Dreama Astrid's Journal

1. About how much time do you spend every day looking at your phone?
Anywhere from 5 minutes to several hours really depends on the day for road trips the map app is up the entire way

2. About how much time do you spend every day looking at a computer screen (not counting your phone as a computer)?
8+ hours a day for work Mon-Friday. I try not to logon much evenings and weekends - just to pay bills or buy tickets or order something.

3. What sorts of things are you looking at, when you look at your phone?
Texts, Email, Weather app, Health Tracking apps, Map apps if traveling, Social Media, Restaurant/Reward apps

4. What sorts of things are you looking at, when you look at your computer screen?
Work - Elucian Banner, TOAD, Outlook, MS Teams, Word, Excel, Ticketing Systems, Google, Work Website, Work Sharepoint, Automic Batch Scheduling Software, OneCard Admin, DegreeWorks, different servers I support software on, etc.

5. About how much time do you spend every day reading printed material (books, magazines, snail mail, etc.)?
Anywhere from 5 min to hours depending if I'm actively reading a novel

Friday Five: https://thefridayfive.dreamwidth.org/

1. What is your favorite soup?
Butternut Squash but a good Cream of Crab isn't far behind.

2. Have you made your favorite soup yourself?
Yes

3. What is your favorite dessert?
Key Lime Pie, Florida Orange Sunshine Cake or Chocolate Chambord Cake

4. Have you made your favorite dessert yourself?
No

5. What is your favorite flavor of ice cream or other frozen treat?
Orange Creamsicle (Orange Sherbet with Vanilla Ice Cream or Yogurt) also partial to an
Orange or Mango Italian Ice Swirled with Vanilla Custard referred to as a Gelati (combo of Italian Ice & Custard)

Friday Five: https://thefridayfive.dreamwidth.org/

1. What chores did you have to do, growing up?
Vacuuming the Basement, Cleaning my bedroom & bathroom

2. Which chore(s) do you hate doing the most?
Dusting & Scrubbing bathrooms

3. Which chore do you actually enjoy doing?
Putting Groceries away after shopping and feeding the cat

4. Did you receive an allowance when you were growing up?
Yes for doing my chores

5. What was (or is) your favorite subject in school?
Was Math, Programming, Accounting and Economics classes
Now more stuff for fun like DIY classes, Woodworking, Crafts or Exercise classes like Aqua Aerobics

Record POOR Air Quality Friday 7/17/2026

Baltimore’s Worst Air Quality Days

This Canadian wildfire smoke may have rewritten the record books:🔥💨

1. July 17, 2026 – AQI 260 (Very Unhealthy) ⭐ Highest on record

2. June 29, 2023 – AQI ~205 (Very Unhealthy)

3. June 8, 2023 – AQI 187 (Unhealthy)

4. June 7, 2023 – AQI 156 (Unhealthy)

5. June 30, 2023 – AQI ~150–180 (Unhealthy)

All five of these events were caused by smoke from Canadian wildfires, not local pollution.

For comparison:

* 🟢 0–50: Good
* 🟡 51–100: Moderate
* 🟠 101–150: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups
* 🔴 151–200: Unhealthy
* 🟣 201–300: Very Unhealthy
* ⚫ 301+: Hazardous

Is there an interesting story behind your username?: It was my faire name back when I worked at the Renaissance Faire in 2000 and everyone that worked there seemed to have a chosen 'Faire Name'.

Location and language(s): Maryland, United States, English and bad English. Had French classes in Jr. High and remember enough I could read menus when traveling out of the country.

Age range (e.g 20s, 30s, etc.): I'm in my 50s.

Hot button/deal breaker issues that will likely lead to unfriending: Bigotry and being unkind.

Do you have an "About Me" post new friends can read to get a sense of who you are, the people you talk about regularly, etc.?: Nope but updated my profile recently.

Is your profile up-to-date or at all useful?: I think so.

List a few things you think it's important new friends know about you right away: I talk a lot. Have varied interests, talk alot about work, friends, family, places I visit and everyday minutia.

You mostly write about: My interest, hobbies, work, family, friends, pets and everyday minutia like what I eat, the weather, where I traveled, things I did, health posts, what I purchased, who or what I saw this week, things I did or plan to do.

You never or very rarely write about: Politics except for super egregious things in the news that upset me.

Is your journal mostly public, locked, or a mix of public and locked?: mostly friends only, some locked to just myself (generally reminder lists) and some public.

Do you use filters for certain types of posts (e.g. fandom-related posts, or posts about sex, or mental health issues, etc.)?: No.

Your posting frequency (e.g. daily, every few days, weekly, etc.): It varies. Sometimes not for months, sometimes weekly, sometimes 4x in a day.

Does your journal frequently include any of the following: memes, links, gifs, photos, videos, etc?: Photos often, links occasionally.

What do you enjoy most about journaling?: Having a place to record my random thoughts, my accomplishments, everyday moments, memories, and sometimes just to clear my head or blow off steam to process stress.

How often do you read your friends list (e.g. daily, every other day, once a week, etc.)?: I try to read weekly if I can but sometimes life is hectic and I go weeks without reading.

You really enjoy reading about: people's ponderings, snapshots of others lives, and interesting news,

You have very little interest in reading about: fandoms, sexual content, step-by-step car repair,

Your thoughts on journals that regularly include any of the following: memes, linkspams, gifs, photos, videos, etc?: It depends. Perfer to read an item than watch a video but love photos.

When it comes to comments on your posts, what matters more -- quality or quantity?: I like quality comments, but I also don't mind people just responding with a emoji.

Do you unfriend people who don't comment much, even if you know they are reading you regularly?: Nope,

What is your approach when it comes to commenting on other journals?: If it is particularly interesting post or cool photos.

When you friend someone, but things don't really click, do you unfriend them without warning, or do you send them a note first? How do you prefer to be unfriended in similar circumstances?: I would unfriend them if I find their content or comments offensive or unduly annoying.

AND LASTLY

Friending memes often ask people to list their favourite TV shows, movies, books, etc., but more often than not, those aren't things people actually write about in their journal. Do you have any favourite TV shows, movies, books, etc., that you DO often write about -- not necessarily in a fandom sort of way, just in general?: Not really but if saw a cool show or movie I'd mention it.

Any final thoughts you'd like to share with potential new friends?: Gingers are awesome.

1. What is place you have visited, or want to visit, that starts with D?
Denmark, Denver, Daytona Beach, Disney World, Disneyland - all places I've vacationed and would love to visit again.

2. What is a food that you like, or don't like, that starts with R?
Rice, Rice pudding, Ramen Noodles, Raisins - all things I like

3. Own anything that starts with the letter M?
Magazine - subscribe to Coastal Living Magazine, Mask - own a White Feather Mask and an Autumnal Leaf Mask, and an assortment of COVID masks w/filters and KN-95s.

4. Know anyone whose name (first, middle, or last) that starts with N?
I have an Aunt Nancy

5. Favorite movie, book, TV show, or song whose title starts with T?
The only movie I can think of is 'The Terminator (1984)' which is a Schwarzenegger classic - a good rainy day movie to watch. And the song 'Thriller' which is the best music video of all time.

Friday Five: https://thefridayfive.dreamwidth.org/

1. In an average week, how many nights do you eat home-cooked dinners?

We eat home cooked meals 4 or 5 nights a week.

2. Do you plan your meals out in advance, or just wing it?

Hubby cooks most of the time. Everything from BBQ on the outdoor grill to pasta, chicken, burgers, steak, seafood etc. Sometimes just soup and sandwiches, or occasionally breakfast for dinner.

3. How many nights per week do you eat out or order food delivered?

Probably 2 or 3 nights a week. Most places the portions are large enough we then have leftovers for a day or two. For example this week we ate out for lunch over the weekend and dinner last night and I'll have the leftovers tonight when I get home, (part of a grilled chicken sandwich and 1/2 a crab grilled cheese), and maybe some for lunch tomorrow depending on how much is in the leftover containers. If the leftover bread/roll is soggy I'll eat it without the bread or on a fresh piece of bread.

4. Do you keep a stock of nonperishable foods from which you could whip up a meal or two if you needed to?

We always have soup, pasta, tomato sauce, rice and cereals in the cupboard. Canned veges & fruit & juice in the pantry and frozen veges in the freezer, and usually a few full meals in the freezer. And in the fridge we always have eggs, milk, & cheese. And we have bread on the counter. Soup & a grilled cheese or a PB&J is always an option when we don't feel like cooking.

And right now we have fresh Lettuce, Spinach and Herbs in our container gardens on the porch we can pick to go with a meal.

5. Have you ever tried preparing meals for the week all at once, say, on the weekend?

When I was single I did this quite often and would freeze individual servings to take for lunches. I'd buy a big pack of chicken divvy it up and cook different chicken meals (like shake and bake chicken, chicken cacciatore, chicken marsala, mexican chicken, etc) with sides and wrap them in individual servings and freeze them.

This week we had friends over on Sunday and Hubby BBQ'd chicken out on the grill. He made one pack with a sweet Mango sauce and another pack of chicken with Jerk. He made rice. I shucked and cooked corn on the cob, made veggies, salad & Mango salsa. Friends brought biscuits and desserts. We've been eating the leftovers all week for dinner and lunches. I just finished the last of the Mango chicken for lunch with rice & Mango salsa today with the last of the corn.


Friday Five: https://thefridayfive.dreamwidth.org/

These are thefridayfive questions for May 1...


1. Do you like to spend time outdoors?

Yes, I enjoy time outdoors in pleasant weather.


2. What is your favorite flower?

I love roses, carnations, heather and thistles. I also enjoy cherry blossoms and dogwood trees, as well as azalea and hydrangeas.


3. Any favorite warm weather activities?

The beach, the pool and kayaking on lakes. I also enjoy street fairs, farmer's markets, celtic festivals and renaissance faires.


4. Have you ever kept a garden? If so, what did you grow?

Last year, we had a small container gardens for vegetables (lettuce, spinach, tomatoes, peppers and snow peas), as well as, herbs (rosemary, thyme, sage, basil, chives, etc).


5. Do you know how to swim?

Yes but I’m not a strong swimmer.

Friday Five: https://thefridayfive.dreamwidth.org/

1. What's one of the nicest things a friend has ever done for you?
Bought me a thoughtful present for no reason at all.

2. What's one of the nicest things a stranger has ever done for you?
Stopped and helped me when I was in a major car accident. They were a nurse that helped with first aid until an ambulance arrived and the fire dept cut me out of my car. I was hit head-on at 50 mph by a drunk driver.

3. What is a trait in another person that you instantly admire, and that draws you to them?
Empathy and kindness for other humans especially those less fortunate.

4. What is a trait in another person that instantly repels you, and prevents you from forming a close relationship with them?
Being greedy, selfish, arrogant and self absorbed.

5. Time to vent: tell us about something rotten someone has done to you.
Had a friend going thru a breakup/divorce and took it out on me instead, ending our friendship. Misplaced aggression and anger.

Friday Five: https://thefridayfive.dreamwidth.org/

Didn't realize I never posted this here only on facebook. But Dark Twin died back in February, she was diagnosed with severe kidney disease. She was such a sweet cat and the last month or two that we had her she was venturing out of the master bedroom into the rest of the house and Bean had started to tolerate her being around. But she got sick and went downhill rapidly. So we are back to being a one cat household.

DarkTwin 2011-2025

Dave sent me a pictures of both cats on the bed maybe a month or two before she died.

SmolBean: green eyes | DarkTwin: yellow eyes
Bean in the foreground


( click here for hubby's post back in February )