Harvest on the Horizon

I have a pepper!

The tag seems to have disappeared, though, so I have no idea what this is.

I picked enough raspberries yesterday morning to make a chocolate-raspberry pie for the husband. I also made a salad with lettuce and arugula from the garden. Unfortunately, the arugula is starting to bolt in this heat. I’m going to try to put in another row this week. The cool-weather crops really didn’t have much of a chance; we went from 31F in the middle of June to 90+F in the middle of July. 🫤 We’re supposed to get a break by the end of this week, with highs only in the low to mid-80s.

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On her podcast (A Quilting Life), Sherri McConnell sometimes mentions books she has read and found helpful. She recently recommended Uptime: A Practical Guide to Personal Productivity and Wellbeing, by Laura Mae Martin.

The author is Google’s Productivity Expert and mother of three kids under the age of 4. I’m not much for self-help books, but I checked this one out of the library and have been reading it over the past couple of days.

My takeaways so far:

  1. I should have thought about writing a book about how I get so much done. Oh, well. I’m glad somebody wrote one.

  2. Her system is very similar to what I use, although mine is a bit less formal.

  3. Apparently, a lot of people neglect to do any significant self-reflection on their personalities and schedules, or they’d see where to make the necessary changes. I suppose that’s why the world needs productivity coaches.

Right now, I am in the middle of the chapter about “power times” for getting work done. I’ve known this for years—being a morning person, I get the most work done between 4 am and noon.

There is always room for improvement, and I have gleaned several tips from the book that I want to implement, especially when it comes to meal planning. Martin also has some free scheduling templates on her website (under “Resources”) that look like they could be helpful.

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After lunch yesterday, I worked a bit on the FQ Fancy Star quilt. All the squares have been cut and paired—print with background—and stacked up next to the sewing machine. I’ll chain piece them as I have time. The upstairs of our house gets warm in this heat, though, so I think I might pull the projects that need to be sewn on the 1541. That machine is out in the old garage, which stays nice and cool during the day.