2025, Family, home, Mysteries, Seasons, Technology

Mystery Theme

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In the past Renee has mentioned that she has post-it notes stuck around with ideas for the Trail.  This doesn’t work for me because if I’m out and about, by the time I get home to the post-it notes (of which I have many….), I’ve forgotten what I wanted to note.  Yep – seriously sad.  I remember that I thought of something but for the life of me, I can’t conjure it up when it’s time to write. 

To make up for this I use a post-it note app on my phone.  I have a bunch of separate notes and one of them is my Trail note.  You’d think this would solve my problem but….

Looked at the app three days ago and one of the entries is “first fire”.  That’s it.  Nothing else.  It took me the last three days to figure out it must have to do with YA making the first fire of the season in our fire pit last week.  Of course, it doesn’t explain WHY I put this note in the app.  There really wasn’t anything different about this fire except that it was the first one this year.  YA is still in charge of the fire.  She has a stash of newspaper and different piles of wood in the back corners of the yard – one for kindling sticks, one for larger sticks and one for logs.  She makes the fire, feeds the fire, pokes the fire with her special fire-poking stick. 

I’ve searched my memory and I can’t think of one single reason why you all have to read about our first fire.  So maybe it was something else?  A metaphor for our current world situation? 

What do you think I should be writing about with the theme of “first fire”?  How do you remind yourself of stuff?

35 thoughts on “Mystery Theme”

  2. I remind myself of stuff by remembering them. I don’t habitually write myself notes.

    I don’t have anything much to say about “first fire” except to comment that the first forest fire north of Duluth is alarming and to express the hope that some combination of weather and the firefighters get it under control soon.

    On the subject of a metaphor for our current world situation, a science fiction story I read over fifty years ago came to mind recently, causing me to refresh my memory of it.

    Wikipedia has an entry for it. The story was called It’s a Good Life. It was also turned into episodes for Twilight Zone twice.

    In the story, a boy, Anthony, aged three, six, and eight in the various tellings, has unlimited mental powers but the mind and impulsiveness and petulance of a young child. He has isolated his town and the people in it either by taking it “somewhere else” or by destroying the rest of the world. He is highly reactive and anyone who upsets him gets turned into something unspeakable and planted “in the cornfield”, so nobody dares to say or do anything that might upset him. Consequently, he is surrounded by forced sycophants compelled to feign happiness and satisfaction.
    Sound familiar?

    Here’s the Wikipedia link:
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/It%27s_a_Good_Life

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  3. I tap my forehead three times while saying the thing. It’s the tapping the forehead that makes it stick.

    I have many many notes on my phone. I’ve told Kelly, if I ever get hit by a bus, there’s a lot of relevant information in my phone notes. Including one for Blog ideas. But I too have written things that don’t make much sense three days later.

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  5. We have now had 3.56 inches of rain since Wednesday morning. All slow, no gully washers. It is still raining.

    I find I have to write quite a bit on my notes so I remember what I was thinking to write about when the time comes.

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        2. The system front has moved over to Fargo, and if it goes straight east it should hit Duluth.

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  6. It didn’t rain much here and the storm wasn’t much either. I’m hoping for rain in northeastern MN. Buckets of rain.

    I use a paper calendar (I know, old technology, but it works), and I make lists. I use sticky notes to remind myself to return something to a friend, or to bring something along with me. I’ve used sticky notes to remind myself to pick up a book from the library, but that can also go on a paper list.

    I’ve used “Notes” on my phone to remind myself of various things. I’ve used voice recording on my phone too, but then I forget to listen to the recording. We really have too much technology, I think, and we’ve forgotten how to just be.

    I like bonfires in the backyard. I can’t do that here, of course. I can’t really breathe the smoke either, because it triggers my asthma. It sure is nice to sit around a fire and play music, though. That’s one of my favorite things.

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  7. Rise and Get Yourself Organized, Baboons,

    My reminders are just like Krista’s–paper calendar, post it notes. A few phone things. I will admit to having major resentments regarding the use of electronic calendars. When I was working there were repeated incidents of colleagues using e-calendars, making major errors, then me having to deal with the results. That usually meant the colleague in question would double book herself because she did not hit save, then two clients showed up for the same time. Then I had to deliver the news. Don’t even get me started. So at the end of my career, I was completely uncooperative and downright belligerent about e-calendars and phone reminders. Bah!

    I am now 11 days out from my surgery, off all the pain meds (yippee–so unpleasant), and the anesthesia effects are waning, so I can start listing things again and organize some tasks that need doing. I am regaining a bit of attention span. That is, as long as it is upstairs. I am a week away from being able to use stairs. There has been an electrician in the downstairs level fixing a short. My son moved everything away from the work area. I am sure I do not want to see what is going on down there. So maybe I will just put that off for months.

    It is raining gently here. Yesterday the wind here was intense, blowing off the top of my cold frame. That is in smitherines.

    If anyone wants garden soil I have just a small amount left (like 2-3 wheelbarrows full). The neighbors descended on us because they wanted “Jacque’s Dirt”. Really.

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    1. I hate e-calendars too. They just don’t work for me.

      I’m glad you’re getting back to your old self, and that you’re not on pain meds anymore. That’s a great step!

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  8. I have been forced to use calendars and lists that are shared on my phone an iPad. I spend 3-4 hours a day with Sandy watching her sleep or watch HGTV. So I do quite a bit there. I keep a list at home of appointments on paper posted in front of me. I keep a board of things that give me joy each day. It is 2×3 inch pieces of paper pasted one on top of each. It helps my mood, makes me see things as I pass. I enter things on my phone. Very cryptic entries work for me. These are only back up. I usually remember things, but I think punching them in helps me remember. The fact is I have the calendar in my head but I would be afraid not to have it written down.
    This has been a cray day, a rare day. I did not go see her today. For one to give myself a break and also to get many details done, on a list on phone and iPad.
    Clyde

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  9. I have to admit that my paper calendars (of which there are many) are almost all decor these days. The Cobblestone Way is the fancy one in the kitchen – this has items on it – mostly for YA, although I like to “do it up”. In my studio I have the St Paul Firefights w/ Puppies calendar and the Sandra Boynton Silly Holiday calendar. In my room is another prettified 6 x 6 that I make every year as well as my Daytimer which records all the birthdays/anniversaries, etc. and holds cards until it’s time to mail them. Stamps and address labels are stored here as well.

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  11. Been getting lots of reports from friends about the fire. One lost a cabin. Others are threatened. Keys places to us have survived so far, most friends will have some tree and smoke damage but buildings likely to survive, homes and cabins

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  12. I have a word document called Possible Blogs… which I was keeping before Husband’s stroke. It has possible titles, and then often a link to an article that prompted me to consider writing. Some of the links no longer work, but even if they do, I see that I no longer have the drive needed to read and summarize this article for a blog post!

    The lesson here, I believe, is “Do it now! strike while the iron’s hot” or something like that.

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  13. I have a reminder app that came with my phone. If I say “Hey Bixby, set a reminder” I can then tell it what to remember. I do this a lot when I’m in the car, because it’s more convenient than having to stop to find a pen and paper, or type something out. Google Assistant does pretty much the same thing, but asks me when I want to be reminded. That’s good if it’s an appointment or a task that has a deadline.

    I used to have to-do lists on the backs of envelopes that I pulled out of the recycle bin. I had an unfortunate tendency to lose them.

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