Managing a Shared Kindle Library

I belong to a family of readers.  In my immediate family, we have 3 Nooks, 8 Kindle devices, and 2 iPads, not to mention the Nook and Kindle applications on our smartphones.  With the Kindle devices, we can share our Kindle books together as a family, as long as the same book isn't on more than 6 of the devices at one time.  That isn't as challenging as it sounds since we all have very diverse reading interests.  I tell the family to just send their finished books back up to the "Cloud" when they are finished reading them, and that way it ensures that books are freed up for the next person.  Of course, if it is a book that they want to keep on their device for reference, they are welcome to do so.

People who do the "shared" Kindle library have different methods of managing them.  When it comes to the purchasing of books, you have to have your "shared" library under one account.  If you decide to let anyone in your shared group purchase books, then they will have to be able to access your account, including the password.  There are some other workarounds, though.

Purchasing Options:
1.  My daughter buys an online Amazon gift certificate and then emails the code to me, along with the list of books that she wants me to purchase for the Kindle library.

2.  You could add books that one of your group wanted and they could reimburse you via Paypal.

3.  With a "trusted" family member, they could add their credit card to your credit cards on file and then, when they want to purchase some Kindle books, they could go in and change the 1-click settings to their credit card, make the purchases, and then go back and change the 1-click settings back to your default credit card.  This option should be reserved for TRUSTED family members.  I have one family member who uses this method and she always texts me first to let me know that she is going to be ordering some books within a few minutes so that I don't accidentally go up on Amazon and order something else while things are set to her credit card.  Then she texts me as soon as she has set things back to my default.

4.  You could have members email you with books that they want added.  You could then add them on your own dime and each month, email each person the total that they owe you and let them reimburse you as mutually agreed upon.

Keeping Track of Titles Read:
The challenge has come about with trying to remember who has read what!  As the "librarian" for our little Kindle library of 800+ books and growing, I had begun creating a Google document each month of all the new titles that I'd added that month.  I would include a short synopsis of the title and also assign a genre category to each book for those who wanted to quickly scan through for only "action-thrillers", for example.
Then, at the end of the month, I'd send out a link to the document to all of the members of our family library, letting them know that it was available for viewing.

My brother came up for a short visit this past weekend and he suggested that I try creating a spreadsheet instead.  I could put all of the info from the past monthly documents into this spreadsheet and then include a column for us to "check" as we read a title.  We sat down together and came up with the columns that we thought would be important (genre, title, author, description, and then a spot for each of us to check off when we'd read the title).

I'm creating this in Google docs and will "share" it with the group so that any of them can "edit" it.  Thus, they'll be able to go in and mark books read but they'll also be able to change the sorting of the books. For example, if they want to search by "author", they can have the spreadsheet rearrange everything alphabetically by author.  (And that makes me realize that I need to go back in and edit the authors' names so that they are "last name, first name".)

My hubby suggested separating the spreadsheet into Tabs with a tab for each Genre.  Once I have the books all entered, he'll help me get this set up in that format.

This will also make things easier when we find ourselves searching for that next book to read from our library.  We can find the genre that interests us and then scroll through and browse through the descriptions until we find one that strikes our fancy, checking to make sure we haven't already read it.  Yay!

Hope you find some of these suggestions useful if you, too, are finding your Kindle library expanding at alarming rates and especially, if you are sharing your library with others.  Happy e-reading!

Dark Shadows Then and Now

We went to see the new Dark Shadows movie on Mother's Day weekend.  It was a special favor to me because my daughter and my hubby knew how much of a fan I was of the original TV series.  Yes, I was one of those kids that ran home each afternoon so that I could plop down in front of the TV to watch Barnabas Collins scare the bejesus out of me.  I REALLY liked Barnabas, long before vampires were considered "cool."

So I was a little worried when I saw the movie previews featuring Johnny Depp starring as Barnabas.  I also saw that the movie version was going to be directed by Tim Burton, a director well-known for producing bizarre, off-beat movies.  The previews also gave me the impression that they had turned the original show into a farce.  Oh, no!

Now that I've seen the movie, I can say that it wasn't as bad as I was expecting it to be.  Faint praise, I know.  It had funny moments.  It had a great soundtrack.  The character playing Willie Loomis was great and  even Helena Bonham Carter was spot-on with her portrayal of Julia, the psychologist.  Johnny wasn't bad as Barnabas.  The character, Angelique had the familiar push-pull hate/love thing going just like in the original series.  But we were missing some of my favorites, like David Selby's character....sexy Quentin Collins. I thought that  the character of Victoria Winters was just not as developed in the movie as it was in the series.  I mean, Barnabas was SO obsessed with Victoria in the series and she fought the attraction for a long time, not understanding what was going on.  The movie Victoria was rather "blah."  David Collins wasn't creepy or disturbed enough.  I think he needed his little ghost friend that he had in the original series.  

The main difference between the movie version and the TV series was that the series never played for laughs.  It took itself very seriously.  Oh, if you look at it today, you'll see funny parts as when the actors forget their lines and look off into the distance and obviously read off of a prompt card or parts where a mike boom wanders into the frame of the action, etc. I think this all adds to the charm.  It might not have been sophisticated television but still, it was able to get us to "suspend our disbelief" and to thoroughly lose ourselves in the action.

Dark Shadows the movie was a nice diversion for an afternoon.  Johnny Depp was fun to watch.  He didn't play it over the top.  The mansion was a great set.  It just didn't fully satisfy this original DS fan.  I watched the show faithfully in high school and through college.  When I graduated and joined the Army, a good friend and fellow fan continued to write episodes of the show for me (after the actual show was cancelled) and would mail them overseas to me so that I wouldn't be without my Dark Shadows "fix."  Maybe I just need to put the original series in my Netflix queue and take a shivery trip back to Collinswood.

We're All Greek This Weekend!

This weekend is the annual Capital Region's Greek Festival, which just happens to be held just a few short miles from our house.  We look forward to this festival every year.  It's not just the fact that they have wonderful Greek food that the folks of the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Cathedral have been cooking up in preparation for the onslaught of huge crowds that always show up.  It's also because it is a happy reminder of our time spent living in Greece and especially of the fact that we met and married in Greece.

The first thing you have to do when you get near the vicinity is find a parking spot.  That can be a challenge.  It can also result in a hike.  However, the day was a glorious one so I didn't mind walking at all.  The second challenge is to decide which venue to go to for your food.  There are food tents outside on the grounds selling things like gyros, fried cheese, and souvlaki.  There are also usually LONG lines there.  Or you can go inside the church and into the auditorium.  There you'll find the dessert counter (notice which one I mentioned first), a meal counter, and the a la carte counter.  That's the one we choose.  I picked one of my favorite dishes - pastitsio and two little tiropitas.

The Commander went with a Greek salad and some dolmades.  I wondered why he was choosing such light fare but discovered after we ate that there was a method to his madness.

Ah, yes......when we went back outside, we went in search of some baklava.  I just wanted to finish my meal with a piece of that gooey goodness.  However, all we could find was a stand selling it in bulk.  The smallest package was one of six pieces for $12.  Goodness, I didn't need it that badly.  We noticed this stand advertising baklava sundaes and just happened to walk past a lady who was enjoying a bowl of ice cream with what looked to be baklava sprinkled on top.  We asked her if it was a Baklava Sundae.

"Yes," she replied.

"Is it good?" we asked.

"Heavenly!" she responded.

That was enough of an endorsement for us so we purchased one sundae and split it between us.  I wouldn't say that it beats out a Dairy Queen Blizzard made of hot fudge sauce, chocolate chunks, and mocha flavoring but hey......the Greeks can't have everything.

It was a fantastic way to spend our date night.  All we needed was to end the evening with a stroll along the Aegean Sea.  We settled for our feet up in the recliners and "Midnight in Paris" in the DVD player, which was a cute movie.  As for the rest of the evening?  I'll just say "Opa!"

2009 - 2012 And Finally Finished!

My Great American Aran Afghan is finally finished.  I had posted earlier about how I laid out all the squares and decided how I wanted to arrange them and then how I had attached each square together.  Well, once that was accomplished, all I had to do was decide what I wanted to do for a border.

The pattern book had suggested a cabled knit border.  It is a lovely border but I decided that I really didn't want to do it.  No particular reason other than the fact that I thought the afghan was "busy" enough with all the different patterns and I wanted to have the focus on them instead of a dramatic ivory cable running all around the edge.

I fell back on my old standard for finishing off blankets and afghans.  I fished out one of my crochet hooks and gathered the remnants of the yarn I had used for the squares.

My next step was to decide what colors I wanted to use.  I decided to use all of the colors that I had used in the afghan itself.  I had a skein of each so I figured that I should have enough.  For the first row, I did a row of single crochet stitches all around the afghan.  The second row, using the same color as the first row, was a row of half double crochet (hdc) stitches in each single crochet stitch although when I came to the corners, I did a hdc then a chain stitch and then a hdc in the corner stitch.

From then on, I did two rows of half double crochet stitches for each color until I got to the final light green color before the last edging stitch.  I just did one row of hdc stitches using that light green.  At that point, I had found an extra ball of Cascade yarn (with a blend of alpaca) laying around that I thought would add a nice touch of drama to the edge so I decided to finish off with that.

I pulled out one of my crochet stitch books and picked a shell /scallop edging.  It was basically do 5 double crochet stitches (dc) in 1 stitch, skip a stitch, do a single crochet stitch in the next stitch, skip a stitch and then repeat the sequence all around the afghan.  When I'd come to the corners, I'd work it so that I'd do a scallop right in the corner stitch and I'd do 6 dc stitches just to give it more ease to get around without curling.  It wasn't an exact science.  I didn't bother counting all of my edge stitches before I started with the final edging.  I figured I could "fudge" a little to get my scallops in the corners and that is exactly what I did.  "Close enough for government work", as we used to say in the Navy.

The afghan is now residing on the back of our living room sofa.  When I was placing it there, the Commander jokingly said, "Hmm, I think I need to take a nap."  I had told him several days ago that he would NOT be allowed to use this afghan when he was napping on the sofa.  I worked too darn hard on it.  I was actually joking.  Well, not joking about working hard on it, but joking about not letting him use it.  Of course, he can use it.  It's not going to just be for show.  I WILL, however, put it away in the hope chest when the grandkidlets are visiting. Fancy afghans, sticky hands, and leaky sippy cups just don't go well together.  Once it's out of the picture, they can't do anything more to that sofa that the dogs and the cats haven't already done.

A Tisket, A Tasket...Don't Have to Push The Basket

I did my grocery shopping today and I didn't even have to leave the comfort of my van.  Yup, I finally decided to try the online shopping feature that my local grocery store offers.  Yesterday I logged onto their website and after setting up my online account using my frequent shopper card (got to get those gas points, you know), I was soon browsing through the store online.

Giant (my local store) has their system set up so that you can shop by category, by aisle, or just type in a product and search that way.  It couldn't be easier.  Once you find what you want, you adjust the amount that you want to purchase and then you select it to add it to your "cart."  There is also a place where you can  enter comments (more on that later).

The final step is to set up the time you want to pick up your groceries.  You pick an hour time slot (i.e. between 10-11 a.m. on Tuesday) and then you print out your order and that's it.  If you have any coupons to use, you just bring them along with you and hand them to the clerk when you pull up in the designated area.

Since this was my first time, I was unsure if you were supposed to tip the person who brings your groceries out to your car.  I called the store and asked and they assured me that I was not to tip.  I just needed to pull up in the lane clearly marked for the online shoppers and someone would come out to get my name and my credit card.

That's exactly what I did.  I pulled up, a nice young man came out and asked for my last name and then I handed him my credit card and my coupons.  Soon he came out with my bags of groceries and loaded them in the back of the van.  Next out came a grocery clerk with my receipt, my credit card, a charge slip to sign, and new coupons that my order had generated.  I signed the slip, she thanked me, and I was on my way back home.

The whole process took about 5 minutes.  Unloading the groceries and putting them away took a tad longer because I was checking items against my list.  When you place your order, you can indicate whether or not you want the personal shopper to make substitutions.  I had said they could but they didn't fill two things I had ordered - a box of Barista K-Cups (they were out-of-stock) and a carrot cake from the bakery (also out-of-stock).  Darn!  I was hoping to have that carrot cake for lunch.  Guess the fates knew it was something I should not have.  I wasn't charged for either item either.  Now, in the comments section, I'm thinking that I COULD have said that "any" K-Cup by Barista would have been ok.    They also had a question on my ground beef when I had ordered a pound of ground beef three times.  They had asked me about it when I'd called with the tip question.  I explained that I hated to touch meat so I wanted to have 3 individual packages of a pound each so that I wouldn't have to separate the meat.  That way, I could just plop it into the frying pan when fixing a recipe without having to do much touching.  They probably thought I was nuts but said politely that they would go pull it for me immediately and have it ready when I arrived.  I COULD have indicated "please pull 3 1-lb. packages" in the comments part and there would have been no confusion.

I'll definitely be using this service again.  The extra charge for the convenience is only $4.95 which is peanuts, if you ask me.  If you are near a store that offers this type of service, give it a try.  You might find yourself pleasantly spoiled.

Piles or Smiles?

Several weeks ago, the Commander said to me, "When we DO move, have you thought at all about whether or not you want to share an office or have your own computer room?"

I looked at him and thought about it.

"Well," I said.  "That depends.  I don't mind sharing a room at all but I am kind of fussy about how that room is going to be kept."

This time HE looked at me.  You see, I'm someone who has stuff, that's for sure, but I like to keep it organized and fairly neatly stowed.

The Commander, on the other hand, has piles of papers everywhere.  It drives me nuts.  I don't see how he can find anything in all of that chaos.

I like to walk into my office and see where everything is, at a glance.  I also like to see the floor.  Call me crazy but it is kind of nice to be able to walk around a room without having to dodge piles of papers or equipment.

I can't really do that in the Commander's office.  There is a very narrow walkway.  There is LOTS of equipment, probably enough to man a third-world call center.  I vacuum the walkway and that's it.  I don't dust in there.  I refuse to, out of principle.  If I can't see a bare surface, I'm not touching it.

I DO like his Texas flag, though.  It might need a mounted pair of longhorns to add to the ambiance but I don't think there is any bare wall space with enough room to hold something like that.

So I was explaining all of this to the Commander and telling him how I wouldn't mind sharing an office with him if he could keep his side of things picked up. When I finished, he gazed at me and then he said, "Separate rooms it is!"  Yup, I'm thinking the same thing.

Gaining on the Great American Aran Afghan

Well, I'm getting much closer to finishing my Great American Aran Afghan.  If you remember, I started it several years ago with a group of ladies at my local yarn shop.  We met once a month and worked on one square a month.  There were a few months when we didn't meet but mainly we plugged steadily along, coached by our yarn shop owner/instructor.  It has truly been a labor of love, one which has stretched me far beyond what I thought I was capable of knitting.  Now that I've finished the squares, I find that I am not intimidated by cables any longer.  Whee!

I did all of the squares in the book by the same title (published by Knitter's Magazine) except for two.  Once I had them completed and blocked, the next step was to find a large, open space where I could start playing with an arrangement until I had one that I liked.  I ended up with 5 rows of 4 squares each.  That left me with 2 leftover squares which will become pillows.

When I had them laid out the way I wanted them, I carefully worked my way from the bottom and left to right and stacked the squares row-by-row, pinning a piece of paper to each pile identifying which row it was.

My next decision was how to join the squares.  I decided to first join my squares in the rows together using a single crochet seam.  I joined the bottom row squares first and worked my way up to the top row, setting each completed strip on top of the previously completed strip just to keep them in order.  

Then I took the top strip in the pile and joined it to the next strip using the same single crochet seam technique, trying to match the squares as I crocheted across.  Oh, I guess this would be a good time to explain that each of the squares is supposed to be 12 inches by 12 inches.  In reality, they vary.  To try to standardize them, I had first done about 3 or 4 rows of single crochets around each square in the same color yarn as the square.  I kept note of how many stitches I picked up while I did the first square and then picked up the same number of stitches on all 4 sides on every square.  Therefore, even though the squares aren't exactly the same size, when I seamed them together, it was fairly easy to match up the stitches between squares.

Now that I have all the squares/strips joined and the seams steamed, the next and final step will be to do a border around the whole afghan.  The book has you do a knitted cable border.  I don't plan to do that.  It's just too fussy for me.  I think the squares are busy enough.  I think I'll probably do a half-double crochet border around the afghan, doing 4 or so rows using the different colors in the afghan.  Once finished, it will have a place of honor on our living room couch.  I'll almost hesitate to use it, given all the work that went into it, but I imagine I will when the weather turns cold again.  However, I WILL hide it when the grandkids are about.  Sorry, Sweet Pea and Spud!  Don't feel bad for them, though.  They each have their own quilts that Nana made for them so they aren't hurting for something to snuggle under.

iPad Skyping - A Blessing for Grandparents!

We love to Skype with our extended family.  With the grandkidlets in Texas, it is usually our only way to see them for weeks/months at a time and to maintain that precious relationship with them.  But with little ones, Skyping via a stationary computer can be challenging, at best.  Let's face it....toddlers and babies get antsy.  They'll only tolerate so much time spent sitting in one spot before they want to wander off.

In the past, Skyping with little Sweet Pea has sometimes been limited to her quick appearance at the beginning of the conversation and then a fast pop-in at the end of the Skype call for a blown kiss good-bye. It's been like eating only one potato chip.  We've wanted more.

That's where the iPad comes to the rescue.  With our daughter-in-law returned to medical residency, she now has an iPad and last night we were able to Skype with them using an iPad on their end.  Oh, boy!  Not only did it draw the attention of the kidlets, but it was super-portable.

Spud was particularly drawn to it, laughing at our images and trying to reach out to grab us.  At one point, he got down on the floor and Jason walked in front of him with the iPad while Spud crawled like a marathon sprinter on his knees following it.  We were able to watch the whole thing via Skype --- on eye, or should I say, floor level.

Little Sweet Pea kept popping in to show us different toys.  She even hopped off the couch and did some fancy twirling and dancing that we were able to watch, thanks to that iPad.

Sweet Pea and I sang "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" together and then she showed me how she could climb the stack of pillows on the couch (which I dubbed "Mt. Mika).  Oh, I know that a laptop could have been moved to follow the action but it still would have been cumbersome, trying to adjust the angle of the screen to catch the action.

Let's face it, there is something irresistible between iPads and  children.  They are just naturally drawn to them.  Add in the convenience of Skyping with the portability of the iPad, and you have a wonderful tool to stay connected with your extended family.  When I see smiles like these, how can I not feel blessed?

Baby's Got a Brand New Case!

My beloved iPhone has a new case.  While I was in Texas, I noticed that its stylish fuschia CaseCrown polycarbonate slider case was starting to deterioriate.  The finish was crackling.  I didn't like that, although I LOVED the color of the case.  So back I went to research other cases.

I've always heard good things about the Otterbox cases.  The buzz is that they provide superior protection and that their design is well-thought out.  What had kept me from getting one in the past was that the cases were rather bulky.  However, I came across the Defender Realtree Hybrid Case and I really liked the design.  It has a hard inner case with a built-in screen protector and then an outer soft silicone cover for that but the thing doesn't feel like you are holding a military walkie-talkie.

I wasn't real keen on lots of the color combinations but I DID like this camo-cover.  It comes in several variations.  OK, they could have thrown in a chickadee or two or a deer or a turkey for me but I don't really mind just the bare-bones trees.  My brother joked around and said, "Gee, if you drop this in the woods, you'll never find it."

I told him, "All I've have to do is wait for someone to text me and follow the sound of the "moos" or wait for someone to call me and just follow the sound of bagpipes."

I'm not mechanical at all so I sure would have been up the creek without a paddle if I'd tried to get my iPhone into the case just going by the instructions printed on the inside of the box.  Luckily the company has very easy-to-follow installation videos on Amazon and their website.

I've had the case now for a week and am quite pleased with it.  I was wondering how that built-in screen was going to affect my touchscreen but it works as well as it always did.  Everything else fits great.  The cut-out openings in the case are right where they should be and I really feel like my phone is well-protected.  Oh, and it also came with a holster with clip that doubles as a stand.  I don't plan to use the holster but I might use the stand if I want to view something on my iPhone horizontally.

Consensus, Schmensus!

Books!  Gosh, I love books and I love my book clubs that I belong to, too.  They are as different as night and day but both are great groups with members who are passionate about the books they read.  That's a good thing.  However, that passion can also make it a little difficult when it comes to picking out each month's reading selection.  Today was no exception.  This is how it went, more or less.

Member #1:  "So, what shall we read next month?"

Member #2:  "I'm reading one about two sisters but I'm not sure the group would like it.  It starts out really slow and doesn't really pick up until you are about halfway through it."

Member #3:  "I jotted this list down of books some folks suggested when I was on a recent trip."
She reads off the titles, checking to see if any of us have read or heard of them.  There is only one title that Member #6 is familiar with.  Member #1 heads to the computer to check out the first title on Amazon.  


Member #1:  "Ok, that book is about ill-fated lovers going through the horrors of war in Budapest."

Me:  "Oh, no, no, no....if I have to read one more book about starving through the harsh winters of Budapest or St. Petersburg with ill-fated lovers during a war, I don't think I'll be able to do it.  Couldn't we read something a little lighter?"

Member #4:  "What about that second title that was mentioned?  Can someone look up the ratings and summary on it?"

Member #5:  (looking it up on her iPad)  "It's a story of the horrors and inhumanity of slavery."

(I think to myself, "This is a little lighter?")


Member #4:  "Oh, let's read that.  I love reading stories about slavery.  It's always fascinated me."

(Member #3 gives me a sympathetic look.)


Me:  "How about this one?  It's about the lessons this young lady learned about life through the books that she and her father read together as she was growing up?" (No one takes the bait.)

Member #3 to Member #4:  "Weren't you reading one about Abraham Lincoln?"

Me:  "Ooh, 'Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter?'"
(All eyes swing over to stare at me.  
"Hey, it's going to be coming out as a movie?"

Member #5:  "Here are the bestsellers on Amazon right now.  #1 is Fifty Shades of Grey."


Member #6:  "What's that about?"
 (Three of us look at each other and blush)


Member #3:  "It's erotic fiction."

Member #4:  "It's Mommy Porn.  What's #2 on the list?"

Me:  "Probaby Fifty Shades of Greyer," I quip.  (I'm not far off.)


Member #4:  "What's the next book on the list that isn't anything to do with grey?"

Member #5:  "It's Deadlocked."

Member #6:  "What's that about?"

Me:  "Vampires!"  (The group stares at me.)  "The True Blood TV Show is based on the books in the series."  (Don't ask me how I know this.  Nobody bites on this one either.  Sorry for the pun.)

Philippa Gregory's new book makes a quick surge to the front of the line.  I notice I have a text message from my brother as the group discusses the plot summary.

Member #4:  (to me as she sees me fiddling with my iPhone)  "Are you looking the rating up on Amazon?"

Me:   "Um, no.  I'm texting my brother.  He just had me buy a Kindle Fire for him.  They're selling refurbished ones today for $139 as the Deal of the Day."

Member #2:  "We're having a book signing here at the shop next month featuring a book that a local author just wrote.  All of her books are fiber-related and have some romance in them but in a nice way."

Member #4:  "What's it rated?  I never read anything with a rating lower than a 4.5 and try to read only books that are rated 5-star."

Member #2:  "Then you're missing out on a lot of good books because I've read many that weren't rated that high that were very good."
(I feel like hugging her.)


Member #4:  "That's because you're not as big a snob as I am when it comes to reading books."
(I feel like kicking HER.)

Me:  "Hey, why don't we read the book by the local author?"
(No response)


Me:  "So, why don't we take the four or so titles we've mentioned, write them on slips of paper, put them in a cup, and draw one out and that will be the book we read?"
(No response)


Member #4:  "What about a book by Larson?  What's the latest one he wrote?"

Me:  "Isn't it set in Berlin?"

Member #4:  "No....I don't think so."
(Member #5 looks it up on Amazon.  It is set in Berlin.)


Me:  "I've read some good things about it.  Why don't we read that one?"
(By this time, we're a half hour past the end of our scheduled meeting time, Member #6 keeps eyeing her watch, and Member #7 has gotten up to stretch her legs several times.)


Miracle of miracles, we agree to make it our June selection.  Perhaps we all just want to get home before the school buses start rolling through our subdivisions.  Even though we're going to be revisiting WWII again and  even though there might be an ill-fated lover or two in next month's selection, at least we have a book picked.  And I thought giving birth was difficult!