unnecessary multitasking, such as checking facebook, writing, listening to music and checking the news all at the same time. I find the new gadgets make multitasking like this effortless and quick. It seems like the less time I spend focusing on one task the more "fuzzy" and overwhelmed my mind feels. Science seems to back this up.

Now I'm strangely trying to undo all of the extremely handy features that my phone has and removing all of my saved passwords on the computer so checking thing is no longer a "3 second" jump. I've always been a fan of the "Slow tech" and "unplugging" movements and have been good about getting things done in the real world, but this last week I was glued to my devices and I feel horrible.

I encourage everyone to try and take a break from crazy  multitasking this week. There are a lot of beautiful things going on outdoors take the time to relax and enjoy them without checking your phone every two seconds.           

9-8-2014

Photo Essay: Star Spangled Spectacular Sailing Trip

I don't always fall off the earth for a week, but when I do, I'm up to something fun. I helped sail tall ship, Gazela Primeiro, down to Baltimore for the bicentennial of the writing of the Star Spangled Banner. As this was my first real sail, I was very excited and overwhelmed.

We arrived at the ship at Penn's Landing in Philadelphia on Monday night and started off Tuesday morning. That night we dropped anchor near the Sassafras river. On Wednesday, we set off again and arrived at Baltimore around 10:30 in the morning. I was the cook for the first few days.


I created a photographic essay to document the experience.

Civil War Era Crab Apple Jelly Recipe

“I enjoy doing housework, ironing, washing, cooking, dishwashing. Whenever I get one of those questionnaires and they ask what is your profession, I always put down housewife. It's an admirable profession, why apologize for it. You aren't stupid because you're a housewife. When you're stirring the jam you can read Shakespeare.”

― Tasha Tudor

Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation Civil War Event 2014

I have been missing all week, but that is a post for another time! On Sunday, I helped out with the Civil War event at the Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation in Media, Pennsylvania. This is my home event and I was sad to only be able to help out one of the two days.

For those of you who have never been to the Colonial Pennsylvania Plantation, the farm is beautiful and is the perfect spot for a time traveling trip. It's a gorgeous backdrop for a Civil War event. The farm house and surrounding buildings bring farmhouse life to life and the spectators stand so close, that they are really a part of the action.  

Secret Life of Bloggers Blog Party: Post # 27

Now that life is settling back down again I've actually got a new blog party post. I have lots to tell but no time to tell it so hopefully I'll get everyone updated next week.

9-1-2014

We've been finding frogs all over the place at the farm. The spring house has a surprisingly large regular frog as well as a couple of salamanders.

9-2-2014

The twilight really shown through the blinds.

9-3-2014

I've been working on a food project. 

9-4-2014

I've been spending a lot of time messing around with my camera again.

9-5-2014

I've been pruning the bookshelves. Which is a hard task but I only like to keep the really good stuff.

9-6-2014

Paranormal investigation at work. 

9-7-2014

Went to the Brandywine Festival for the Arts. Helped out with the giant Lite-Brite built by Barrel of Makers. They will be taking it to Makerfaire in NY soon.