Contact List Competence

Over the last decade I've held several service positions for a fellowship. My newest one started four days ago. As the Communications person I will be quarterbacking communications to other members in Missouri, and eventually reviving a dormant newsletter.

VectorPortal

The fellowship has a Google Workspace account for non-profits which will allow me to send out messages via a mail merge. (If I decide to get fancy with it I can set up an even add the person's name.) For the past few days I've been working on coming up with a solid contact list. The information is in one of four places, but one of those places actually has three different categories. And there's some overlap in the categories. 

I started out trying to put everything into a Excel spreadsheet and only confused myself. Next I tried Google Sheets, but since I don't know much about its commands I got angry and had to walk away. Eventually I sent an email to the person who did the job last year, then went out for a walk. 

Along the way another possible way to put together the list occurred to me. Back at home I manipulated the information I had and uploaded it into Google Contacts. then added categories so I can send out messages to some or all of them. I composed and sent a test message to everyone on my list by category. 

When it showed up in my personal inbox I was so excited I jumped up and started dancing around! 

It didn't take me long to realize that anyone who was in more than one category would have received the message more than once, so I started cleaning up the list. And I've already gotten a few automated responses that some of the addresses are not valid, so that's still more work to do.

Five years ago today: Thank God Its Monday

Neighborly

Earlier in the year a cork board with a bunch of push pins appeared on the wall next to the door leading out to the garage. At the top of the board there was a piece of paper that announced it was a "Community Posting Board". At the bottom of the board was a "Let's Go Blues" poster (for the NHL hockey team). Based on the fact that the downstairs neighbor had just retired, he seems to be a huge hockey fan, and the board had some fade lines showing where previous things had been tacked on I suspected he was the installer, but I thought it was a handy thing to have there.

I may have been one of the few in the building who thought that, because the board hasn't gotten much use. Over the months a couple of business cards were pinned there. One day I found a grocery store receipt laying on the floor and stuck it on. Eventually a calendar showed up. 

December's page had a nice generic snowy landscape. This morning I was taking the trash down to the garage and noticed that the calendar was still showing the old month. Even though I wasn't the "owner" I went ahead and changed the page. January has a large eagle perched on a snow bank with icy water in the background. I'm going to enjoy seeing it for the next month.

No Two Days Should Ever Be The Same

Like many people, New Year's resolutions don't really work for me in the long term. For the past several years I've chosen a word to help keep me on track, but this year nothing spoke to me. Finally, I decided to incorporate a concept.

I've come to realize that so much of my life is doing the same things repeatedly. Each day I perform the same morning routine, and (mostly) eat a very similar lunch. Afternoons have a similar flow, then it's time for dinner. I do much of my computer work on the couch in the evening, either listening to the radio or with the television on as background noise. Then it's time to go to bed so I can start again the next day.

In 2026 I've decided that each day has to include at least one non-repeated activity, which can be silly or serious. I did something similar in 2008-my first blog documented my year of doing a new thing every day. This time, though, I have no expectation that my activities will be worth documenting (although I have no doubt some of them will show up).

Wish me luck!

Openclipart

Five years ago today: Just For Today

Review And Reflection

Family Circus 

This cartoon in today's newspaper made me smile. I asked Hubby Tony if he wanted to have an Old Year's Eve celebration tonight. He did.

Neither one of us was sure what an Old Year's Eve celebration would entail but we gave it our best shot. I started by emptying out the refrigerator and preparing a surprisingly good egg custard casserole dish that included cottage cheese, pumpkin puree, cornmeal, chopped greens, onion, garlic, and a splash of pepper brine. We also had toast (to 'toast' the old year). For dessert there was fresh blackberries and a package of truffles from a Christmas gift box.

After dinner we talked about 2025-what we liked and didn't like, what we were grateful for, and what we wouldn't bring into the new year. We also looked at photos from the past year and realized we had done more than we realized. Our conclusion was that in the end 2025 had been a good year.

 Five years ago today: A Decade Of Days

From 71 to 17

Our stretch of nice weather has come to an end. This post's title is how one of the local meteorologists summed up our temperatures for a 24-hour period. The prediction turned out to be almost right on track.

Yesterday the high reached 78°Fahrenheit in the 2 pm hour. Then a cold front came through, the wind picked up, and the temperatures started dropping:

• At 3 pm it was 73°.

• At 4 pm it was 58°. I changed from capri shorts to jeans, and put socks on.

• By 5 pm it had dropped to 49°. I closed the windows and (even though the thermostat was still showing 69° I turned on the furnace so it could go on when it was needed).

• At 6 pm the thermometer read 42°. A strong wind rattled the windows.

• Then the drop slowed a bit. At 7 pm it was 34°, 8 pm 33°, and at 9 pm 29°. At that point I stopped paying attention, but this morning my phone app told me the lowest point was a frigid 14° at 4 am.

I haven't heard anything official, but it sounds like the area may have come close to or surpassed the largest 24-hour temperature drop in St. Louis history, which occurred on November 11, 1911. According to the National Weather Service, on that day temperatures plummeted 65 degrees, with readings falling from summer-like highs (around 78°F) to the low teens or single digits by the next morning.

Five years ago today: It's All About The Fizz

Planning In Advance

A funny from a friend....

Jacob, age 92, and Lena, age 89, decided to get married. They go for a stroll to discuss the wedding and along the way they pass a drugstore. Jacob suggests they go in, where he addresses the pharmacist.

Easy-Peasy.ai

Jacob: "We're about to get married. Do you sell heart medication?"

Pharmacist: "Of course we do."

Freepik

Jacob: "How about medicine for circulation?"

Pharmacist: "All kinds."

American Heart Association

Jacob: "Medicine for rheumatism, scoliosis?"

Pharmacist: "Definitely."

Freepik.com

Jacob: "How about Viagra?"

Pharmacist: "Of course."

GoodFon.com

Jacob: "Medicine for memory problems, arthritis, jaundice?"

Pharmacist: "Yes, a large variety. The works."

Picryl.com

Jacob: "What about vitamins and sleeping pills?"

Pharmacist: "Absolutely."

Rawpixel

Jacob: "You sell wheelchairs and walkers?"

Pharmacist: "All speeds and sizes."

Jacob says to the pharmacist: "We'd like to register here for our wedding gifts, please." 

 

Five years ago: You'll Never Believe What Happened

Cosmopolitan Christmas

How was your Christmas? Mine was great.

The first thing we did before Hubby Tony and I sat down to breakfast was load up the CD player with Christmas tunes. We had our Jewish kosher bagels and fresh pineapple, lingered over coffee, then opened our presents. I was thrilled with my crossword puzzle book and tickets to two productions at a local theater later in the year. Tony quickly set to work charging up the battery for his new portable radio and figuring out which date night activities I had suggested he wanted to do. Foster Cat Smokey Joe ate his treats, and then had fun playing with the wrapping and tissue paper.

Our next scheduled activity wasn't until dinner time, so Tony and I left the house mid-morning to go for a walk. The sky was gloomy, but it was warm enough to wear just a fleece jacket. Our walk turned multi-cultural when we passed by a Catholic church, a Muslim mosque, and a Hindu temple before we turned around and headed back. 

Next was a stop at the Asian market for a couple of produce items, then a recently opened branch of Tous les Jours bakery, where we got pastries to share for lunch. I thoroughly enjoyed the Sausage Onion Pastry, Garlic and Cheese Croissant, Kimchi Croquette, and a sweet Portuguese Egg Tart with caramelized sugar on top.

We headed home and relaxed until Son Donald texted that he was on his way to the condo. After he arrived we socialized (and Smokey Joe was thrilled to have another lap to sit on). When it was time Donald helped me with the last minute dinner prep-lasagna, salad, roasted Mexican squash, and a cranberry crumble for dessert. 

After dinner presents were exchanged and cards played. All too soon it was time for Donald to get home and take care of his dogs.

Five years ago today: "Christmask" 2020

The Eve Of The Eve Of Christmas 2025

This week my area is having a stretch of unseasonably warm weather. Instead of a white Christmas, people in the St. Louis area will be ditching their heavy coats in favor of lightweight jackets. Today was forecast to be in the mid-60s°F, so Hubby Tony and I decided to take advantage of today's lovely temperature by combining errands with outside time.

Over the weekend we had a FaceTime call with Son Brian and family. During the call Grandson Jay told us he was doing a school report on ex-Cardinal baseball player Ozzie Smith (who played in the 1980s) and asked if Grandpa had any books about him. Tony did not, but yesterday he found out a nearby used bookstore did and put the book on hold to pick up today. 

By the time we left the condo a little after 9 am the temperature was already in the 50s. I was wearing jeans, a long sleeve shirt, and a fleece jacket. Tony was dressed in a similar fashion. We got to the bookstore a half hour before it opened, and used the time to walk on a nearby greenway. Halfway through the walk we both took off our jackets. 

Back at the bookstore, the associates were so helpful I wished it was closer to my house so I could shop there regularly. On the way out we ran into a woman who was setting up a gift wrapping station at the front of the store. She had her golden retriever with her, who she described as her assistant. The dog was so friendly I bet he got a lot of attention from customers.

Our second destination was a kosher bagel shop a half mile away, where we would pick up breakfast for Christmas morning. This time both Tony and I left our jackets in the car and we started walking. Halfway through this one I rolled my sleeves up and wished I had on capris instead of jeans.

Public Domain Pictures

Tony and I each ordered a bagel-Everything for him and Tzitzel (a St. Louis specialty which is tossed in cornmeal for a nice crunch) for me. By this time we were both hungry, so we added a Churro bagel to share today. The churro bagels were still in the oven, so while we were waiting we had a nice conversation with a woman who was doing the same thing. I learned that if I ever get back to that shop I should definitely have schmear of whitefish salad, which she said was the best she had ever tasted.

By the time we got back to the car my feet told me they were finished walking for the day. In theory, we could have run a third errand on the way home, but I was excited to get back to the condo and open up a couple of windows to let fresh air in.

Five years ago: The Countdown Begins 

The Holidays Are Everywhere

I enjoyed being on the road behind this vehicle decked out in lights

Whoever came up with the idea this 'tree' at the hardware store was quite creative.

The sign says "Merry Christmas neighbors. Enjoy a sweet from the candy cane giving tree".

 

 

Before I went to bed last night I took a photo of our tree in the dark living room. I like the way the lights showed up on the wall.

Five years ago: Nice, And Easy Too

Incidently Learning

Earlier this month I thrifted a comfortable red sweater for the holidays.

Before the first wearing I gave it a rinse and spin in the washer, but after several uses it was ready for a good wash. There were no written laundry instructions anywhere, just a handful of symbols that I needed to decode. It was time to go on an Internet hunt.

The Tide website told me that I could machine wash the sweater in warm water with no bleach and iron on a high temperature, but it did not tell me what the last symbol meant. On the Wunderlabel site, it added that the 30-degee Celsius water temperature could be interpreted as cold water (between 65-85 degrees), agreed about no bleach and the ironing temperatures, and said that the circled P meant it could be dry cleaned with any solvent except trichloroethylene. The Clorox site agreed. However, none of the sites talked about how to dry the item.

I kept looking, but never found the information. However, I did learn something cool.

I knew about the little 'Info' button (an 'i' in a circle) at the bottom of  my phone's Photo app. It gives the photo metadata, but somewhere along the line it also turned into a Visual Look Up feature. In this case, looking up the symbol information pulled up Siri AI. Sadly, not even Sire supplied the information I was looking for, so I will end up laying the sweater flat to dry.

I only paid four dollars for the sweater, so I will be sad if the washing information is incorrect but not crushed.

Five years ago: Almost Like The Real Thing