The Rose of Sharon is blooming. I have two of them, both of which were given to me by my friend Noble, tiny cuttings taken from his gorgeous bushes. One of the cuttings is a bit behind this one. It’s looking full and lovely but I suspect it won’t bloom until next year. I love these old-fashioned members of the hibiscus family.
Another air quality warning today. It’s endless. Either it’s raining and thundering or it’s not raining but incredibly humid or it’s not raining but it’s not very safe for someone like me to go outside. For much of the summer, I have felt trapped indoors. Very, very frustrating. I know some of you are suffering from drought or temps in the triple digits.
In regards to yesterday’s post, remember that social media in itself isn’t a bad thing. In fact, I’ve gained a lot from social media. I’ve come to know so many wonderful people, including all of you. I’ve made contacts I wouldn’t have been able to make in my wildest dreams if not for social media. It’s brought my work to the attention of magazine publishers and I’ve been published at least 4 or 5 times. It’s given me a professional web site for my theatrical coaching, which has brought me work. For those of us who work in the arts, it is an absolute necessity nowadays. I used to have a book review blog and I repeatedly heard from authors who said that publishers and potential publishers wanted authors to have an online presence in social media. Authors publicize their books through social media. In fact, Louise Penny thanked me when I met her – she said that bloggers sharing her work were a big part of her success. Musicians post about their work through social media. They post videos, share their process, and publicize their upcoming gigs – they can no longer rely on a manager or a big recording company to do that. Visual artists do the same. And as someone who works in theater and film, I have to stay connected through social media. I have taught hundreds of students, I’ve worked with hundreds of actors, many, many directors and designers, and at scads of theaters. Keeping in touch with them is essential. And I don’t just do it because I have to. I also treasure those relationships and want to. I’ve been hired because I’m on social media. Actors contact me for coaching through social media. I used social media to publicize my book reviews back when I was reviewing books on an almost-daily basis. After a 40+ year career in the theater, I’ve found social media to be invaluable. I remember the day I joined Facebook. Suddenly, scads and scads of my former students started popping up and I cried. To have a way of staying in contact with them, of knowing how they were doing? Priceless. Both Don and I have extensive contacts after our decades in the performing arts. Plus, I’m in touch with childhood friends and fellow summer camp counselors, friends from college and grad school, cousins and nieces and nephews, former next-door neighbors from my childhood, the list goes on and on and on.
So. It’s not social media that’s the problem. It’s simply a matter of controlling how much time I spend there. And that’s up to me and only me. I’m in charge of my time usage.
But, make no mistake, I am very, very grateful for it. It’s opened up my world in ways that I could never imagine a couple of decades ago.
Stay safe.
Happy Monday.
I feel the same as you about social media. I have noticed that when I am spending too much time on it I am more depressed. I don’t know if depression causes me to spend more time on the computer or if time spent on the computer causes me to feel down. I just know it is healthier for me to be outside or be involved with a project or book. I guess it’s just a balance that I need.
I have no time for it today as I need to get ready for 2 weeks of company. Yikes!!!
Love,
Eileen
It’s always balance, isn’t it?
Is family coming, Eileen?
Stay safe.
i don’t have accounts on twitter, instagram, etc. i had a facebook account for less than a week and that was only to find and purchase the old ethan allen cupboard-turned-bookshelves i bought a couple months ago. in that short time i was shocked at how many friend-requests (most often from strangers), solicitations and junky/sometimes creepy ads popped up. i couldn’t close that account fast enough.
but your work situation is different than mine. social media sounds like a necessity for freelancers, especially in the arts (whereas i am retired). i am happy that you have benefited from social media in several ways. so have all the people who were/are able to (re)connect with you. i’ve benefited, too … somehow it led me here. :)
i agree about the importance of paying attention to how we use our time. while depression and life circumstances can sometimes get in the way, i try to do several things each day … work/chores, walk, spend time with my family, rest, etc. not always “balanced”, but at least a routine of things that must be done that are good for me and/or that i enjoy. to be sure, there have been times (and probably will be again) when i’ve spent too much time looking at youtube videos of house tours/decorating, knitting, interviews of children’s book authors, baby animals, etc. so thanks again for the reminder about guarding time.
hope everyone has a happy, safe monday.
ps … am now up to page 133 in this book … hooray for reading again!
also, to donnamae … i hope the weather cooperated for the wedding. am sure it was a beautiful time for your family … congratulations. hope you can rest extra today!
kathy
The wedding was wonderful! The yard and gardens looked great for wedding pictures too. It was perfect weather for the wedding. No lawn mowers, no dogs barking, no F-35’s flying…only the cranes squawking at the end of the ceremony….if to say congratulations. Thank you for asking. Now we can rest! ;)
I liken Instagram and certain sites to a magazine. And there aren’t many good magazines around these days.
So glad you’re reading, Kathy.
Stay safe.
good point … and i agree about instagram being rather like magazines (which i miss).
thanks, claudia. me, too! i know it’s only been all of two days in a row, but i think the bad streak is broken. am now up to page 205 and i’m very glad, grateful and relieved to be reading again. :)
hope you’re having a nice night, too!
kathy
xoxo
I agree. I enjoy social media including your blog. It just has to be managed like every thing else. I don’t have hundreds of friends on Facebook and only you and one other person on IG. However there are some days I would like to throw a few friends phone out the window. But again my decision about staying friends with them.
I sure hope you get some nice weather soon. Our temperature dropped a couple of degrees and I can feel the difference.
I don’t like it when you’re with someone and their head is buried in a phone. That’s rude. There should be rules about that sort of thing.
Stay safe, Kay.
I’m also pleased social media has worked for you, Claudia. And you are absolutely correct that you control how much you are on it, both content and time-wise. You’ve written previously about when you find being on social media overwhelming and you’ve stepped back, so I know you have the wherewithal to limit your time when you feel that it has begun to dominate your life.
I do worry, however, about people who feel the judgement that resides on social media is real and directed at them. I worry for people who are too young or immature to have strong self-esteem or have a need to join the flock. Social media just seems to make bullying and spreading lies so much easier.
Having said that, at least I know your blog is a safe space. Thank you for that.
Well, it sounds like you’re talking about teenagers, and yes, bullying is always a problem – face-to-face and online. Spreading lies is one of the reasons I’m moving away from Twitter to Threads, which is – so far – a much more polite and civil site.
Thanks so much, Wendy.
Stay safe.
Claudia, I understand much better now how important social media is to you and Don and your careers. You’re not just sitting there hour after hour mindlessly searching on-line for entertainment or going down one rabbit hole after another. I’ve just made strawberry/rhubarb pie filling but it is too hot to put the oven on today so perhaps tomorrow I’ll make a pie. We still have plenty of rhubarb in the garden but the fresh Ontario strawberries are almost finished. But then we’ll have Don’s delicious apple pies to look forward to come fall. Hugs, Elaine
I miss having rhubarb pie. My grandmother and mother made great rhubarb pies. I don’t know if it’s possible to make it sugar free.
Stay safe, Elaine.
I make a strawberry/rhubarb pie filling in the microwave. It only has 1/3 cup of sugar and tastes pretty darn good. I’ll send you the recipe. Hugs, Elaine
xoxo
I think management is the key word here…and it’s different for everyone. I’m on Instagram, and I read Twitter, but even that’s a bit much for me. I am probably the most vocal on your blog…go figure.
Your flowers are wonderful. I really hope your weather settles down for the second part of summer, so you are able to enjoy it.
I am going to nap…it’s been a long couple of weeks. The wedding was great….everything went off without an hitch! Thank you to everyone who sent a prayer or a positive thought. Much appreciated! Enjoy your day! ;)
So, so happy that everything went well. It sounds like – in the midst of this crazy summer – you had a perfect pocket of time for the wedding. Hurrah!
Stay safe, Donnamae.
We were blessed! ;)
xoxo
So glad to hear everything went so well. Now you can breathe!!!!!!!
Yes.,.and nap! ;)
congratulations, donnama! so glad the weather cooperated for that very special day!
and i hope you are resting and relaxing right now!
kathy
Yes we are! ;)
I agree with you completely, Claudia. I’ve had the same experience in connecting with both new and old people as well as various opportunities presented that might never have otherwise come along. But we can fall in too deep, forget to live our own lives. Too much of a good thing can be … too much!
Yes, indeed!
Stay safe, Jeanie.
I am very glad I found your blog. It has been a delight and it has educated me in many ways, which I so appreciate. You have enriched my life.
I think a certain horrid, evil persons behavior has unleashed a”Pandora’s Box” that seemed to okay uncivilized, rude, even evil behavior. My hope is one day they will disappear and be exposed for what they are which is a useless piece of crap.
Take Care,
Kaye
My hope, as well, Kaye.
Stay safe.
Since I have been home in Feb, I have been limiting my time on the computer. It is easier in the summer for me to do so, with more things to occupy my time. I worry about the winter months.
However. I said to my hubs today that this summer has felt more like winter. Everyone stays in the house with the high temps and the Air Quality Warnings we seem to get several times a week now. This past weekend we had one for the fires in the Western part of Canada. Up to then it had been the more Eastern Canadian fires. And since my bout with RSV this past winter, my breathing is definitely affected.
I hope you know that I read your posts daily and love having coffee with you and all of your followers!!!!! Thanks for posting every day. Take care.
You have to stay in, Chris. We had more air quality warnings yesterday. It’s a bit better today. It’s frustrating having to stay inside, isn’t it?
Stay safe, my friend.
Rose of Sharon — I always recall this from a set of Depression glass; the pattern. Mother remembered it as the pink glass. So pretty; your photo! I had no knowledge of this flower being related to hibiscus. (Another thing to learn from Claudia here on MHC blog!)
It’s really lovely, an old-fashioned flower.
Stay safe, Vicki.
I completely understand how important your online presence is for business purposes. I was thinking of purely “recreational” time on social media when I commented. Since I’m retired, I don’t need to be on FB or anything really. At my age I need to curb the mindless scrolling,
For people in the arts though, social media is an absolute necessity. As I mentioned, our youngest (the one with the creepy AI voice app he’s developing for his day job with Signal Wire) is a professional musician. For the first time in years, he isn’t in a band but he’s still writing. For 8 years now he streams live every Tuesday (“Tunesday”) on Twitch TV where several hundred followers subscribe to watch him write a song every week. He’s on Twitter, Band Camp, SoundCloud, YouTube, and Spotify. This is what he has to do to get his music out there and make some money. And also to connect with other musicians who he records and jams with in the studio he’s set up in his place. Without social media he wouldn’t have songs in rotation on local radio or the great relationships he’s developed with his peers, He even found the female singer for his last band on Craig’s List and she was terrific.
Today the air quality was “green” so I spent lots of time outside. Since the fires are still burning I’m sure that will change, Sometimes it feels like the end times.
Take care,
Kay
I bet your son has to do a lot of work on social media to keep his presence known. Don is also on Band Camp, Sound Cloud, and YouTube.
Glad you got to spend some time outside!
Stay safe, Kay.