Julie's Web Journal

Human-generated content. Honest!
Est. 2002

Julie Barrett is a freelance writer and photographer based in Plano, TX.

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Time For A Bit Of Catch-Up
Oh, good. I just lost an enormous post. Let's see if I can re-create it.

So, we're (mostly) retired now. Paul fully retired in February, and I retired from almost everything except creative work (does one ever retire from that?) at the end of February.

I joked that I wanted to walk out of FenCon and onto a cruise ship. Hey, I came close! I walked out of FenCon on a Monday, and then the following Saturday we boarded a plane to Ft. Lauderdale, spent the ...
3/25/2025 4:46:08 PM
About That Small Vacation...
Hey, it's been a while. I'll work on a catch-up post, but I did mention a small vacation.



How small? Oh, only a seven day cruise to the Western Caribbean. So yes, we did get a good deal on the cruise, and yes, we sprung for the deluxe drink package, along with several excursions.
...
3/25/2025 3:50:34 PM
The Year-End Wrap Up!
It's been quite the year at the Manor. I wish I could say it was all good, but then life isn't all good all the time.

I guess the biggest news this year is impending retirement! Paul is set to retire in early February, and I've made the decision to semi-retire starting January 1. It's not as though I can stop creating. I am going to shift a few gears, though. I'll still be doing art shows at conventions, and I plan to keep the YouTube channel, but I've shut down subscriptions ...
12/30/2024 10:55:55 AM
Monday Mumblings Looks Forward to the Holidays
Hey, there's nothing like writing a long journal entry and having it vanish into the ether. Let's try again!

Well, it's a Monday, and that's the best I can say. I kind of did my back in over the weekend. It'll be okay if I can manage to take care of myself. I just overdid it. Friday and Saturday I did a lot of cleaning in the kitchen, including a much needed cleaning cycle on the oven. When I had it all done on Saturday I made a couple of batches of scones. Unfortunately, I ma...
12/16/2024 12:59:48 PM
Monday Mumblings Re-Centers

So, yeah. Last week was brutal. The election results on top of the burnout was just too much. As angry as I was, I at least had the presence of mind to realize that I shouldn't be posting something I would regret later. Hence the social media silence.

For now, at least, I need to step back from the constant fi...
11/11/2024 11:44:40 AM
Burning Out
I guess I owe y'all an explanation. Or an excuse. Or something.

Frankly, it's been hard. I've alluded to some of my struggles, but haven't really been forthcoming, and I still won't be entirely so. Some of this isn't my story to tell.

A lot of this is my own fault. I took on too much, and then when the things outside of my control hit ... It wasn't a breakdown in the classical sense of the word, and I'm (mostly) okay. This is the result of years of pus...
10/22/2024 11:13:18 AM
Hearing Loss and Technology
I haven't talked about this a lot on the journal, but I wear hearing aids, which is both a blessing and a frustration. Here's a video I watched this afternoon: