It has been one of those rare calm Shetland winter days. Even the sun made an appearance and everyone just breathed out and relaxed.
I am trying to get out more now, doing little things, but definitely doing.
When my sciatica sneaks back in, I then rest up until it’s gone again. I am learning my triggers and also realising I am going to have to avoid them for the time-being.
I am also trying to get my brain working again, so I brought one of my Great-Great Aunt Kate’s tiny weeny diaries (1947) up to work on. As it is not easy to read and type while lying on my bed, I tried dictating the diary entries one day at a time. It did not go to plan. Talk about random words! One month’s entries usually takes me just over an hour of fast typing. I managed one week in one hour, left feeling pretty exasperated but it is something I want to keep doing. I need a better microphone, I think. And the computer doesn’t understand the words “Full stop” or “Brackets”. Humpf.
My afternoon walk was much longer today too and Pepper and I enjoyed the quiet calm scenery.
Listening to the Hobbits traipsing along helps too. They’ve just been caught by the Barrow-Wights and are about to sing out for Tom Bombadil (who I find incredibly annoying).
So that’s my day. Slowly getting there.
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I’m reading Aunt Kate’s Diaries, still. I find it amazing and endearing that she gives as much weight to recording mending her stockings or washing her collars as to meeting the king and queen of Belgium, getting a letter from the prime minister or having tea with the American president’s wife. I can recommend them to all your readers!
For dictation on your Mac, I think you’d find this helpful:
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac-help/commands-for-dictating-text-on-mac-mh40695/mac
Thank you so much. This will be so helpful.
Yay, I’m glad. Hope you find some relief to your chronic pain soon too. As someone who suffers from chronic low back pain, I can surely empathize.
Glad you have better weather and (somewhat) better health.
Oh, and I skip the whole Tom Bombadil chapter when reading LotRs, as it just makes me mutter “why, why? It’s not like you needed to make this trilogy even longer…”
But heh, Strider’s coming.
❤️ Strider
The pictures! Absolutely gorgeous! I am glad your back is cooperating a bit more. Pepper really does bring a smile–pepper on the bed splooting, Pepper with horses, pepper on the walk on the magnificent winter day! Maybe she can be in charge of the microphone upgrade with a new software patch. I put nothing beyond Pepper’s interests & capabilities. I also saw a quite sleepy Monster assisting.
I wonder, have you tried acupuncture? I know some people who rave about it but then others not so much. Isn’t a rare good weather day an absolute balm to your being?
No one does it here.
RE recording, I’ve found that with my update to iOS 26 on the iPhone, I can make very clear Voice Memos that you can then copy as text transcript and send to your Mac. It doesn’t do ordered punctuation, capitalization, paragraph separation, etc. like dictation does, but it seems to pick up my voice and words that are sometimes missed by the Mac. To get the transcript, click the three dots above right of the voice memo you made and you will see the View Transcript. Then there is also Copy Transcript for sharing.
I’ve found it great for describing dreams upon awakening or thoughts while on a walk which I later use in writings.
Thank you. Very useful.
All the photos are wonderful, but the last one of the “pond” is even more so. Thank you for posting these. With so many nasty things going on in the world, we need these positive reminders of beauty (as well as daily Instagram updates on the walking Buddhist monks and Aloka the peace dog). May each day be a little better.