Hi friend 👋 -

Happy Wednesday. We're in the throes of the holiday season. If you celebrate Christmas, we're looking at T-Minus 5 days.

Admittedly, I love Christmas. I also recognize that the holidays are hard for a lot of people. I have a friend who always struggles with seasonal depression and holiday stress. I checked in with her a few days ago, to see how she's doing.

If you're energized by the holidays, don't forget about the other people in your life who may feel down or lonely. Let them know they're on your mind.

1) Reflection:

My 6-year-old had her first big project of first grade: My Family Holiday Traditions. She could either create a poster or create slides in Google Classroom. She chose Google Slides.

It's kind of wild to me because my 11-year-old still has his poster in his room from the same project. Back then, Google Slides wasn't an option because kids weren't issued school Chromebooks until second grade. Now they're issued in first grade.

My 6-year-old had never used Google Slides before and I don't use it often. But I was able to help her pick out a template that looked nice. I showed her how to change the background color on a single slide and she immediately changed the background color on the remaining slides herself. The ease with which kids pick up technology is astonishing.

2) Product:

I'm not much of a cook but I still need a way to keep track of recipes. I use Pepperplate. A URL importer and bookmarklet make it easy to add recipes from the web. It has a menu planning feature which I have used on occasion, but I find a dry-erase board to be easier.

You can also easily share recipes. Check out this sugar cookie recipe, originally from my mom's piano teacher. It's not a typo: it really makes 5-6 dozen cookies. And according to family lore, you cannot cut the recipe in half. However, I highly recommend giving them a try. They are the most delightful and delicate sugar cookies I've ever had.

3) Tip:

I quietly launched a new website earlier this month: Tinkering With Ideas, the tutorials. Step-by-step instructions for setting up some of the automations and workflows I talk about, with plans to add video in early 2024. If you want more detailed tips from me, check it out and subscribe!

That's it for this issue of Tinkering! See you again in two weeks.

Cheers,
Anna

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