Touching Base

Good morning! It’s been quite a while since I blogged here! I’ve been blogging on my personal blog, and my herbal blog, but not here…

You can read my personal blogs here: Deliciously Disorganized โ€“ Loving my chaotic life (tobenamedlater.com)

And my herbal blogs here: Herbal Journal โ€“ Easy Herbal Remedies

I’m happy it’s Spring at last, even though I prefer the cooler weather, the cold wet weather here in Pennsylvania makes my pain much worse. But, I’m working through it.

Yes, unfortunately, I’m still in pain and still treating it on my own. But, I have more options than many people do in that I’m an herbalist and can build my own formulas.

It’s starting to warm now and I’m already seeing my favorite herbs (or weeds as my hubby says!) coming up in my little forest. I will be spending time this spring and summer harvesting that bounty!ย  And, bonus, it will help me stay a little more active.

I’m still plugging away as a virtual assistant, and even though I have to work from bed many days, I’m still marching along.

I hope everyone is doing ok and are staying healthy!

Kathyย  ‘thebestva’

Staying Productive Using Technology

Hello Everyone! I hope you’re all having a great day. Our weather is wreaking havoc on my chronic conditions and as such I’m forced to stay in bed. I’m grateful for all the wonderful technology that is available that allows you to work even if you’re not able to get to the office – or home office!

Kathy’s Bed Desk

First, I start with the fastest internet I can get. In my area, we really only have one choice, Xfinity. I don’t like how much they charge but I do like the reliability. I no longer have their TV or digital voice packages so that helps. (I use Hulu and some Prime channels to make up the difference).

Next, to get the fastest wifi possible throughout my house – or you can use it in an office environment – I have the Orbi Wifi Mesh system, with the router and two satellites. We really love it, and the range is amazing, I have no issues even in the Treehouse Office, or the studio, it is a great product by NetGear.

Next, for remote working from bed, I log into my desktop upstairs using SplashTop by LogMeIn.com I can easily manage not only my computers but my clients’ as well. They even have mobile apps for logging in from your phone or tablet. I have used their service for many years and it just keeps getting better.

For ambiance, and to provide a bit of background noise so my tinnitus doesn’t scream at me so much and make me dizzy, I keep a crackling fireplace video going on the TV. There are a number of videos that are included in Amazon Prime, and I’ve included the link. This is perfect for winter, but for summer I like the streams, rivers and so on. And I’m a huge fan of the Smithsonian Channel’s Ariel America – I’ve probably seen every episode multiple times.

Now, for the desk, I use a simple bed desk I got from Amazon – with adjustable legs – this is important because some days you might want to snuggle with a puppy and they need a bit more room ๐Ÿ™‚ My kids are constantly wanting under the desk, and under the blankets – which cheers me up immensely. I got the basic one made of bamboo with a fan built in that I can plug into the power strip. But now I’m thinking I need to have a bit more oomph for it, so I’ve put this one in my cart to “think about”. It is much more than the one I have currently in that it has adjustable height and tilting top, but I’m not sure I really need that. I might just look for things I can clip to the one I have.

See? You CAN work and be somewhat immobile. Or in the middle of a pandemic and being forced to work from home (which I’ve been doing since 1996 by the way). and it can still be comfortable and productive. Having worked from home for so long, I’ll never go back to a traditional office.

Best wishes to everyone and I pray you stay healthy and safe!

In all transparency, if you click on one of my links (except the search results links) I’ll get a bit of a commission. ๐Ÿ™‚