Today's meeting of the Girl's Night Out group was at Scheller's in Glen Flora. We all love going to Scheller's -- there's just a friendly vibe and comfy feel there. Not to mention giant containers of BlueBell ice cream that is hard to resist for dessert!
Dee picked me up and we arrived a few minutes after the car full of passengers that Dot brought. I walked the 10 steps or so from the car to drop an envelope into the box outside the post office next door. How handy!
Walking in, we spotted and then stopped and visited with Marilyn, a former county agent who has written Scout, the Dog Who Saved the Nutcracker and several other children's books. A couple of tables past Marilyn we came to our table. This week there were seven of us present.
After almost two hours of visiting, ordering, eating and more visiting, we finally got up to go. Dee walked around and opened the passenger door on the driver's side to place her purse on the seat. At the same time I opened the front passenger door. I stood staring at the floorboard and asked Dee, "Was this dog dish in here when you picked me up?" I vaguely heard Dee say, "When did I buy these?" Then I said, "Is this your car?" And that's when we realized it wasn't.
Of course, we both burst into laughter and had to tell Dot's group what we did. Dee said she thought it was Marilyn's car, so we went back in to tell her about it. We burst into laughter again as we backed out a few minutes later. Dee said, "It's not even the same color as mine!"
Yes, we are seniors!
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
Monday, July 15, 2013
Up and Running
Don't interpret that title to mean I'm exercising. In my last post I belly-ached about my computer dying. At least, I'm pretty sure I complained about it. It was a hassle I didn't need. But, all is back to normal now. I picked up my new computer today and have to admit it's kind of an anti-climax. I have been using Wayne's (or, to be more precise, the computer formerly known as Wayne's) and have adapted fairly well. Between his computer and my iPhone, I barely missed a beat.
His computer didn't have Word or Excel on it, but I found a free Office-type program that worked pretty much the same way -- and I was even able to save documents as as Word or Excel documents. And it was FREE! I was able to be on the internet and check emails, but I didn't have access to any of the thousands of photos that were on my computer. Guess what? It was fine!
The program that I needed the most was Quicken, so I could write the few checks necessary (really, only one check) without *gasp* having to actually pick up a pen and write them. I finally had to bite the bullet and write one out by hand, but I waited until the last possible day to do so. I found out that I can install Quicken on more than one computer, so I guess I will do that and also network the two computers so that, God forbid, I NEVER have to hand-write a check again. Geez! What's next? Having to spoon coffee into a Mr. Coffee instead of popping a K-cup into a Keurig?
But, seriously, the one thing I didn't have to worry about was the data on my "old" laptop. (It must be old in dog years because it was only 3 years old in my years.) I have been backing up to Carbonite online for the past 2 or 3 years. It's only about $60 per year and well worth it in my opinion.
As it turned out, however, I didn't have to use the backup from Carbonite, because it was my motherboard that died, not the hard drive. And when I say it died, I mean that mother DIED -- I couldn't even turn the computer on. But, the hard drive could still be accessed, so I just let the tech at the computer store transfer everything to the new laptop. I took my installation CD's to him and it's been fairly painless to get up and running again. Fairly painless for me, anyway, since I didn't do anything.
The new laptop, an Asus, has Windows 8 on it. I'm pretty sure I have had almost every operating system that has been offered. I never had Vista, thank goodness, and I might have missed another one around the turn of the century. So far, so good -- I've just been on the internet and in a few of the programs and I haven't had to deal with the different look of Windows 8. Maybe I'll check it out when I get caught up in Quicken.
His computer didn't have Word or Excel on it, but I found a free Office-type program that worked pretty much the same way -- and I was even able to save documents as as Word or Excel documents. And it was FREE! I was able to be on the internet and check emails, but I didn't have access to any of the thousands of photos that were on my computer. Guess what? It was fine!
The program that I needed the most was Quicken, so I could write the few checks necessary (really, only one check) without *gasp* having to actually pick up a pen and write them. I finally had to bite the bullet and write one out by hand, but I waited until the last possible day to do so. I found out that I can install Quicken on more than one computer, so I guess I will do that and also network the two computers so that, God forbid, I NEVER have to hand-write a check again. Geez! What's next? Having to spoon coffee into a Mr. Coffee instead of popping a K-cup into a Keurig?
But, seriously, the one thing I didn't have to worry about was the data on my "old" laptop. (It must be old in dog years because it was only 3 years old in my years.) I have been backing up to Carbonite online for the past 2 or 3 years. It's only about $60 per year and well worth it in my opinion.
As it turned out, however, I didn't have to use the backup from Carbonite, because it was my motherboard that died, not the hard drive. And when I say it died, I mean that mother DIED -- I couldn't even turn the computer on. But, the hard drive could still be accessed, so I just let the tech at the computer store transfer everything to the new laptop. I took my installation CD's to him and it's been fairly painless to get up and running again. Fairly painless for me, anyway, since I didn't do anything.
The new laptop, an Asus, has Windows 8 on it. I'm pretty sure I have had almost every operating system that has been offered. I never had Vista, thank goodness, and I might have missed another one around the turn of the century. So far, so good -- I've just been on the internet and in a few of the programs and I haven't had to deal with the different look of Windows 8. Maybe I'll check it out when I get caught up in Quicken.
Sunday, June 30, 2013
Bummer to the Max!
My computer went out last night. Not on a date or anything -- it just clicked off and that was all she wrote!
I had been downstairs watching television until about 10:30. The computer had been on all day, plugged into the adapter/charger, but with the lid closed most of the time -- so, basically it was hibernating. I have it on a stand that has a fan that blows air up its bottom side (oooh, that sounds so bad) to keep it from overheating. In the early days of using this laptop, it would overheat and shut itself off, so that's when I got the stand with the built in fan. But, in those early days, I was always able to start it up again. Not this time.
There is no response whatsoever when I push the button to turn it on. Luckily, I have this computer (that I'm on now) that I bought for Wayne about a year and a half ago. It isn't nearly as nice as mine, though; not built for speed. Doing jigsaw puzzles on this one is frustratingly slow.
Anyway -- when I brought Wayne's computer up here last night to google my problem, one of the suggestions was that it might be dirty. What? Dust in my house? You must be joking! Or not -- there's plenty of dust here. I watched a video showing how simple it is to just take out some screws, remove the case, blow it all out, check for any loose connections and then put it all back together again -- and then, voilá (I don't know how to put a thing over the "a" here -- never mind -- I just googled "special characters" and found what I needed) it might turn on!
Well, I did remove all the screws, but I wasn't able to remove the case. I hope that cleaning is all it needs, but it seems ominous that it won't start after 18 hours of sitting. I also read that the battery adapter/charger might have gone bad. I don't really think that's what happened, though. I do have two of the battery adapter/chargers, so just in case I plugged the other one in. No dice.
Another suggestion was that the motherboard might be fried. That sounds painful. But, would that make it not turn on? Maybe I need to google "my dell computer won't turn on."
Whatever it is, I need it to work! And soon! This computer doesn't even have Word or Excel on it. Gaah!
I had been downstairs watching television until about 10:30. The computer had been on all day, plugged into the adapter/charger, but with the lid closed most of the time -- so, basically it was hibernating. I have it on a stand that has a fan that blows air up its bottom side (oooh, that sounds so bad) to keep it from overheating. In the early days of using this laptop, it would overheat and shut itself off, so that's when I got the stand with the built in fan. But, in those early days, I was always able to start it up again. Not this time.
There is no response whatsoever when I push the button to turn it on. Luckily, I have this computer (that I'm on now) that I bought for Wayne about a year and a half ago. It isn't nearly as nice as mine, though; not built for speed. Doing jigsaw puzzles on this one is frustratingly slow.
Anyway -- when I brought Wayne's computer up here last night to google my problem, one of the suggestions was that it might be dirty. What? Dust in my house? You must be joking! Or not -- there's plenty of dust here. I watched a video showing how simple it is to just take out some screws, remove the case, blow it all out, check for any loose connections and then put it all back together again -- and then, voilá (I don't know how to put a thing over the "a" here -- never mind -- I just googled "special characters" and found what I needed) it might turn on!
Well, I did remove all the screws, but I wasn't able to remove the case. I hope that cleaning is all it needs, but it seems ominous that it won't start after 18 hours of sitting. I also read that the battery adapter/charger might have gone bad. I don't really think that's what happened, though. I do have two of the battery adapter/chargers, so just in case I plugged the other one in. No dice.
Another suggestion was that the motherboard might be fried. That sounds painful. But, would that make it not turn on? Maybe I need to google "my dell computer won't turn on."
Whatever it is, I need it to work! And soon! This computer doesn't even have Word or Excel on it. Gaah!
Saturday, June 29, 2013
Little sleeper
When Sadie is ready to go to sleep, she just falls over and sleeps, as shown by the photos. No rocking necessary!
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| This child is flexible -- no doubt about it. |
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| She usually needs a little nap between her wake-up bottle and time to go to day-care. Robin just puts her in her play area and after exploring a bit (toys were in the tote), finds a soft spot to drop onto. |
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| This was just a couple of days ago, but it's the same story -- she needs her beauty sleep! |
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| I think Robin left Chad in charge. Luckily for him, Sadie found another Boppy pillow. |
Friday, May 3, 2013
Sadie is mobile, now. Robin texted me this video today. It seems that Sadie has mastered crawling and now must be either closely monitored or sentenced to playpen jail. Of course, nowadays, the playpens are a little bigger than when her parents were babies. Wendy and Carolyn each gave their baby gates to Robin and Chad, so Sadie has quite a nice sized play area.
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| The area was clean with all the toys put away when Robin put her in the play-yard. The next time Robin checked on her, all the toys were pulled out and Sadie was sucking on a duck, looking at the drawers. She must have decided to take a nap shortly after that. |
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| Jax and an unknown passenger at the county fair this week. We are headed to California in three weeks where we will spend a day at Disneyland and a day at California Adventure. We figure Jax will be in hog heaven at Cars Land -- he really loves Lightning McQueen and Mater! |
Monday, April 22, 2013
Softly Call The Muster
I almost didn't go to the Aggie Muster this year -- I just couldn't work up any enthusiasm for it -- don't really know why, although now I believe that I didn't think the speaker, Jackie Sherrill, was going to have anything to say that I needed to hear. Up until the day of the event, I was determined to not attend.
But, I did go, and I'm very glad for it.
Muster is, of course, one of the most revered traditions of Texas A & M. The most significant part of it, to me, is the Roll Call for the Absent. The "absent" being current or former students who have died, usually within the past year. It is quite moving when the lights dim and the names and graduation years are called out. After each name is called, someone -- a friend or relative -- answers "Here!" and moves forward to light a candle in remembrance of that person. Silver Taps is then played followed by a reading of The Last Corps Trip. The link is to a post on a blog which tells about the bonfire collapse in 1999. Included in the post are descriptions of heroic action by one Aggie who died and another who survived. Also included is a wonderful letter written by the then UT Student Body Vice President and finally the poem.
But, before we got to the real reason we were all at Muster, we were treated to a very entertaining talk by Jackie Sherrill, head coach of the Aggies from 1982 to 1988. Clearly a man who likes to do things his own way, he even asked a co-contributor to his book, No Experience Required, to thread his way through the packed hall and tell one of his own stories. According to Coach Sherrill, it "wasn't the story he thought it was going to be."
Although not a man to string pretty words together in beautiful sentences, Jackie Sherrill, brought smiles to all in attendance as he shared how, as he worked on the bonfire and saw the great camaraderie of the students, he came up with the concept of the 12th Man. He also spoke of wanting the Aggie band to practice on their own field because their precision was making holes in his turf. He walked over to tell the director that, but after watching for some little while turned and started walking away. When his associate asked him if he wasn't going to tell the director to move, he replied that "when we're as good as they are, I'll tell him."
But, during his talk he referred several times to the real reason we were all there and ended his talk with something wonderful. He spoke, in turn, as if he were Earl Rudder (1910-1970) and Jack Pardee (1936-2013) as well as about four other Aggies, ending each vignette with, "but, I am here, at American Legion Post 226, in East Bernard, for Roll Call. It was very moving; he was visibly emotional and had to pause several times to compose himself before continuing.
It brought to mind the words of Randy Matson, the keynote speaker at the campus Muster in 2000, who said, "we're here (tonight) to pledge that none of you will be forgotten as long as there are two Aggies left in the world."
I'm so glad I was at American Legion Post 226 in East Bernard to observe Roll Call last night.
But, I did go, and I'm very glad for it.
Muster is, of course, one of the most revered traditions of Texas A & M. The most significant part of it, to me, is the Roll Call for the Absent. The "absent" being current or former students who have died, usually within the past year. It is quite moving when the lights dim and the names and graduation years are called out. After each name is called, someone -- a friend or relative -- answers "Here!" and moves forward to light a candle in remembrance of that person. Silver Taps is then played followed by a reading of The Last Corps Trip. The link is to a post on a blog which tells about the bonfire collapse in 1999. Included in the post are descriptions of heroic action by one Aggie who died and another who survived. Also included is a wonderful letter written by the then UT Student Body Vice President and finally the poem.
But, before we got to the real reason we were all at Muster, we were treated to a very entertaining talk by Jackie Sherrill, head coach of the Aggies from 1982 to 1988. Clearly a man who likes to do things his own way, he even asked a co-contributor to his book, No Experience Required, to thread his way through the packed hall and tell one of his own stories. According to Coach Sherrill, it "wasn't the story he thought it was going to be."
Although not a man to string pretty words together in beautiful sentences, Jackie Sherrill, brought smiles to all in attendance as he shared how, as he worked on the bonfire and saw the great camaraderie of the students, he came up with the concept of the 12th Man. He also spoke of wanting the Aggie band to practice on their own field because their precision was making holes in his turf. He walked over to tell the director that, but after watching for some little while turned and started walking away. When his associate asked him if he wasn't going to tell the director to move, he replied that "when we're as good as they are, I'll tell him."
But, during his talk he referred several times to the real reason we were all there and ended his talk with something wonderful. He spoke, in turn, as if he were Earl Rudder (1910-1970) and Jack Pardee (1936-2013) as well as about four other Aggies, ending each vignette with, "but, I am here, at American Legion Post 226, in East Bernard, for Roll Call. It was very moving; he was visibly emotional and had to pause several times to compose himself before continuing.
It brought to mind the words of Randy Matson, the keynote speaker at the campus Muster in 2000, who said, "we're here (tonight) to pledge that none of you will be forgotten as long as there are two Aggies left in the world."
I'm so glad I was at American Legion Post 226 in East Bernard to observe Roll Call last night.
Friday, April 12, 2013
The Sadie Show
Okay, you're right, I've put enough about Sadie on the blog this year. But, really, I needed to post these videos. This first one was shot when Sadie was almost 6 1/2 months old. Robin gave her a couple of those little puffy baby snacks and she chased it around the tray for quite a while -- practice will make perfect for those fine motor skills!
Fast forward about one month. Sadie has been sitting up for about a month. Robin got all the following in this short video: she sat up from lying on her tummy; she caught her pacifier as it was about to drop; she clapped (on purpose); she sort of crawled (be generous); she said, "ma ma ma"!
Sorry about the quality of the videos. Robin texted them to me which causes a degradation of the file. That's not really what happens, but it's the result of whatever happens. Instead of a file that might be more than 160 MB, it sends a file that's less than 1 MB. Even a simpleton can see that the results are bound to be dramatic. And considering the huge difference, they really aren't that bad. And for the record, I'm not calling anyone present a simpleton.
One more accomplishment -- Sadie has sprouted a tooth! Maybe 2 by now, although Robin hasn't sent out a bulletin.
Fast forward about one month. Sadie has been sitting up for about a month. Robin got all the following in this short video: she sat up from lying on her tummy; she caught her pacifier as it was about to drop; she clapped (on purpose); she sort of crawled (be generous); she said, "ma ma ma"!
Sorry about the quality of the videos. Robin texted them to me which causes a degradation of the file. That's not really what happens, but it's the result of whatever happens. Instead of a file that might be more than 160 MB, it sends a file that's less than 1 MB. Even a simpleton can see that the results are bound to be dramatic. And considering the huge difference, they really aren't that bad. And for the record, I'm not calling anyone present a simpleton.
One more accomplishment -- Sadie has sprouted a tooth! Maybe 2 by now, although Robin hasn't sent out a bulletin.
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