Category: Real Life

End of Month Update

Tomorrow is the first of September – where has the month gone?! I’ve managed to complete my Blaugust challenge (one post a day) for the month, and I’m pleased about that. I also managed to continue blogging on my two other sites (GirlGoblin which is a Warcraft gold making blog, and NomadicReader, which is a book review blog). I consider those sites extra credit. In total I made 51 posts between all three blogs. I didn’t get a lot of knitting done as far as doing my DailyCreative, but I did get a lot of spinning done on my new Daedalus spinning wheel. It has been a dream to use so far.

I stopped doing my bulletjournal in favour of just using a notepad in short form and making lists, then crossing off items as I completed them from my list. It’s not as fancy, but I’m more likely to see what is on the list that way. I found that some days I was completely ignoring my bulletjournal, and that was frustrating.

I didn’t do a lot of reading this month either, but I’ve still got some books I’m actively working through, just at a bit of a slower pace than usual for me. I’ve been having a bit of trouble with my depression and anxiety, so I’m trying to be gentle on myself.

I did manage a few art pieces this month, I even streamed some. My hands have been hurting this week so I haven’t been keeping up, but I’m confident that I can manage to get 52 pieces done this year, that is the goal. I think I have 32 at the time of this post.

I’m still gaming – but I’ve settled with being content with Warcraft as my main game of choice, and then a selection of smaller single player / co-op player games from my XBoX One Pass, and Steam. I wrote about how I was feeling FOMO regarding FFXIV, (and also GW2 these days) but I just don’t have the time to keep up with multiple games, and I *am* very happy in WoW. When it comes to streaming, I’m still working on establishing myself, my brand, and my schedule. I’ve almost done a complete schedule this week (mon/wed/fri are my stream days) and I want to continue that. Tonight I’m actually streaming fiber arts which is a change from my regular gaming / Warcraft streams. We’ll see how it goes, I still have to set up the cameras.

In any case, it has been a productive month. I can’t wait to see what September brings. Hopefully some cooler weather, because these heat waves have been difficult, to say the least. Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!

What Gear do People use to Stream Wildlife 24/7?!

I have two hummingbird feeders set up outside, as well as a regular bird feeder, and I’d like to add them as cameras / independent streams on my own stream. Here’s where it gets tricky (for me). I have NO IDEA what gear people use to stream 24/7. I have good internet & access to wifi, are they using an entire laptop or computer set up with a camera to stream these wildlife streams, or are there some cameras that I should be looking at instead, like perhaps a house security camera? I have no idea. I tried to do a bunch of google searches but nothing really turned up exactly what I was looking for.

If you happen to stream 24/7 and have a feed for animals, or have some gear suggestions for me, please let me know in comments! I’d love to show off the wildlife that comes to our feeders, but I just don’t know what I need to get started, and it seems like I’m supposed to automatically realize what the right items are.

That was Terrifying

At around 3am me and my husband heard the most awful screech coming from the backyard. I figured it was an animal, but I had no idea what sort of animal it was.

Turns out it was a barred owl – a baby one. They scream, and they’re terrifying. I knew we had owls around but when you ask me what sort of sounds I expect one to make, it’s more of a ‘hoo-hoo’ type sound, NOT a blood curdling scream.

At least now we know what it was. We have a rodent or something living nearby (found some holes in the yard dug up) so I imagine the parents must be out teaching it how to fend for itself. I hope to see more of them in the future, at least now I recognize the cries!

Why I Blaugust

I’ve been participating in Blaugust for a number of years now – but I always do so on the outskirts. As much as I crave being social, I have a mixture of imposter syndrome, anxiety, and other issues that prevent me from ever REALLY feeling like I’m a part of the group. I lurk, I follow from a distance – and I write. I attempt to write every day, and those days where I don’t write, I backdate it and write extra. I love the feeling of accomplishment Blaugust gives me, and I love being even remotely connected to a group of people who don’t necessarily feel like blogging is on the out. I have three fairly active blogs. This one, my world of warcraft dedicated one (mostly about making gold), and a book blog. Writing my thoughts out lets me speak without interruption. It usually lets me vent without fear of being counseled in my area of expertise (especially when it comes to making gold). It lets me share some creative spark with the world in a process that only takes a few minutes. Sometimes I plan out a concept or idea that I want to talk about but that’s pretty rare.

Why do I Blaugust? Lots of reasons, but the main one is simply to be held accountable (even if it’s false accountability) to write. Making it become habit again in a year of posts that might have been quite sporadic. I thrive on that sort of motivation, and it’s wonderful. It may not be everyone else’ cup of tea, it may put undue pressure on you – which is absolutely not what I’d ever aim for, but for me it works. I’m so thankful to Belghast and others for continuing on with the tradition each year.

Working on my ‘Battlestation’

There is an entire reddit (of course there is) dedicated to people showing off their ‘battlestations’ – their video game set ups. There’s another one dedicated to showing off work stations/computers. Both of these places are almost magical, there are some incredibly creative people out there. I love my little gaming area, but we’re still pretty new to the house, so I haven’t done a lot with it yet. One thing I wanted to do sooner rather than later was to dust off my Huion Pro 16 and have it actively set up on my desk. I do a lot of my drawing on the ipad, but my computer is (understandably) more powerful. I know Clip Studio is going through a shit storm right now with their newly announced PC subscriptions, but there are other alternatives (like Krita) and my usual ‘let’s just pull it out when I want to draw’ was not working. Out of sight, out of mind. I want to make use of the tablet (I just ordered some felt nibs for the pen) but I also hate a cluttered work area.

For now I’ve settled with the picture above. Things are neat and pretty tidy, the drawing tablet is out reminding me to use it, and my stream stuff works pretty well in the configuration I’ve decided on. I do want to mount the sound bar to the wall, and I’d love to get an arm for the monitors, or even wall mount those, but that’s a project for another time.

Now it’s time to learn Krita and see what it can do for me.