I am sincerely hopeful, now that I’ve deleted my Facebook Account, that I will be writing  more blog posts, responding to comments more, and commenting more on other blogs, instead of wasting time scrolling through endless one line, repetitive FB posts. To that end, I have finally updated my blog roll (to the right.) If you see your blog link listed there, it means I have added you to my Feedly reader page and I read all your posts as often as you post them. (Please don’t assume my lack of comments on your blog means I’m not there, following along. I am.) Generally speaking, I discover other blogs by following visitors, who comment on my posts, back to their blog, or by checking out links on other bloggers’ pages. If I like a blog, I’ll add it to my Feedly reader and follow it for awhile, then eventually add it to my blogger roll on my blog. Honestly, I haven’t updated my blog roll in a long time, because I forgot how to add and remove blog links, but I just figure it out again today so – VOILA! – it’s updated. If you read my blog, and have a blog of your own I haven’t listed, let me know in a comment. I’d be happy to check out your blog.

It was a good time to do this update, as I am unexpectedly home this weekend with some free time on my hands. I was supposed to visit the BF in CT this weekend, but I’m battling my first ever bout of bronchitis and I wasn’t feeling well enough to make the trip or be away from home. While I feel bad about cancelling my trip, I prefer to be home when I’m not feeling well. The dogs are certainly happy I’m home, and the hubby built a roaring fire to keep me toasty warm, so I’m feeling as comfortable as possible, under the circumstances. None the less, while I have had to acclimate to health issues consistently ruining my plans, it still bums me out when it happens.

Speaking of health problems…..as a follow up to this horrible event last year, I had a teeth cleaning this week, and I was given a  referral to see a periodontist for a consult to discuss a crown lengthening and the possibility of getting two dental implants. (Lucky me.) Despite my consternation about it, I’ll do whatever I have to to maintain the health of my remaining teeth and return my smile to a semblance of normalcy.

And on a final note, I have become addicted to smart devices in our home. We have slowly added iDevice switch smart plugs to all of our outlets and replaced all of our regular bulbs with Phillips Hue Ambience Bulbs. Both of these devices work with our Apple Home Pods and allow us to set up various lighting “Scenes” which can be activated through an app on our apple devices (iPhones, apple watches, iPads, or MacBooks) or simply by saying “Hey Siri.” (Which is kind of like having my own Cei-U – pronounced “Say you” – activated Badhnesian magic thunderbolt.)

We can decide which lights are turned on (or off) in each scene, and how bright each light will be. We have Good Morning and Good Night scenes, that turn dimmed lights on and off throughout the house with one command (“Hey Siri…Good Morning.”)

Unlike Jeffrey’s preference for subdued lighting and closed drapes, I like our home bright and cheerful, so Jeffrey has added two new scenes for me, inspired by the (Hal Jordan) Green Lantern Oath:

“Brightest Day” turns all the lights on in the house to their brightest setting; “Darkest Night” turns everything off. I absolutely love this, but I’m probably annoying the dogs and hubby by turning the lights on and off over and over again because I get a kick out of saying the commands.

Now if only I can figure out how to get Siri to make me a Cosmo on demand…