Hot-Flashed Funk

What a Relief!

2012-03-08T09:46:00.003-05:00

Well, my dental surgery #1 is over and I survived. Even though I'm looking like old Marley the Ghost in this post-operative picture (and no, that isn't a flokati rug on my lap; it's Fresca the Wonder Dog), I feel pretty darn good.

Yesterday came way too early when I got up at 6 a.m. to take the Valium pill that the oral surgeon had prescribed to calm me down prior to the surgery. Oh, he had also given me one to take the evening before. Wouldn't you know, it got stuck in my throat so its effects were VERY slow in taking over. Since my throat opening is so tiny, I often have that happen where a pill will get stuck in my windpipe and usually I just eat a small cube of bread or a cracker and that helps wash it down the rest of the way. This time, I couldn't eat anything since I was having the surgery early the next morning so I was as stuck with the situation as the pill.

Anyway, back to the saga. The morning of the surgery, the pill went down fine. Hooray! However, I had so much fear adrenalin pumping that I didn't really feel calm at all when we headed over to the surgical center. I was NOT happy.

When the nurse called my name and we started down the hall, she asked me, "How are you doing today?"

I must have given her quite the look as I replied, "I'm terrified," because she said "Oooh, well let's see what we can do to help you feel better."

Pretty soon the doctor popped in along with the anesthesiologist, who looked like he had just graduated from high school. The anesthesiologist quickly assessed the situation and, realizing that my fear of the IV insertion was the main problem, decided to put me under with the mask. Then he'd put in that IV without me having to even know what was happening. I don't know what they gave me but he told me it would smell like markers and just to breathe in and out. I remember asking him if I should breathe through my mouth or my nose and he said it didn't matter. I took 2 or 3 breaths, he told me I was doing great, and then the nurse was asking me if I could stand up to transfer over to the little bed in the recovery area. Now THAT'S how to have a tooth pulled.

I was in at 8 a.m. and out and home by 10:15. Once home, I dutifully iced the area 30 minutes on and 30 minutes off until I went to bed. This kept the swelling down so that I looked fairly normal by late afternoon (well, as normal as one can look without makeup and having ice-pack hair). The Commander was a perfect nurse, taking the ice pack, bringing me a refreshed one, bringing me soda pop, and keeping track of my medicine schedule.

Speaking of meds, I've been following the schedule religiously. I alternate Vicodin with Advil. I restarted my antibiotic after getting some perogies down last night. Today I'm trying to reintroduce my regular medications, being ever mindful that I don't want to get an upset stomach.

I can see that I DID have an IV but there is no pain at the site and almost no bruising. Fantastic. I also haven't seen any bruising on my face yet either. Oh yes, after I was semi-coherent in the recovery room and getting my instructions from the nurse, I discovered that they didn't have to do the sinus lift. That was good news because it meant there would be less swelling and/or bruising, amongst other things.

I've been keeping myself entertained with my iPhone, the iPad, and my Kindle and also watching lots of cable TV. I watched several movies yesterday including one about the origins of the X-Men (I enjoyed it) and The Black Swan (I did NOT enjoy that movie). I also started watching the episodes of Detroit 1-3-7. It's been cancelled after one season but I'm really enjoying it. My brother lives right outside of Detroit and I can recognize some of the landmarks. Plus it stars one of my favorite actors, Michael Imperioli.

All in all, I had a lot of people praying for me and I think that really made a difference. God is good! I'm certainly not as anxious now about the second surgery but that won't be for another three months. If any of you are facing oral surgery for implants and are like me (a big chicken), I can now tell you that it wasn't bad, especially being put to sleep before the IV. Whew! Now if you'll excuse me, this chicken is going to go roost in a recliner.

The Cheap Girl's Version of Album Embossing

2012-03-06T15:17:00.000-05:00

I've really been trying to distract myself from this upcoming dental surgery so I decided to go through all my scrapbook albums and reorganize them. I had, at one time, tried to put them into some semblance of chronological order but had found it challenging to keep album sizes fairly standard. Some ended up quite thick while others were sparse. Then there was the problem of the children's pictures. Did I include them in the general yearly pics or try to put them in separate albums dedicated just to the children?

I finally decided to pull out all of my Thanksgiving and Christmas pictures and put those in separate scrapbooks. I also did separate albums for each child but kept general pictures with the kids in them in the yearly albums unless it was a significant event, such as a high school graduation. Those pics went in their own albums. Finally I created specialty albums such as wedding albums and heritage albums.

Well, now that I had those all reorganized, I decided to just start filling up the yearly albums and when one got to a good bulk, I'd switch to the next album, whether it meant combining years or not. I figured I'd identify these by embossing the spines, giving the date range. I was going to use Creative Memories' embossing service. In fact, I still had the box I had originally purchased years ago to send the album spines and/or covers off. Now I was finally going to do it. I pulled off all the spine covers and decided what I wanted to label them and then went online to see what the charge was going to be. Horror of horrors! I hadn't realized that they were only going to imprint the older-sized albums until the end of January 2012. All of my albums that needed imprinted were in this category and we were now into March. My window of opportunity was closed.

Well, I could have stopped right there and decided I would just forget embossing them. Or I could have decided to find a place in the area or on the Web that could do it for me, instead of Creative Memories. But in a moment of inspiration (some might call it insanity), I decided to label the albums myself. I grabbed some old pamphlets that I had about lettering, gathered some of my calligraphy pens, found a measuring tool and improvised for things to hold the spine covers flat.

I decided that I wanted all of my "labeling" to be at about the same height on the spine so that it would look nice and uniform when my albums were on the shelves. Another challenge was that I have different colored albums. One color of pen might not look so great or show up well on another color of album. I settled on a metallic silver pen for my main labeling.

I kept it pretty simple. I guess I could have stenciled the labels but frankly, I think the hand-done look adds to the charm and reflects the personality of the album maker. As I finished each spine, I stacked them on nearby surfaces and let them dry overnight.

After I'd do the initial labeling in the silver, I'd outline the letters in a fine-point permanent marker. Then I added a few little embellishments to finish the look.

For my holiday albums, I got a little more creative and drew a Christmas tree on the Christmas album and a pumpkin on the Thanksgiving album.

The end result? Well, I think they'll do just fine and even if they aren't as polished-looking as if they were done professionally, I can console myself with the fact that I saved myself about $14 an album......and that's a lot of consoling.

Now, I still have fifteen hours until my dental surgery. What can I get into next?

WHY Did I Read That Pamphlet?

2012-03-02T17:26:00.001-05:00

I think there should be a rule that people who suffer from General Anxiety Disorder should NEVER be allowed to read those post-operative handouts that doctors give you. Just when I thought I was managing to calm myself down about my upcoming dental surgery, I made the mistake of deciding to read the Post-Operative Instructions that my surgeon gave me. Big mistake! Now I'm beyond scared. I'm frantic! Here are some of the things I discovered:

1. I can expect SIGNIFICANT swelling. Notice I didn't say "may". Oh no! The handout lays it right out there on the line and says "you WILL...." Gulp! Is this going to be like "tie a string around my neck and call my head a balloon" swelling? Or "if Quasimodo's hump was his head, that's what my face will look like" swelling? Add in the expected bruising and I think we could be talking a mixture of "Swamp Creature" and "Bride of Frankenstein."

2. Because I'm also getting a bone graft, I will most likely be spitting out bits of bone for several days AND now, apparently, I might feel bone fragments through my nose. News flash! As big as my sinuses are and as small as my nose openings are, there isn't much room to play around in there. What the heck, guys?

3. Don't blow your nose! Excuse me? I have chronic sinusitis. If I don't blow my nose, I don't breathe. I'd consider breathing through my mouth but apparently I'm going to have bone fragments swimming around in there PLUS I'm supposed to be biting down on hunks of gauze for 30 minutes at a time. Let's see.....bone fragments, hunks of gauze.....Why don't we invite the whole freakin' neighborhood, shall we? I have a TINY mouth. There's no room for all this stuff.

4. Take a decongestant to dry up your sinuses so you don't have to blow your nose. Okey dokey! There's only one problem with that. They make my nose run. Guess I'll just lean over and let my nose drip onto a spare gauze pad or two. Oh wait.....I'm supposed to remain vertical if at all possible.

5. Avoid hot food or drink for 3-4 days after surgery. I didn't think this would be a hardship. After all, there's always Dairy Queen. But wait.....I'd forgotten that dairy food is a no-no after you've had general anesthesia. Until it is out of your system, dairy products can make you violently nauseous. Oh joy! Jello, anyone?

On top of all this, well-meaning friends, when they discover that I'm going to have a sinus lift in addition to the dental extraction/bone graft, have been telling me how dangerous sinus surgery can be. Apparently if the doctor slips and nicks you in the wrong spot, fluid can leak into your brain cavity (or something like that) and you can die. Um, that's so NOT what I need to hear right now, guys!

6. No drinking liquids through straws. OK, how about just chugging straight from the bottle?

6. Be sure to take the prescribed pain medications BEFORE you start experiencing bad pain. What was it that The Monkees used to sing? "I'm a Believer?" You don't have to tell me this twice. I just want to know who is going to change those gauze pads for me. After all, I couldn't even do it for my own son when he had his wisdom teeth out. How in blazes am I going to be able to do it for myself?

To think that the dental surgeon told me that it wasn't going to be a bad surgery. If I'd read the pamphlet before I'd heard that, I swear I would have leaned over and gotten right up in his face and said, "What planet are you from if you think THIS isn't bad? Are you a masochist?"

To paraphrase our old preacher from back home, "It's Friday, but Wednesday's comin'." Lord, help me!

The Amazing Canine Vacuum

2012-02-29T10:11:00.000-05:00

It's Feb. 29....and it only comes around once every 4 years. I'm taking a break from the tooth drama to celebrate the fact that we might have our own little Leap Year baby in the family today. My nephew and his wife are at the hospital now working at bringing that little one into the world. Yay!

In the meantime, I thought I'd do some celebrating closer to home. You see, this morning as I was up in our bedroom dressing, I noticed Fresca, the Wonder Dog going around the bedroom with her snout to the floor. She seemed to be working away quite industriously at something. Yup, she was "vacuuming" our rug by meticulously eating all the little flecks of fiber/dirt that show up on a bone-colored rug. No wonder my rug always looks so good. I often find myself wondering why it looks like it doesn't need vacuuming. Apparently Fresca is my "maid du jour."

While I was marveling at my good fortune, Fresca disappeared from the bedroom and went into the Master Bathroom. I could hear her snuffling around in there so I went in to check out what was going on. By golly, she was doing the same thing to our two throw rugs in the bathroom.

How cool is this? I have a dog who cleans for me? Now if I could just train her to pick up a dust cloth and polish the furniture, I could have more time to knit. Happy Leap Year!

Stupid Tooth

2012-02-28T16:12:00.001-05:00

Can you tell what is in MY future? I'll give you a clue. It doesn't involve EATING veggies. I'll probably be "wearing" them, though, on the side of my face next week.

Today I headed on over to the oral surgeon to have my consult for my upcoming dental surgery. My cracked and infected molar has to come out and then I'm facing a dental implant. I'll be honest with you. I was terrified as I headed over there and it was only the consult, not even the surgery.

The nurse looked over my completed paperwork, took some xrays, and then started to go over the procedure for the first surgery. Oh, first she had me sign and initial the waiver with all the things that can go wrong with surgeries like this.

"You can go ahead and read all of that," she said, "but seeing how nervous you are about this, you might not want to."

I couldn't have agreed more. In fact, I told her she could just give me the abbreviated version of the surgery.....the REALLY abbreviated version, like....they put you out, remove the tooth, and wake you up. That was good enough for me. I'm really squeamish about hearing details.

The doctor came in and we chatted a bit.

"I understand that you're a bit anxious," he said.

"I'm terrified," I replied. "I'm particularly terrified of the IV. I don't want to feel any anxiety when they insert that IV. You've got to give me something to take before they do it so that I am really relaxed, OK? The last person who tried to put an IV in my arm screwed it up and I ended up curled in a fetal position trying not to be sick to my stomach. They had to grab the anesthetist from the surgical suite to come and get it inserted."

"That's not a problem," he reassured me. "I can prescribe some Valium for you to take before you come in that day."

"Listen, " I said. "They used to give me Ativan before my chemotherapy and my adrenalin was pumping so hard that it didn't even phase me."

He looked at me. "I'll have you take some Valium before you go to bed, too," he amended. "I'll even have them give you a whiff of........before they insert the IV. We'll pull out all of our tricks."

"That's exactly what I need," I said. "Hit me with everything you've got."

"Normally we only have the patient put under for the first operation," they told me, "but we think we'll recommend that you go under for the second surgery, too, hearing how anxious you are. The numbing injections into the upper palate tend to be rather painful. That way, you won't feel anything."

"You aren't going to get any argument from me," I agreed.

And the kicker is that this whole thing is going to be drawn out over a six-month period. They do the first surgery to extract the tooth and then I have to wait three months for it to heal. Then they go in again and insert a screw thing into my jaw and that has to heal for another three months. Finally my dentist makes a tooth that is screwed onto the thingy that is implanted in my jaw.

Oh, but wait, there's more. For my first surgery, they'll have to pack some bone graft stuff into my jaw and it comes from cadaver bones. If I can remember my vocabulary correctly, we're talking dead people's bones. Oy! They also will be doing a "sinus lift" or something like that. I have a very enlarged sinus cavity and they don't want it to droop down when they pull out the tooth. I should have asked them to throw in a facelift while they're at it.

I guess I shouldn't be complaining. While I'm worrying over one tooth coming out, little Spud is working on getting a whole set of teeth to come IN. Little guy, don't be in such a hurry. At some point in your life, those teeth are going to turn on you. And THAT'S a real bite in the ......well, it's not a happy time.

Long in the Tooth?

2012-02-22T15:19:00.000-05:00

Sometimes life just isn't fair. Take today for instance. I have faithfully practiced good dental hygiene all of my life. I brush my teeth throughout the day. I get my teeth cleaned every six months. I even suffered through braces twice, donating a total of 8 teeth to the cause just to make room for everything because I've been cursed with such a tiny mouth. And yet.....the darn things are letting me down.

I noticed last week that my gums were swollen above the biggest offender in my mouth.....the tooth that had given me all the trouble over the summer. I had finally reneged and gone to the dentist when the aching had gotten really bad and they discovered I had a cracked tooth. The dentist put a temporary fix over everything and told me it might hold for years or maybe just a few months. Darn tooth! Looks like this wasn't going to turn out to be a long-term fix.

So off I trundled today to the dentist----AGAIN!

"We're ready," the nurse said, sticking her head out into the reception area.

I looked around but seeing no one else in the waiting room, I couldn't find anyone else to palm off on her so I had no choice but to follow her down to the examining room.

To make a long story short, turns out bacteria has made its way into the crack and up into the root area and now I have an infection brewing in the tooth's roots. My dentist was more than willing to go into greater detail but I told him I got the picture and I was feeling woozy.

Bottom line is that I need to get the tooth out and then pick from several options:
1. Go for a partial plate. (NOT a good choice since I have a very prominent ridge in my upper mouth which would make it uncomfortable.)

2. Go for a bridge. (An "ok" choice but one he wouldn't recommend since it would involve filing down the healthy teeth on either side to make room for the fake tooth plus it would need to be anchored to those teeth. It would be harder to keep clean and would involve several hours sitting with my mouth open while he works away on it (also not a good option given the exceptionally tiny size of my mouth - THANKS, Mom!)

3. Get a tooth implant after the extraction. (His recommended choice - the "gold standard", as he called it. After seeing the price just from his end of things, I can see why "gold" is in the description.)

I mentioned that there was a fourth option. Why not just pull the darn thing and leave a blank space? OK, maybe not such a good idea. He went on and on about how my teeth would start shifting until it sounded like the darn Continental Plates with some "Bucky Beaver" thrown in there for good measure.

We've reached a compromise. I'm on antibiotics this week so I can attend my 3-day scrapbooking retreat this weekend and enjoy the food and festivities. Next week I see the oral surgeon to set up my extraction and consult to get the ball rolling for the implant. I told my dental crew that I have one stipulation or I'm NOT opening my mouth. I want to have NO anxiety when they start this thing. That means they need to either shoot me up with drugs or give me pills to take before they begin working. And if they mean to put an IV in my arm? Uh-uh.....I have to be feeling no pain before they ever try to get that IV in. As I told my dentist, my last tooth extraction was in college when I had my wisdom teeth out. They gave me a shot and I felt nothing during the entire procedure. I was awake the whole time, heard all the crunching, etc. and couldn't have cared less. Surely they've got even better drugs now after all these years, right? I want them! 'Nuff said!

Skyping with Mr. Wiggleworm

2012-02-21T20:35:00.000-05:00

We had the fun of Skyping with the kids tonight and, as usual, little Spud was a bundle of energy. Miss Mika, our little "Sweet Pea," was preoccupied with getting her "cuppy" filled with Chai and evading her brother's grasping hands. Here is how the conversation went, according to Mr. Spud:

Hey, Nana and PawPaw! Whatta day....whatta day. You wouldn't believe all the things I tried to get into!

What's that? You WOULD? Gee, who's been talking behind my back?

Do I look like someone who would get into any mischief, I ask you? Have you ever seen such an angelic face?

Aw, nuts! Can't keep this act up for long. Let me go, Pops. I've got things to get into.

Hmph! Passed off to Mommy! Oh, the shame of it all. Hey, Sis! I'll trade you this lid for your cuppy.

Oh, come on.....it tastes good. I've already sucked all the dirt off of it. You know you want to trade with me.

Let me go, Mommy! I want to play with my sister's pigtails. That should make her drop that cup.

Oh, boy....come on....just a little bit closer and I think I can make it to Daddy's chair while they are listening to Sis's story.

Yeah! Look at me! I'm walking. (Let go of me, Mommy. You're embarrassing me.)

Boing, Boing! I'm bouncing just like Tigger! Hey, look everybody.

Huh, you want me to stand still so you can get a good picture? Are you nuts, Nana and PawPaw? I'm a boy. We never stand still.

Isn't that right, Pops? Betcha did the same stuff when you were my age.

Hey, you want to pick my nose? Cool. That sounds like fun.

Oh, COME ON! Do we have to listen to another story from Sis? Doesn't she ever run out of them?
At least she could give me her cup.

Yeah! A new toy. I'm going to play drums on Daddy's head. Ah-one, Ah-two...... Oh, bye-bye, Nana and PawPaw. I love you!

In a Parallel Universe Fog

2012-02-18T11:35:00.000-05:00

One of my favorite shows is "Dr. Who." I love the idea of being able to pop back and forth in time...to have that freedom to be able to go wherever whimsy (and the Doctor) want to take me. Truth be told though, I probably don't even need a time lord to find myself wandering through universes and time. As a writer, I find myself constantly existing on two different planes of existence. There is the "Reality Universe" where most of my fellow travelers reside and then there is the "Dee Universe" where I am usually in the midst of creating a story in my mind OR caught up as an actor in an adventure or scenario. I suspect I'm not alone in this and that many other creative people do the same.

It DOES have its drawbacks, though. I tend to lose track of time. I get so caught up in what's going on in my creative endeavors that I am often amazed to discover, at some point, that I'm still back in south-central Pennsylvania and it is past time to start supper. I can even be having a conversation with you (well, it might LOOK like I'm having a conversation with you) and yet mentally be off doing battle with the Fey or looking for clues in a Gothic mansion or on an archaeological dig in Egypt in the late 1800's. Sometimes I discover, to my horror, that I've agreed to do something or go somewhere and I don't have a clue what we were talking about. Dang!

This week, I was excited to prepare for a 3-day scrapbooking retreat coming up on the weekend. I had gathered all of my scrapbooking supplies and packed them into my carrier. I unhooked my laptop and had that packed away and ready to go. My suitcase was in the car.

Thursday evening I baked four dozen cookies to take with me. Everyone who attends this retreat always brings some type of snack so that we have plenty of goodies to nosh on when we're working into the wee hours of the night/morning.

I packed up the car and set off Friday afternoon for the retreat. I was supposed to be meeting up with my daughter at the hotel where the retreat would be held. While I was driving down there, I decided to stop at a grocery store and pick up a few more items to snack on. In a rare moment of generosity (clarity?), I decided to call Laura to see if she wanted me to pick up anything for her.

"Hi, Honey. I'm on my way. Do you want me to pick up anything for you?" I asked.

"Why," she asked.

"For the retreat," I answered.

"Oh, my gosh," she gasped. "That's not THIS weekend, is it? I thought it was NEXT weekend. It better not be this weekend. I don't have any of my pictures ready or anything."

"Uh.....let me check my email and I'll call you right back," I replied.

I checked through my old emails and sure enough, I was a week early. Oh, for Pete's sake. If I hadn't called my daughter, I would have driven 45 minutes down the road to the hotel and waltzed into the lobby with my bags, looking like an idiot. I called her back and we had a good laugh.

I decided to swing by Wendy's and get some pop for the drive back to the house. I ordered my cola, drove up to the pick-up window, and paid the attendant. The young man took my money, handed me my drink, and shut the window. Ummm, where was the straw? I waved at the fellow. He looked at me and finally opened the window.

"Where is the straw," I asked him.

"It will be in the bag," he answered, and he shut the window.

I waved at him and he looked at me again. Finally he opened the window.

"I didn't order any food," I explained.

"Whoops, sorry about that," he said, as he handed me a straw. He shut the window.

I waved at him again. He looked at me and opened the window.

"How much was the drink?," I asked him.

"$1.90," he told me.

"I gave you $2.00," I said.

"Oh, for goodness sakes," he laughed. "I'd better get my head in gear." He handed me my change and shut the window.

This time I drove away. It felt good to know that someone else was not quite "with it" either. I wasn't going to tell him, though, that I had skipped ahead a whole week. Let's just keep that between you and me, shall we?

Househunting From a Baby's Viewpoint

2012-02-17T11:57:00.000-05:00

Really, Nana and PawPaw....you have NO idea what it's been like!

Househunting can take a toll on a family, especially in today's market where it is a buyer's market and often buyers are competing with each other for a house they like. Our son and his family have been going through quite the ordeal in trying to find the right house. We Skyped about it last night and little Luke, who is a big 7-month-old now, had some thoughts on the subject.

Oh, my....we have had SOME adventures looking for a home for our family.

Button it, Mom, it's my turn to talk here. They want to know MY perspective on our house hunt.

I just can not believe all the places we've had to go see.

Holy Cow....some of these places I wouldn't put my rattle down in. But other houses that I've really liked have had other people snap them right up from under us.

I've thought...."Man, are you pulling my leg? We've lost another one to another buyer?" and yup, back we go, having to look at more houses."

Come ON, guys! Gag me with a spoon, for cryin' out loud!

Who knew that this house-buying stuff would be such a knuckle-biting experience?

When I hear some of the offers those other people have made, I want to say to them, "Yeah, yeah...just talk to the hand, man."

Mommy and Daddy are getting frustrated and I'm pulling my hair out here.

It's been absolutely disgusting, I tell ya, just disgusting!

Oh, you thought this LAST house was going to be the one, did you? Well, think again.

Go ahead, Mommy, tell them the latest development.....not that I'm complaining, mind you.

I KNOW, Nana and PawPaw...it's unbelievable, isn't it? We could end up so close to Gammy and Grandpa.

Hey, wait a minute. Who invited Grandpa in here? This is MY story. Everybody wants to add their two cents!

Whoa....who knew having a conversation was such hard work? Of course, when you only know one word.....it takes a lot of effort to get your point across.

So anyway....we were back looking at houses ......What? What did you say? Oh, you think YOU can do better finding us a house, do you? Well, then why don't you two come down here and help us?

Pssst, it's ok, Mommy.....I got this! I know what I'm doing here!

See, I KNEW if I tricked them, maybe they'd fly down here and visit us.

Yeah....THAT'S what I'm talkin' about. We need Nana and PawPaw to fly down here and be "closers" and get the job done.

Besides, with a smile like this, do you REALLY need an excuse to come down to see me?

Oh, My Goodness....Is That?

2012-02-16T11:45:00.001-05:00

Maybe it's because most of my favorite shows are filmed in Vancouver. Maybe certain actors/actresses just naturally gravitate toward certain types of shows. Maybe Syfy, one of my favorite TV channels, just happens to move its actors from show to show like chess pieces on a board. Or maybe it is just a coincidence but lately I've been noticing some very familiar faces popping up on new shows.

Case in point - I was watching a Canadian TV show from my Netflix Instant Queue called "Intelligence." By golly, one of the main characters was played by Ian Tracey, who happened to play crazy Adam Worth on my SyFy show, "Sanctuary."

Speaking of "Sanctuary," another actor from that show, Christopher Heyerdahl, who played Magnus' love, John, showed up on another new show I like, "Hell on Wheels," as The Swede.

I have been watching the new show, "Grimm" and on their latest episode which centered around a woman who changed into a spider-like creature who sucked the juices out of her victims in order to stay youthful, I realized that the woman was none other than Amy Acker, who played Fred on my beloved vampire series "Angel." (And we all know that Angel has been reincarnated as Booth in the popular TV series, "Bones.")

Speaking of vampires, one of my very favorite vampire series is Blood Ties, unfortunately cancelled but still available via reruns. The other day, while I was watching an episode of "Intelligence", I sat up and looked closer and realized that one of the lowlifes on the show was Michael Ecklund, who played creepy Norman in several episodes of "Blood Ties."

But my latest discovery was this week when I was viewing the American version of "Being Human." One of the main characters, a vampire, was interacting with a vampire that he had sired. All of a sudden I sat up in my recliner, leaned forward, and said, "It's Henry!" Yup, my favorite vampire from Blood Ties, Kyle Schmid, who played "Henry Fitzroy," is now on "Being Human" in a recurring role as a vampire and his name is, get this, "Henry." Unfortunately, THIS Henry is not quite as honorable as MY Henry from the previous show but at least I can enjoy his company on TV once more.

Maybe it's like weather and fashion, .....if you wait long enough, they all come back again. So, has anyone spotted Adrian Paul recently?

La Langue de L'amour

2012-02-14T13:32:00.001-05:00

Ah, it's Valentine's Day. ......a day when love is in the air. "Love" wasn't exactly in the air this morning when I was driving to an appointment but the "language of love" was playing on the air, courtesy of the Quebec music station broadcasting via my Sirius Satellite radio. I was enjoying picking out the stray French phrases that I knew and listening to the lovely pronunciation of the words and that got me homesick for the days when the Commander and I were speaking French daily, when we lived in Morocco.

"I REALLY need to brush up on my language skills," I thought.

Ah, but THERE'S the rub. What language should I brush up on? Should it be French? I love the sound of French, love to speak it aloud. It makes me feel all sophisticated and sultry. It makes me want to sling a scarf around my neck, light up a cigarette and find a little bistro with a small stage to sing on.

The Commander, when he's feeling romantic, usually speaks to me in French.

"Je t'aime," he'll whisper.

I usually counter with the language of my ancestors. "Ich liebe dich!", I'll say.

Just not the same, is it? No matter how I try to squelch it, I usually get the feeling that the other person ought to pop up, stand at attention, click their heels, and salute. German is a language of action. It demands a response and a snappy one, at that. French, on the other hand,.....well, they don't call it the language of love for nothin'.

Should I concentrate on brushing up on my German? It IS a strong part of my heritage, after all. I'd hate for it to die off with my generation in our family. I really would like to pass it on to my grandchildren, at least a few phrases and sayings. There's also a good chance that I'll get to use it again if we get over to Germany and Switzerland to do more genealogical research or just to travel over there. I love Germany, enjoyed living there while in the Army, and would really like to get back there.

There's a third option though. I COULD resurrect my very rusty Spanish. We plan to move to Texas so I know there would be plenty of opportunities to speak it. It would be a much more practical language to work on then either German or French.

I know, I know....you might be wondering, why limit yourself to just one other language? Ah, it seems the way my brain is wired that I can only concentrate on one other language at a time. When I was fluent in German and then started studying French, I lost almost all of my ability to converse in German. When I stopped back in Germany and started trying to speak in German, my French started bailing on me. Spanish jumped ship long ago. I don't know why this is but it seems I don't have a multi-circuited brain. I'm pretty linear.

For tonight, though, I'm not going to worry about any of this. I'm going to express my love non-verbally as I cook up one of the Commander's favorite meals and as we raise our glasses to toast 32 years of marriage, I'm going to give him the "look of love", which doesn't need translation in any language.

No Chillin' in This Guernsey!

2012-02-12T15:18:00.001-05:00

I finished my Guernsey Sweater yesterday and just in time, too, I might add. The weather has turned hostile here with the wind just howling outside. If there was ever a time that I needed a sweater that would keep me warm, this was it.

I used a chunky-weight yarn to knit this up and it is quite the heavy sweater, just as I envisioned it. Today I wore it to church and I can tell you that it stood the test of brutal winds. Yay!

I was updating my project page for this sweater on Ravelry and found myself curious about Guernsey sweaters in general. Well, I may be retired now from my library work but I still love a good research project so off I went to do a little digging.

Did you know that Guernsey sweaters were originally knit in the Channel Islands off of Great Britain for fishermen? They spread in popularity to fishing communities in Yorkshire, Northumberlund, and Scotland. I suspect these sweaters are a close kin to the Irish Fisherman's Sweater.

Many families had their own unique patterns and these patterns were often passed down from generation to generation. Tradition has it that these patterns were useful in identifying the bodies of fishermen lost at sea when they'd wash ashore. Their sweaters would be used to identify them. That kind of boggles my mind but I suspect certain patterns were known to come from certain communities or regions. So....if a fisherman washed ashore near one town perhaps word would get to his home town and thus, eventually they'd figure out who it was.

The traditional Guernsey sweater is a tightly-knit sweater with a straight neck which has no particular front or back so you can reverse it and wear it either way. The sleeves are designed in such a way that they allow freedom of motion. That makes sense when you think about the physical activity that fishermen would be doing out on a boat. The sides often have welt openings at the bottoms - again to allow maximum range of motion.

The garter stitch separating the patterned part of the sweater was thought to represent the waves of the sea breaking on the rocks or the beach. The sleeves are often capped by a cabled pattern which is thought to represent sailors' ropes.

Other names for the Guernsey Sweater that you'll sometimes hear are the "Gansey" or the "Jersey." Also, a traditional Guernsey Sweater would be knit in a blue or indigo color. If you'd like to read some more about this practical, comfortable sweater, you might want to click on the links below. All three have short but interesting histories of these lovely sweaters.

"A Knitted History - the Understated and Practical Traditional Guernsey Jumper"
"The History of the Guernsey Jumper"
"A Short History of the Hand-knitted Gansey"

Kanga, Roo, and Chatterbox, Too!

2012-02-11T17:01:00.000-05:00

We had a fun Skype visit with Jason, Laura, Sweet Pea and Spud yesterday. Sweet Pea had to show us her new Kanga and Roo. She is enthralled with Winnie-the-Pooh and all the characters in the Enchanted Woods but especially fond of Kanga and little Roo.

On our end, the Commander had his OWN stuffed kangaroo that he had gotten when he was stationed with the Seabees way back when. So we had fun having our kangaroo pop up on the monitor now and then.

In the meantime, little Spud wasn't letting us get many words in edgewise. Spud has reached the babbling stage and boy, can that boy make some noise. If pictures could talk, I think this is what he must have been saying:

"Huh, so what have we here? Let me take a breath and assess the situation."

"Nana, Pawpaw, is that you? Whoa.....what was that thing that popped up on the screen? Hey, where'd it go?

"Daddy, let me go! I want to play jumping jack on the keyboard."

"Aw, come on, Daddy! I've got MOVES! I've got places to go, things to grab."

"Hey, speaking of grabbing, I think if I REALLY stretch, I can grab this cord and give it a good pull."

"Gee, you guys have no sense of humor. Just because Nana and PawPaw disappeared and the sound stopped, doesn't mean it was my fault. Hey, Sis....can you stop sucking on that drink and help a brother out?"

"Whoa...is that a microphone? I mean, seriously, can I play with that or at least use it as a teether?"

"Humph....these guys are no fun. Man, one of these days I'm going to start crawling and then I'm finding a tricycle and I'm out of here.....right out into the kitchen."

That's ok, Luke. Next time you see Nana, we can race each other to the kitchen but I get first dibs on any desserts we find. Until our next Skype visit......we love you!

Parenting a Missionary, Pt. 2

2012-02-10T10:42:00.000-05:00

I got an email today from WordPress telling me that there was a comment on a blog posting I'd written several years ago. Regular readers will know that I switched my blog over to Blogger back around 2010 so a lot has happened since then. Anyway, the comment was from a mother of a young woman who was feeling called to be a missionary. The mother was hurting at the thought of the potential separation that might lie ahead. Thank goodness WordPress notified me so that I was able to respond to her but it got me to thinking that perhaps I should repost my initial advice up here on my "active" blog, which is monitored daily, and also give you a little update:

Five Things to Consider When Your Child Is Feeling Called to Be A Missionary:

1. If your child has been called by God to be a missionary, your desires are secondary. I say this without bitterness. God’s call on a person’s life is going to trump a parent’s wishes or hopes every time. And if you stand in the way of that call, shame on you. I have had to remind myself over and over since my children were born that they are not “mine.” They were given to me by God for a season only…to nurture them until it was time to release them.

2. Conditions can be quite fluid in a missionary’s life. There seem to me to be a lot of parallels to life in the military and life as a missionary. With the military, there is a lot of “hurry up and wait.” There is a lot of that in a missionary’s journey, too. You don’t just feel the call to a foreign country and then head out. You have to determine what organization you should join. You have to raise support. You must obtain visas. Countries become “closed” and you are diverted to other countries. Orders are changed and you get sent to different places. You don’t buy homes because you never know how long you are going to be in one spot. You might need to be sent off for additional training. You can’t always tell loved ones where you are nor communicate regularly with them.

3. Be prepared for a lot of surprises, twists, and turns as their missionary call is defined. Many parents (and the child being “called”) immediately think overseas when they think they are being called to the mission field. But over time, as they pray and listen to what God is directing them to do, that missionary call could be to work with the homeless in Camden, NJ or with immigrants in San Antonio. Or it could be a call to go to medical school and then head over to Paraguay to be a missionary doctor. There are many forms that missionary call could take. And a child’s missionary work can change over their lifetime. God will use them when and where He sees fit. You, as their parent, will become quite familiar with the word “adaptable.”

4. You might feel angry. Shocker, I know. Folks at church will probably be hugging you and congratulating you once they hear that your child feels called to the mission field. Little do they realize that you might be experiencing a whirlpool of conflicting emotions, not the least of which is anger. You’ve been throwing your whole life into keeping your child safe. Now they want to go somewhere where they will be living in terribly unsanitary conditions, where people might want to harm them, in voluntary poverty, away from loved ones for long periods of time…….and you’re supposed to SMILE about this? Are they nuts? Take a deep breath. What you are feeling is normal. Acknowlege it and then you can work through it. Personally, I worry more about those parents who are giddy with joy when their kids want to be missionaries. Are they counting the cost? Be prepared but then pray that God will keep you pleasantly surprised.

5. Start developing a support network. When your child becomes a missionary, you will most likely not see them for long periods of time. Seek out other parents of missionaries. You can find them through your denomination or the missionary organizations. Become familiar with the computer and long-distance communication tools like Skype and email. Stay connected with your friends and church family. Let them know if you are having a tough time with loneliness. Get that passport up-to-date and then make plans to do some traveling to places near enough to connect with your missionary child. That means you need to take steps now to be healthy enough to travel, if at all possible. And at the risk of sounding trite, remember that you can talk to God about what you are feeling every step of the way. He’s along for the entire journey.

Bonus Advice:

6. Take advantage of great resources like the National Network of Parents of Missionaries. This group (also known as "NNPOM") has a website at http://www.pomnet.org/ and it is chock-full of good advice and resources for you. They also have a Yahoo group for POMs (Parents of Missionaries) that I can tell you is wonderfully supportive.

Update on MY missionaries:

My son and his family are now back in the States. At the risk of repeating myself for regular readers, my dear daughter-in-law became pregnant while they were serving overseas and, since she has high-risk pregnancies, they had to return to the States for her final trimester. Before they had returned, they were beginning to feel that God was changing their call and once they returned, it became clearer to them that this was the case. Our granddaughter was also experiencing physical problems brought on by the environment overseas, which was a cause for concern. Now my son is attending seminary while still working as the North American Sending Offices Director for his missionary organization. We have two wonderful grandchildren. They live half-way across the country but that's a walk in the park compared to halfway around the world. The Commander volunteers as a treasurer for Jason's organization and I like to joke and say that I'm the "Postmaster" for the group since I print off the postage and mail off the contribution statements around the country and also mail off books and cover letters to those interested in serving with the organization. It's a small thing, for sure, but it helps me feel connected to my son's missionary work. I wonder sometimes if it didn't take me finally throwing up my hands and releasing my son and daughter and their precious family through my tears to God before He, in His graciousness and mercy, gently restored them back to me.

Sticking Power

2012-02-07T10:57:00.000-05:00

If you're a man, you can probably skip today's blog post unless you want to score some serious brownie points with your lady. If you're a woman, read on, Sister! I don't know about you, but I have had a terrible time finding lipstick that would last more than an hour or so. I CERTAINLY couldn't find anything that would last through a meal. But all that has changed since I discovered "Super Stay 24 Color" by Maybelline.

Let me just say upfront that I have no affiliation with them nor do any of my family or relatives that I'm aware of. I'm just a VERY happy customer. I wouldn't even be writing about this product if it weren't for the prodding of a friend of mine. You see, several weekends ago I was at a function and my friend came up to me and said, "What lipstick are you wearing? It's really lovely."

I told her what it was and mentioned how I really liked the fact that this particular line of lipstick lasted a LONG time. As I was giving her a glowing review of its virtues, she said, "You really need to blog about this because I'll bet not many people have heard of it and women are always looking for lipstick that will last."

This lipstick comes in quite a few shades. It's in a little two-ended tube. One end has an applicator stick that applies the color. The trick is that you must then wait a minute or two for it to dry. It really only takes several minutes....about as long as it takes me to let the dog out to do her business before I am ready to head out the door. THEN you pop off the cover on the other end of the tube and twist up the "chapstick-like" substance that you apply to your lips. This gives them a lovely gloss.

It's probably important to note that before you apply this final "gloss", your lips will most likely feel tacky or sticky or dry to you. Not to panic! This completely goes away as soon as you complete Step #2. Then go ahead and head out to enjoy your day, secure in the knowledge that you will have lovely-looking lips with color that you aren't going to chew off or wipe off during dinner. In fact, I've been using this lipstick for almost a year now and I still find myself startled at times when I glance in the mirror (no wisecracks, now) near the end of the day and notice that my lips still have a nice color to them.

When I'm ready to head to bed and taking my makeup off, I just wipe my lips with the makeup remover/skin cleanser wipe that I use on my face. You could probably just get the same results with a wet washcloth or rub cold cream on them and wipe with a tissue. Or heck, you could just go to bed looking like a siren.

I ran into my friend at church the other day.

"Did you get any of the lipstick," I asked.

"I sure did," she replied, "And so did my daughter. We LOVE it. We STILL can't believe how long it lasts."

Go forth and enjoy!

Au Secours!

2012-02-05T22:43:00.000-05:00

I headed down the road for church this morning in my "Knitting Nanamobile" to the dulcet strains of French Canadian pop music. I'd been listening to that Sirius station the other day and that's why it happened to come up when I turned the radio on.

"No problem," I thought. "I'll just pick another of my preset tiers."

I hit the Preset button and pressed another of my channel presets. Huh? It was the Elvis station which was my No. 2 preset on the previous tier I'd been listening to. Now I don't particularly LIKE Elvis music but I'd kind of run out of music that I really wanted to listen to when I was setting up all of my preset channels so this final tier were the "fourth string" of channels, so to speak.

Yikes! I tried the Preset button again. Normally it would then allow me to cycle through six different "tiers" of presets with six stations each. Today, it wasn't going anywhere. I was BUMMED! It's not that I mind la musique francaise but I'd been listening to it most of yesterday and I was finished with it (fini avec elle). A crooning Elvis was even worse. My other choices? "Hair Nation" - a station devoted to the big hair bands of the '80's. Yeah, that didn't exactly float my boat either. I also had some jazz channels that I'd set up on this tier but I can only take jazz in small doses.

When we got home from church and errands, I finagled the Commander into going out to the Nanamobile to see if he could retrieve my other music options. He was out there for about seven or eight minutes before he headed back inside.

"Did you get it fixed?" I asked.

"It's fixed, but don't ask me how I did it," he replied.

That's my Commander! A hunk of burning love! Il est bon!

No Hurry!

2012-02-04T16:47:00.000-05:00

My nephew and his wife are expecting their baby next month. She (my niece) is at that stage in a pregnancy where you really are ready to have it just be over with. That baby can't come soon enough. I have to tell you, though, that I never reached that stage with my pregnancies (well, if you don't count the actual time during hard labor when you are REALLY ready for that child to appear).

You see, I was one of those rare ducks that loved being pregnant. I enjoyed every minute of it. In fact, I enjoyed it so much that I was really happy to discover I was pregnant again when the home test showed positive on the day of my daughter's 1st birthday.

There was another reason that I was in no hurry to pop those babies out. I had discovered after the first one, that babies are a lot more manageable in the womb than they are once they are actually born. Maybe this was tempered somewhat by the fact that our daughter was a VERY crabby baby.

Yup, when our Jason (baby No. 2) came along, I was quite happy to stay in the hospital and relax as long as they'd let me. I remember the doctor coming in and telling me, "If things continue so well, we should be able to release you today."

"Hey, no need to hurry on my account," I told him. I knew what was waiting for me at home.

THIS little firecracker was back there no doubt dreaming up new ways to get into mischief. Besides which, if her brother was anything like her, I knew I'd not be getting any sleep for the next few months.

Thankfully my mom was able to come out for a short visit to help me with both children plus I soon discovered that Baby No. 2 had a MUCH mellower temperament than Baby No. 1. Thank Heavens! Otherwise that doctor might have found me back on the hospital doorstep asking him if he could readmit me for, oh, I don't know.....maybe the next 18 years?

Belly Up, Times Two

2012-02-03T19:48:00.000-05:00

Well, it had to happen sooner or later this winter but did it have to happen on one of the warmest days we've had so far? I actually managed to slip on the ice in a parking lot on a day that got almost up to 60 degrees. Yeah, I know.....how did I manage that? I went to a store EARLY in the morning, that's how, when it was still cold out. I was hurrying from the car to the store's entrance and saw a wet spot in the pavement but didn't think anything of it, since it wasn't standing water. What I DIDN'T know was that it was black ice. I walked right over it and next thing I knew, I was flat on my back with my feet up in the air. Yup, I'd "come a cropper" so quickly that I didn't even have time to tense up. I guess that's a good thing since it most likely precluded me from sustaining any injuries other than bruises to elbow, hip, and pride. For once, those heavily padded "Van Rossum hips" came in handy. I tell you, it's like wearing pillows strapped on both hips. No wonder my mom, who has a similar physique, is 98-years old, and has taken numerous falls, has never broken a hip.

Got me to thinking, though, about how the term "come a cropper" came into use. Seems that the top of a horse's rear is called a "croup" or "crupper", in slang. Back in the day when many traveled by horseback, the expression, "come a cropper" sprang up to mean that you fell off your horse. Nowadays, it just means you took a tumble.

We had something else that went belly-up from our household this week. Would you believe that our big hi-def TV gave up the ghost last night? We'd been enjoying some TV shows and then I headed up to get ready for bed. When I called down to the family room to tell the Commander that the dog had been bathroomed, he said he was trying to get the TV to turn on. I couldn't imagine why, since it seemed like he should be turning it off.

Apparently, he had gone to turn OFF the TV but before he could even press the button, he heard a "pop" and the TV turned off on it's own. Oh, oh......that didn't sound good. Now it wouldn't come on at all. The only thing happening were four red lights blinking when he'd attempt to turn it on. Wouldn't you know that it was 2 days over the 1-year warranty? But never fear........for once, we had purchased an extended warranty (since our previous big-screen TV had died just past ITS warranty).

Today, we went out and purchased a slightly smaller TV, which we had planned to do anyway for our bedroom, and also set up a service call with the folks who take care of our maintenance plan. If they can't fix it, we'll get a new TV as a replacement free of charge. In the meantime, the Commander set up the new TV on a makeshift stand in front of our other one so that we can watch the Super Bowl on Sunday (can't miss those ads, now can we?)

I told the Commander that, with the luck we seem to have with these TVs, we should just plan to purchase new ones ever year, especially if the prices continue to come down the way they have been doing. He just looked at me. I could tell that I was skating on thin ice.

Hie Thee Home, Typhoid Mary!

2012-01-26T10:20:00.000-05:00

I can NOT believe this. Earlier this month, I spent two and a half weeks sick with a viral respiratory thing that was making the rounds. I actually considered myself lucky because I know some folks who were sick for a whole month with it. While I was fighting it, I tried to stay home from social functions, church, meetings, etc. I didn't want to spread it to someone else, if I could help it. Well, guess what? I was healthy for exactly one week before I was felled yet again by a head cold. I can almost guarantee you where I got this, too. I had been at a function about four days earlier where half of the people were sick with the same thing. I remember thinking, "Jeepers, why aren't you guys at home?"

That got me to thinking that it might be a good time to take a cold (groan), hard look at cold germs, how they spread, what to do once they attack, and some preventative measures to avoid being felled by these pesky germs. Here is some info I picked up while surfing the Web. I can't vouch that it is 100% accurate but there seemed to be a general consensus on these across multiple sources.

Lifespan: Did you know that cold germs can last up to six hours outside of your body? SIX HOURS! Cold germs seem to be spread mainly by physical contact with an infected person or surface versus flu germs which spread mainly through the air via means such as sneezing and coughing.

Defensive Game Plan:
1. Avoid contact with people that are sick. OK, this is hard to do. But if you ARE around sick folks, try not to touch surfaces that they are touching. DON'T shake hands with them. Tell them you have leprosy. Make something up! It's your health you're protecting. Be creative!

2. Clean surfaces that tend to harbor germs. This can be defensive or proactive but disinfect your kitchen counters, door knobs, and refrigerator handles. Don't forget about the TV remotes! Just think about the number of times your family touches those. If one of you is sick, those germs are probably being passed back and forth while you change channels.

3. Wash your hands frequently! If you touch someone who is sick, wash your hands. Touch something they've been touching? Wash those hands. If you are sick and blow your nose, throw away the tissue. I tend to tuck used tissues back into my purse or up in my sleeve so I can use them again. Wrong move! I'm spreading germs. Throw them away. Incidentally, scientists are recommending that you wash with good old regular soap versus the antibacterial soap that you see everywhere these days. They are worried that the bacteria that these soaps don't kill will evolve into resistant bacteria. We don't need more of those, eh?

4. If you have to sneeze, do so into your elbow or sleeve. Forget Mom's old adage about covering your mouth if you have to cough or sneeze. Then what are you doing with that dirty old hand? Sure you are going to wash your hands but just how many of us get distracted or waylaid on our way to the sink? Uh-huh! Germ alert! By coughing or sneezing into the crook of your elbow, you are much less likely to infect someone else by touch (unless they are REALLY touchy-feely).

5. Try not to touch your eyes or nose if you're around someone who is sick. This is probably a good habit to get into at any time. One website I visited said that a nursing study reported that 98% of colds are caught through the eyes (and they didn't mean by looking at someone who was sick - they meant by you rubbing your eyes after contact with a sickie).

6. Drink Plenty of Fluids - this is good to do at any time but supposedly it is even more important when you are sick. It keeps you hydrated. I don't know, maybe it drowns the germs or something. They say that black or green tea is good as a preventative, too. One cup a day should be helpful. Tea is also a powerful anti-carcinogen. That's enough to make me take a second look at it.

7. Replace your toothbrush after an illness. OK, how many of you do this? I have to admit, I never do this. Usually, I only replace my toothbrush ever six months, when I come back from the dentist with a new one. I think I'm going to start having a bunch of toothbrushes on hand and follow this suggestion. It actually makes sense.

8. Exercise. Say what? According to Oprah's website, sedentary, post-menopausal women are twice as likely to catch a cold as those who exercise regularly. Ouch! I happen to fit into the former category. Have to admit, though....I'm not feeling very enthused about exercising at the moment.

Bottom line? Use some common sense. I know many of you don't have the luxury of staying home from work more than a day or two. If you have to go to work when you are ill, take cleaning wipes with you and use them, ok? Don't spread the suffering. And for Pete's sake, try to stay at home when you can. We will ALL thank you!

The Old Fatted Goose

2012-01-25T10:16:00.000-05:00

I've been reading a book called Letters of a Woman Homesteader by Elinore Pruitt Stewart to my mom at the nursing home. It's a series of actual letters written in 1914 by a woman who moved out to Wyoming and these letters are just delightful. They give a fascinating glimpse into the day-to-day life of ordinary people living out in the secluded ranches tucked away in the canyons and prairies of Wyoming.

Yesterday there were two incidents that caught my attention. The first involved a bobsled ride in the middle of winter. Mrs. Steward, her husband and several houseguests were preparing to head out cross-country to a remote ranch for a dinner party. This trip would involve a day's ride by bobsled over the snow-packed terrain and then a stay of several days before heading home. To help them stay warm on their journey, the husband heated up rocks in the fireplace and then packed the bottom of the bobsled (which was a wagon bed set on bobsled runners) with straw. He placed the heated rocks on top of the straw and then placed more straw on top of the rocks. Next came a layer of blankets. The people sat on top of the blankets and piled more blankets on top of themselves. That is how they set off, using the hot rocks as a form of our "heated leather seats" in cars today.

I asked Mom if her family had ever employed this heated rock technique to stay warm when they traveled by bobsled.

"Oh, yes," she replied. Since Mom lived out on a farm in Minnesota where it gets mighty cold and snowy, I have no doubt that she was remembering correctly.

The other thing that caught my attention was the fact that one of the houseguests, a German lady, insisted on greasing up Mrs. Stewart's baby with goose grease to protect it from the cold before they headed out on their trip. Ugh! Goose grease?

"Mom, did anyone ever do that to you?" I asked.

"They sure did," Mom answered.

"Whatever for?" I asked.

"I have no idea," she replied, "but I'm glad that didn't do it when I got older."

Must have been a German thing, I thought. I'm just glad that goose grease went out of fashion by the time I came along.

"So I guess Vick's Vapor Rub was YOUR version of goose grease and that was why you were always smearing it on me," I teased.

"Probably," Mom laughed.

Thank Heaven for small favors.

Where are the Nitro Pills?

2012-01-23T18:25:00.000-05:00

Since Fresca the Wonder Dog's diagnosis of congestive heart failure last week, I've been wrapping my head around the thought of her mortality and the need for daily heart meds the rest of her days. It's been hard to believe, most days, that this scrappy, feisty little thing could have a problem but I can't deny that her persistent cough has really improved since we started her on the meds.

Today we had the consult with the veterinarian heart specialist. They had predicted freezing rain overnight and it was pretty foggy and misting this morning so I gave myself plenty of time to go up and over the mountain to this remote vet clinic. The staff had stressed the fact that I needed to arrive 15 minutes before my appointed time. I made it there with 15 minutes to spare.

I'd never seen an animal hospital where they had separate waiting rooms for cats and dogs. I guess most of their clientele have bad tickers so they try to minimize the stress as much as possible. Luckily, any animals already there were in examining rooms so Fresca and I had the waiting room to ourselves.

She was pretty quiet until she spotted several men approaching the front door. She must not like the typical "Perry County" look because these fellows personified it, meaning they looked like they had just set their rifles down while out hunting critters and taken a quick side trip to the clinic. They soon left and we were back to Fresca shaking on my lap.

Suddenly Fresca perked up and gave a low growl. Pretty soon I heard the clicking of canine nails on the linoleum and a BIG but ancient black Lab bounded around the corner and came right for me. Now he wasn't acting threatening in any way. I think he planned to lick me to death. But Fresca perceived him as a threat and I managed to grab her in mid-launch and mid-snarl while the Lab's owner came around the corner. The poor old guy (the dog, not the owner) looked like he'd just lost another year off his lifespan as he faced my 15 1/2 pounds of "white death", struggling to have at him. Wisely, his owner got a better grip on the dog's leash and took him out to her car before heading back in to pay the bill.

We waited some more. By now we were an hour past our appointment time. Fresca the Wonder Dog is no chihuahua. My legs were beginning to get a little tired. Finally we were brought back into an examining room and the technician said the doctor would be with us soon.

The minutes ticked by. Another hour came and went. It wouldn't have been so bad but there was a big sign on the wall that said cellphone use was not allowed because of the sensitive equipment used in the building. I couldn't even read my Kindle on my iPhone. There are only so many ways to read the canine and feline anatomy charts before you start to go stir-crazy.

Then the doctor arrived. One blood pressure reading, one EKG, one echocardiogram, one set of xrays, one blood work-up, two sets of new meds, and one exam later, and I was standing at the counter waiting for the receptionist to give me the bill. She did and, if I'd had some nitro pills, I would have been reaching for them. I almost had a heart attack myself. The diagnosis? Fresca has severe mitrovalve disease, high blood pressure, and Blepharitis of both eyes. My diagnosis? Severe poverty. Oh, no...wait. I mean, I'll be eating hot dogs and macaroni and cheese until the next payday. Luckily, I enjoy both.

And that's how I came to find myself at my local pharmacy this afternoon handing over a prescription for one of the heart meds. The clerk asked me for my insurance card. I said, "It's for my dog."

"Which dependent is that?" she asked.

"The white, furry one," I answered.

I'm now on their Super Saver Plan which means we'll get the meds at a very good price. Since Fresca doesn't know how to write, they've got me down as her "designated human" and I can sign for her meds. Boy, do I need some chocolate!

How Cold is It?

2012-01-19T14:04:00.000-05:00

Don't let the smile fool you. I may have been smiling here but inside, I was FREEZING and couldn't wait to come back into the warm house. I STILL hate the cold, as you who read my blog regularly know. And yet again I find myself enduring another Northern winter.

With the temperatures dropping today, I thought it might be fun to take a look at some expressions heard over the years regarding cold weather. Here are a few I was able to glean from memory and from perusing the Web.

1. It's cold enough to freeze the tail off a brass monkey - there are other variations of this but I'm trying to be polite here so I'll leave the variations to your imagination.

2. It's cold as hell - OK, this defies logic. Since when is hell cold unless you are someone who can't stand being cold and this ends up being a devilish twist on the ultimate torment.

3. It's cold as a witch's ___ in a brass bra - Again, trying to be G-rated, I'll leave this up to your imagination.

4. It's as cold as the last man's a___ on a toboggan - Brrrr! 'Nuff said.

5. It was a three-dog night - My folks used to say this. I think it meant that you needed three dogs on the bed in order to stay warm.

6. It is so cold that lawyers have their hands in their own pockets - my apologies to any lawyers out there but you have to chuckle at this one.

And my personal favorite, thanks to the reminiscing of "Rango" up on the Web who reports that his granddad used to say:

7. When I was a kid, it was so cold that my farts froze all winter. I didn't know 'til they all thawed out next Spring and it like to killed me."

Stay warm, everyone. I'm heading in for some hot cocoa.

It's Curtains for Eventide

2012-01-17T11:24:00.000-05:00

Must be this cold weather OR the fact that I've been recovering from a bronchial thing, but I've been getting a lot of my knitting projects completed lately. This project is the Eventide Scarf designed by Laura Nelkin. It is a gorgeous scarf but boy, was it a bugger to knit.

Now, in all fairness, I haven't done a LOT of beadwork in my knitting but I'm not a stranger to it. I don't know if it was the placing of the beads, the unusual stitches, or the fact that I knit Continental-style which caused the problems but I sure don't plan to knit another one any time soon. Actually, it could have been a combination of all three factors.

The biggest problem I had with it was the fact that I couldn't get into any set rhythm while I knit because I was always having to stop and change hands and then maneuver the beads into place and then wrestle them back where they were supposed to be after I completed the stitch and then get my hands and yarn back into position for my normal style of knitting. The ladies in my group who were NOT continental knitting seemed to be having an easier time of it in that regard.

Once I finally got past the rows with the beads, things went a little quicker. My main complaint then was the fact that I couldn't let my concentration lapse for a minute when I was working on this. It was a fussy pattern. I couldn't do my usual "watch TV and knit" routine. Plus I've always enjoyed the fact that, if I make a mistake, I can usually work my way backwards to the place where I needed to correct things and then fix the problem and continue on OR I could drop a stitch at the point where a mistake might be rows below, dropping that stitch all the way down to the offensive stitch and then rework it back up to my current row. Well, forget doing any of that with this pattern. My goodness, it was a real bear trying to correct anything. It was just very hard to read and to "tink" or "frog" (for you knitters) if you, God forbid, had to go back.

The end result was a lovely scarf, however, and that gives me a certain sense of satisfaction. Believe me, there were MANY points when I was ready to just throw the darn thing in a corner and give up on it in frustration. I'm glad that I stuck with it. It's "curtains" for this particular pattern in my house, though. "Eventide" has been banished to the perpetual night within my folder of "completed projects."

A Touch of Class

2012-01-16T15:45:00.002-05:00

My belated Christmas present from my daughter arrived last week - a handmade leather case from Oberon for my Kindle Touch. Prior to its arrival, I was using a case made by Lightwedge called the Verso Prologue Antique Case, seen above. There was nothing wrong with that case. It was quite nice, in fact. But Oberon cases are a work of art.

These Oberon cases are all handmade out of leather in wonderfully unique designs. This one that I chose is called the "Celtic Hounds" design. It is actually a "sleeve" instead of a case. In other words, my Kindle Touch slides into it.

When I'm ready to read, I slip my Touch out and read it naked....well, the Kindle is naked, not me. I'd forgotten how tiny and lightweight these Kindles are because I've always used them in cases. It's a very freeing experience to read one that isn't weighted down in a case. Of course, that means that I have to be careful to not sling it around carelessly or drop it but I'm a pretty careful person with my e-readers.

Once you slip the Kindle into the sleeve, there is a flap that folds over the top of the opening and it is secured magnetically. I had a twinge at first, wondering if the magnet would cause any problems but it has not. On the back of the sleeve, on the other end of the tab, is a stamped pewter buckle. I noticed that they have revised the design just a tad and the top of the sleeve now is scalloped and this pewter buckle has a celtic knot design on it. Cool!

The Kindle Touch in its new sleeve is the perfect size to slip into my purse when I'm heading out the door. The sleeve protects it just fine.

I highly recommend any Oberon product. I've purchased cases for other Kindle products from them in the past and they are still just as beautiful as the day I unpacked them.

Give a Hoot

2012-01-14T17:58:00.000-05:00

I recently finished two owl hats for my grandchildren's visit to Pennsylvania from the much warmer state of Texas. The pattern is a Spud and Chloe pattern called Hoot Hat and designed by Susan B. Anderson. If you are a member of the website Ravelry, you can view the particulars here.

The pattern itself was very easy and worked up quickly. The only fussy part was doing the face features and even those weren't all that hard to do, especially if you can crochet. The designer calls for knit eyes and beak but I found that crocheting some circles and a triangle were much faster and easier to do and then I just had to sew them on to the hats. I used black felt for the irises of the eyes.

And how did the kiddos like the hats? Well, I 'll let these pictures show you.

"Hey, little Luke....isn't it fun wearing Nana's Owl Hat that she made for you?"

"I think I look pretty nifty in this hat. Just don't expect me to fly around yet because first I have to learn to crawl."

"Aaargh, Mommy, what are you doing? I don't want to pose with my sister. She might drop me or even worse, push me out of the nest."

"The girl is nuts, I tell you....nuts. I've got my eyes on you, Sis.....all four of them."

All Fired Up

2012-01-11T14:08:00.001-05:00

I ran into the Head of Dietary Services today at my mom's nursing home. The first thing he said when he saw me was, "Hey, guess what I got for Christmas!"

"A Kindle Fire," I replied.

"Yes," he said, looking surprised that I'd guessed so quickly.

"I got one, too," I laughed. "Aren't they great?"

"I love it," he answered. "Well, I just had to tell you because you're the one who got me started with Kindles in the first place."

Yes, I had. He'd been at a caregivers' meeting I'd attended last year and he saw me sitting there reading my Kindle before the meeting started. One thing led to another and soon I was extolling the virtues of e-readers and the Kindle, in particular. He had his own Kindle within a week and he got his wife one later that year.

I'm telling you, once you've used a Kindle, you are quickly hooked. Goodness, I'll even expand that to include Nooks. These e-readers are just fantastic little techno-doodads.

There's no better illustration of the passionate nature of e-reader aficionados than an obituary I read in the paper yesterday. It said, in part....

".....loved to read anything she could get her hands on. After she purchased her Kindle, she never left home without it."

Amen, Sister!

My Other Car is A....

2012-01-09T14:50:00.000-05:00

Have you seen those bumper stickers on people's cars, the ones that say.....my other car is a "BMW" or a "Mercedes", or whatever it is they wish they were driving? Well, I guess I mentally have one of those on my back. Don't get me wrong. I'm very grateful for my new van. If it weren't for the "Nanamobile," we wouldn't have been able to go all over with the grandkids in the car when they were visiting. It made life a lot easier. However, I REALLY miss my little Pontiac Vibe sometimes.

You see, I'm one of those people that sees their car as an extension of themselves. When I was driving my fire-engine red Vibe, I felt "special." That Vibe was quirky, bold, and zippy. It looked like it could almost be a sports car, if it put its mind to it. The back was covered with bumper stickers and decals that all reflected my own distinctive personality and interests.

Now I have a Toyota Sienna minivan. It is BIG and solid and functional. There is nothing zippy about it. I can't even see the front of it when I'm driving and that makes for interesting parking. I'm still at that stage where I have to drive around a parking lot until I find a pull-through spot OR park way out in the Boonies so that I can be assured that I will have plenty of room to maneuver when it is time to back out. Nobody takes a second look at this vehicle and thinks "Now THERE goes a free spirit!"

I couldn't even get it in a bold color. Toyota didn't offer it in any bright, bold colors. They were all kind of "blah." I settled for a green that looks gray on most days. Aaargh, the agony of it all. And miles per gallon? Man, I'm going through gas like Elizabeth Taylor went through husbands.

I just have to console myself with the fact that I did it for the grandchildren. Oh, and there IS the benefit of those factory-installed seatwarmers on a cold winter's day. I may not be driving a unique car anymore but at least my buns are warm. Booyah!

Going Nowhere Fast

2012-01-07T21:36:00.000-05:00

One of the things that I was REALLY excited about when I got the "Nanamobile" back in December was the fact that I could synch my iPhone to the stereo system and not only receive calls and answer the phone through the radio speakers but also that I could link the phone to the radio in such a way that I could listen to the podcasts that I have on my phone. (And how is THAT for a run-on sentence?) Of course, the "I" was relative because this little puppy wasn't going to be linking anything. Frankly, it was all Greek to me. I was really relying on the Commander to set it all up for me.

Well, he synched (sunk) my phone the day we brought the van home and shortly thereafter I was tooling down the turnpike with my phone hooked to the car via its USB cable and all set to listen to a podcast. I had browsed through the car's manual (no small feat, that) and had read that I was to hit the "Aux" button once I was hooked up and then it should connect to the iPod portion of my phone. I did and it did, sort of. My music library started playing but I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to access the podcasts. However, I COULD figure out how to move from one song to another so I was happy for that small victory.

When I got home, I told the Commander my tale of woe and he urged me to be patient until the kids had returned to Texas and he could sit down with the manual (good luck with that) and figure out what was wrong.

Today was the day. It was a lovely Spring day (almost 60 degrees in January in PA) so we backed the car out of the garage and let it sit there idling in the driveway while we resynched the phone. The Commander is used to using voice commands because that's how he programs his Ford Escort so we talked our way through getting the Toyota to recognize my phone again. Somehow it had forgotten it so it was a good feeling when I saw the word "Connected" on my phone.

The Commander decided to give it a try by giving me a call. Of course, I was sitting right beside him but what the hay? His phone dialed mine and the dulcet strains of my customized ringtone for him from the song "Gasoline and Matches"......."Baby, baby, baby....when it's cold and dark......" came blasting out of the car's stereo. And I DO mean blasting.

"Hello?" I squeaked and the reverb was loud enough to shatter windows. I hung up on him.

"Well, I guess we know that the phone part works. Now how about the podcasts?" I asked.

Thirty minutes later, we were still fiddling with the radio buttons and the phone. We could get the podcasts to play if we went strictly with Bluetooth. However, I figured that it would be better to play them via a USB hookup so that the phone would be charging as I listened. When we did that, we could see the list of podcasts but couldn't hear them. Then the Commander went through a long, convoluted work-around and came up with a way for me to hear them but we both agreed that there had to be a better way. Besides, by the time I would go through all those steps, I'd be off the road and halfway into a cow pasture.

Finally I said, "If you don't mind, I'm going inside to start supper. Call me if you figure it out."

He was out there long enough that I was considering sending the dog out to him with his coffee mug tied around her neck but finally he came inside.

"Did you get it set up?" I inquired.

"No, I'm going to Google it. On the plus side, I figured out how to lower the volume on the speakers when you get a phone call," he answered.

I'm looking on the bright side. I finally found NPR radio on the XM Satellite stations. Now if I can only remember which preset I assigned it.

A Pearl of Great Worth

2012-01-06T17:34:00.001-05:00

I've been using the BookBook case for my iPad 2 and it's been fine, for the most part. However, it does have a few clunky features that the Commander has found annoying and I've had to agree with him. So, in an effort to find a workable compromise, I went back to the drawing board (re: Amazon) and started searching again for another case. What I decided on was the iPearl Folia Cover Case with a built-in stand and handstrap. You can see the details here on Amazon. I even found it in a lovely spring green color that I love.

It arrived today and I wasted no time putting my iPad 2 into it. That was very straightforward. On the one side that isn't attached to the back cover, you just unfold the flap and slide in your tablet and then fold the flap back under the iPad. There is a cut-out on the back for the camera and all the buttons are easily accessible. The cover is designed in such a way that it automatically puts your iPad to sleep when you close the cover and wakes it up when you open it back up.

On the left inside cover are two features. The one on the right is the handstrap, which I'll discuss later in this post. The one on the left is the flap that opens for propping it into a position for typing. You can't see it in this picture but the flap has clear plastic on the front of it that is separated into two sections that are the right size for business cards (or, as one reviewer up on Amazon mentioned) credit cards).

This is how the flap looks when it is raised up. It can only be opened so far because it is secured with a ribbon strap.

The picture above shows the case set up in the "typing mode." I gave it a quick try in one of my apps that uses a lot of typing and at first, I found myself making a lot of mistakes because I found the edge of the case getting in my way. However, once I rested my wrists on the table surface (which was easy to do given the height and angle of the case), I easily was able to accurately type. Usually I would NOT type this way as it is ergonomically incorrect for long term typing but hey, I don't know many people who do production typing on an iPad. I think for normal tablet typing, you'll be fine unless you REALLY have a problem with carpel tunnel syndrome.

There is another tab on the back of the case that can be utilized to put your tablet into a position for reading horizontally. You fold the cover over and slip it under the little tab. The cover has a bendable spot that folds it at just the right place to do this.

Here is my iPad looking at it from the front when it is set up in the reading position. It's really at a nice level for reading on a table, leaving your hands free to swipe, point, touch, or whatever. For that matter, you can also easily play games in this position, too, if you prefer.

Now if you want to use your iPad in a vertical position, there isn't a hinge that allows you to place it into a "hands-free" position. You still have to hold it but that's where the handstrap comes into play. You just fold the left side of the cover back, slip your hand under the elasticized handstrap and you can hold it easily.

A few other features: There is an elastic band that you can slip over the cover to hold it shut when you aren't using the iPad. The cover is leather, according to the manufacturer, although you couldn't prove it by me. It doesn't smell like leather to me (I'm a saddle kind of girl) but I'll take their word for it. The inside is a nice soft gray suede fabric. The cover comes with a touch screen stylus pen that slips into a handy little loop on the side of the case. I used the pen (which isn't actually a pen but rather a pointer-like device with a foam end) and it worked great on the surface of the iPad.

Best of all, the iPearl Cover Case is a very reasonable price. I paid $17.99 for my case. That's a bargain in my book.

You Know You Want One

2012-01-05T10:25:00.000-05:00

Well, once again I was perusing my latest issue of iPad and iPhone User Magazine and came across some nifty gadgets that I just HAD to share with you all. This particular issue (issue 57) was their Gear Guide and it was loaded with lots of goodies. I have no affiliation with any of these products. Hmmm, in fact, I'm not even sure I'd want to be affiliated with them but I digress.

1. The Hoodie Buddie - I present to you the "Hoodie Buddie." This ingenious hoodie sweatshirt has earbuds that are threaded through the hoodie and double as drawstring pulls. The idea is that you wear the sweatshirt and stick the drawstring earbuds into your ears (I guess the hood can be up or down) and then you can listen away while out and about looking fashionably casual. My fear would be that I'd forget I had the things stuck in my ears and go to pull the drawstrings and wham, out they'd fly. If you want your own "Buddie", you can get one at http://amzn.to/yZ3Gm4 and they come in assorted colors.

2. The iMusic Hat - Closely associated with the concept of "wearable music accessories" is the iMusic Hat. If you rock the knit cap look, you can wear one with embedded speakers in the ear areas and then listen to your music player without wearing earbuds. Don't get too excited though. The Amazon UK store is sold out of them and so is this site. Apparently they are pretty popular. Who knew?

3. Eternal Fire App - Who doesn't love cozying up to a lovely fire in the fireplace especially now when the weather outside is frightful? Hey, if you don't have a fireplace or even one of those nice electric fake ones, don't despair. If you have an Apple smartphone, you can head on over to the iTunes store and get the "Eternal Fire" app for free and then sit and watch those crackling logs on your phone screen when the mood strikes. Prop it up on the floor, uncork a bottle, snuggle up to your sweetie and I predict good times ahead. Let's just hope that you have a full charge.

4. Mobile Phone Hoodie - Speaking of smartphones, as much as we love our phones, have you ever thought to provide them with their own wardrobe? No? Shame on you! Forget expensive cases. Now you can dress your phone up in its own hoodie. You can find one here. If you're a sewer, you might already be thinking of alternative outfits for your right-hand gadget ("might" being the operative word).

I'm sure there are more indispensable gadgets out there and trust me, I'll be sure to find them. What are you waiting for? Go ahead....you know you want one.

The Simplest of Toys

2012-01-02T16:32:00.000-05:00

Are you still reeling from the money you spent for gifts this Christmas season? Have your little darlings already cast aside the expensive toys you purchased and are now complaining that they're bored? You know, sometimes it is the simplest of things that make the best toys.

Maybe I can wear this as a hat.

I was reminded of this today when little Sweet Pea grabbed an old Easter basket from last year and spent the next 1/2 hour playing happily with it.

Where am I, Nana?

She wore it on her head as a hat and tried mighty hard to hide in it and then scare us by shouting, "Boo."

Maybe I can think of some way to get the dogs to play with me.

She tried very hard to enlist the dogs, including Schatze, who was visiting us for the day, in her basket play.

She tried to get Schatze to line up behind her and then parade around the room. Schatze wasn't too sure that she wanted to do this and kept trying to wander off.

No, I'm supposed to be the leader!

It was quite entertaining watching Sweet Pea try to herd Schatze into position for her "parade."

Left, Right, Left.....

She finally mustered the troops successfully and marched around the room until.....

Schatze snuck around Sweet Pea and made her bid to become the leader of the pack but Fresca, the Wonder Dog was all too happy to bring up the rear of the parade.

A few more parades and then a bit of "put the basket on PawPaw's foot" and finally Sweet Pea was ready to move on to another game and toy. Next Christmas we might just get her plastic bowls, baskets, and boxes and then sit back and watch the fun.

No, No Noel!

2012-01-01T22:40:00.000-05:00

Christmas has come and gone and the presents have been opened. Little Sweet Pea was SO excited about the Christmas tree when we put it up and then the subsequent presents that she practically camped under the tree.

Each day she has insisted that we turn on the lights (usually from mid-morning on) and I often have observed her heading over to the tree to look at the ornaments. Many times she has "redistributed" them more to her liking. Today she was playing with a stuffed kitten and she was cradling it in her arms saying, "Don't be sad, kitty. Mika take you to look at the Christmas tree." Off she'd go with the kitten and they'd stand in front of the tree.

That's why we waited until she had gone to bed before we started the sad job of packing away the decorations.

There is just a bittersweet feeling when it comes time to put the holiday decorations away yet again. It seems to magnify the passing of time. It also reminds me that the kids, including little Sweet Pea and Spud, will be heading back home to Texas tomorrow.

Off came the lights, the screws were loosened on the tree stand and then the Commander and son toted our tree out the door and to the curb while I grabbed the broom to sweep up the pine needles. After they came inside and had been carrying the ornament boxes out to the porch, I noticed some marks on the floor. Hmm, I figured the dog had maybe upchucked a bit in the past few days and so I went to grab some floor cleaner and paper towels.

No sooner was I bent over, spraying, and wiping then our son came inside holding one shoe and said, "Hey, Mom....I think I stepped in dog s___t when I took the tree out and I might have tracked it around inside the house. Can I have a paper towel and I'll clean off my shoe in the kitchen?"

"Crap," I said. "You get outside with that. You're not cleaning it inside the house."

Yup, sometimes taking down the holiday decorations is just a sh__tty proposition whichever way you look at it.

The Mystery of Fire

2011-12-29T19:32:00.000-05:00

Several days ago we headed off with a full van and kids in tow to Ohio to see Laura's extended family and to transfer some belongings that we'd been storing here to family heading back to Texas. But first we made a quick detour to the neighborhood post office to mail off some packages. I dashed into the PO, did my business and headed back to the car where I settled into my seat and took out my Kindle Fire, ready to lose myself in a good book. Yikes! The Fire appeared to be as dead as a doornail, even though it had worked fine and had almost a full charge just the night before.

"Stop," I yelled in a panic. "We have to swing back by the house so I can get another Kindle. There's no way I'm making a long car trip without something to read."

We backtracked and I ran into the house, grabbed my Kindle Touch and its charger and dashed back to the van and off we went. The Touch was working perfectly.

When we got to our destination and had brought everything into the house, I was griping about the Fire not working and gave it another try and lo and behold, it worked perfectly. What in the world?

The next day before we headed off to the next family's home, I checked out my Kindle Fire once again and it was working fine. Great!

We carried our luggage out to the car, got in and started off. I pulled out the Fire and took it out of "sleep" mode. What in the world? Again it was blank and appeared to be dead as a doornail. I was beginning to think that just the slightest bit of cold temps were causing it to lose its charge. Back I went to my trusty Kindle Touch.

At the next house, we unpacked and I visited with folks for awhile and then thought to check the Kindle Fire. Voila! It turned on without a hitch. What was happening? It worked fine that night and yet again, passed a quick test the following morning. This time, I put it in my purse and carried it out to the car that way, thinking it would stay warmer in there, rather than in a computer bag.

We hopped in the car, waved our goodbyes and started off for home. I took some sips of coffee, slipped off my shoes and pulled out the Kindle Fire. Yup, you guessed it. Nothing, nada, zilch! Now I was seriously getting perturbed. I envisioned having to call up Amazon Tech Services and go over the whole crazy story. OK, if the cold was the problem, maybe I could speed up the warming process. I slipped the Fire between my legs. The Commander glanced over at me and rolled his eyes.

"I'm trying to warm it up, " I attempted to explain.

Didn't work. I unzipped my coat and put it inside my jacket and zipped it back up. Surely it would warm up against my body. Nope!

Alright. Time for the heavy artillery! I turned on the seat warmer and slipped it under my thighs. If that didn't warm it up, I was ashamed of the darn thing. After a suitable period of time, I tried to bring it out of its deep sleep. Nothing doing!

In frustration, I pushed the button again and again. I noticed that a green light was coming on at the bottom of the Kindle when I'd push the button but still nothing was showing up on the screen. All of a sudden, I thought I detected a faint glimmer of some words on the screen. I whipped off my glasses and peered at the screen. It said, "Do you wish to turn off your device?" Turn it off? Heck, I just wanted to turn it ON!

I touched the "Cancel" button and lo and behold, my screen lit up and my Fire was lit up like a ...well, like a Fire should be. Hmmm, a faint niggling suspicion was starting to form at the back of my brain. I slipped my glasses with clip-on sunglasses back on. Huh? The screen was suddenly completely black. I took off the clip-on sunglasses. The Fire was on and the images were right there. On/off.....on/off.....Every time I put on my clip-on sunglasses, the screen went completely black. Every time I took them off, my screen was on and working great.

Ah-ha! Apparently, my Kindle Fire hadn't been malfunctioning at all. The culprit was my clip-on sunglasses. They were polarized in such a way that they completely blocked out the Kindle Fire's screen. Of course, since I had them on when I was outside and in the car, I was only seeing a blank screen but since I didn't have them on inside, the Fire would seemingly come back to life once we were inside a house. Mystery solved. I am SO relieved and boy, am I glad that I didn't have to confound Amazon (and reveal my total idiocy) by calling Tech Services.

Tentative Tickles

2011-12-26T21:35:00.000-05:00

The last two times that we've taken little Sweet Pea and Spud to visit their Great-Grandmother in the nursing home, Sweet Pea has been very shy and quite hesitant to approach "Grandma Toots." That's understandable since I doubt she's ever seen anyone as old or even someone in a wheelchair and she only gets to see her once or twice a year. But on each visit, there have been little tentative steps to establish a relationship.

Today when we visited, we all went down to the lounge and at first, Mika entertained us all by playing "Boo" with her brother.

She wasn't quite sure what to make of it when "Spud" ambushed her at one point and I'm not sure that he knew what to make of it either but he seemed to be game for the fun.

When we suggested that Sweet Pea try to "scare" Grandma Toots by playing "Boo" with her, she thought it over and then (with a few appropriate dramatic shrieks from Grandma) decided it might be fun.

She leaned over and said "Boo" and Mom yelped and shivered (a performance worthy of an Oscar, I can assure you).

Sweet Pea got bolder and came over to the wheelchair and tickled Grandma Toots' leg. "Aaaah, oooh," trilled her great-grandmother.

"I think Grandma Toots fell asleep," I said. "Why don't you try tickling her knee and see if you can wake her up?"

Sweet Pea gave a little tickle and Mom giggled, threw up her hands and said, "Whee!"

Little Spud wasn't saying "Whee" later when we sat him on Grandma Toots' lap. He quickly made his displeasure known.

"Who in the world are you?" he seemed to be thinking, "And what did you do with my mommy?"

We finished up our visit by singing Christmas carols acapella and at some point we looked over and saw that Mom had nodded off. I guess she'd had quite enough excitement for one day. Who knows? Maybe on our next visit, Sweet Pea will be brave enough to hitch a ride on Grandma Toots' wheelchair.

'Tis a Puzzlement!

2011-12-23T11:49:00.000-05:00

Recently our son got one of those sets of brainteaser wooden puzzles that drive you crazy. Well, it drives MOST people crazy but not our son. He is one of those folks who is a whiz at figuring out those type of things. His sister knows this about him and also knows that he can't rest until he works out a solution to puzzles. I guess that's why she "gifted" him with this latest set of brainteasers. Sibling torture, anyone?

Little Sweet Pea decided that she was going to help her daddy solve the puzzle. Who wouldn't want a two-year-old's help, right?

"No, no, Daddy..I think this needs to go in THAT little slot right there."

"Oh, no...wait! Maybe we should put them all together in a line and play 'choo-choo train' with the pieces."

"Mika, how did you get these two pieces stuck together like this?"

"Ok, we'll just play choo-choo train this morning while Daddy thinks about the PERFECT gift to get your Aunt Laura. Heh, heh, heh!"

A Nativity Fusion

2011-12-22T13:05:00.000-05:00

Little Sweet Pea's birthday is right before Christmas so what nicer gift could she receive than a Little Tikes Nativity Set from her Aunt Rose and Uncle John? We all thought it would be a wonderful way for her to envision the joys of the Christmas story. It worked.....sort of.

She was delighted with the gift and immediately began to play with it as we talked about the different parts/people in the set and what part they played in the Christmas story.

Our first inkling that THIS Nativity scene would be her own special version came when we realized that Baby Jesus was crammed into the cow's stall and the sheep were given the place of honor in the main part of the stable.

When we had pulled Baby Jesus out of the box, her mommy had asked her, "Do you know who this is?"

"Mary," she promptly replied. Well....there WAS a connection there, at least.

The actual Mary was soon relegated to the top of the stable next to the feeding trough, joining one of the angels.

She was soon joined by a shepherd and at several points by some wise men, although they were usually holding court over in the fields with some of the sheep. Hmm, were we seeing a mash-up of "Away in a Manger" and "Up On a Rooftop?"

The Wise Men were demoted from riding camels to tending the donkey cart while their regal tent was taken over by Mika's stuffed kitten.

At one point, the kitten fell asleep, a Wise Man was knocked over by a sheep trying to play King of the Hill, and an angel was wandering around in the barnyard wondering where the shepherds had run off to because she had a Heavenly message to deliver.

Through it all, Mary kept her composure although from a more elevated angle than during the original event and Mika had a wonderful evening immersed in the magic of a Christmas birth that changed the world. She may be putting her own unique spin on things now but as she continues to grow and be nurtured in the Christian faith, she'll continue to find this to be a much-beloved toy set. Thanks, Aunt Rose and Uncle John!

A Tale of Two Cakes

2011-12-19T20:16:00.001-05:00

What a difference a year makes! Last year, I went to Indonesia and was able to celebrate my granddaughter's first birthday with her. Being the cake-lover that I am, I thought she'd be a "sliver off the old layer cake", so to speak, and be equally as thrilled with her first cake. Boy, was I wrong.

She took a taste or two of the cake and it looked promising at first.

Then she seemed more interested in the spatula then in the cake.

Then she gave us a look as if to say, "Ugh....are you guys trying to poison me with this stuff?"

She handed that spatula back over to us lickety-split and then......

She took off and didn't look back. Her daddy and I had to eat more than our fair share to make up for her disinterest. Such sacrifices we make!

THIS year, Mika was back in the States and once again, I was incredibly blessed to be able to celebrate her 2nd birthday with her. She was really excited this time about getting presents AND having a birthday cake.

She bailed Grover and Elmo out of their plane before we had ever cut the cake and then leaned over and took a chomp out of the side of the cake before I could snap off another camera shot.

She tried the old "finger in the frosting" technique and employed it liberally until we brought out the silverware and plates.

She showed us that two-year-olds are much too grown up to be using spatulas and can feed themselves now.

She showed Nana exactly what she thought about having to interrrupt her cake eating in order to smile for the camera.

And she debated how to wipe her face while still stuffing more cake into her mouth. Ah, yes....little Sweet Pea seems to have inherited her Nana's love of cake after all. Balance has been restored to the universe. Happy birthday, Mika!

All Things Old are New Again

2011-12-15T21:23:00.000-05:00

When I envisioned myself getting a new car eventually, I was thinking that I'd be getting a small car. The top two contenders were the Ford Fiesta and the Honda Fit. In fact, I had already picked out (in my mind) a lime green Ford Fiesta with special decals on the sides which are available as an additional option through Ford. It was going to be a black city skyline and I thought I might add a black bat or two in the sky above the skyscrapers. My only criteria when thinking of a new car was that it would be sporty and it would be roomy enough for my spinning wheel to fit inside. I CERTAINLY never thought I'd be in the market for a minivan again.

We drove our share of minivans when the kids were growing up. They were great for hauling kids and pets and luggage around the country. But those days were behind us. It was just the Commander now and myself. At least that is what we were thinking. Somehow we overlooked the fact that, with two little grandchildren, we now had to be able to haul four adults and two children in carseats or else take two cars everywhere if we wanted to go someplace with all of us.

And that's how I find myself the slightly bemused owner of a new Toyota Sienna van that holds 8 passengers. It has just about every bell and whistle you'd want. In fact, I was joking with my book club group that I felt like I had to go to flight school just to learn how to operate the thing. The other day I was driving over to the bookstore at night, in the rain, when I realized that I didn't have my lights on (my son had inadvertently taken them off of the "automatic" setting) and that I had no clue how to get the lights on. I had to pull into someone's driveway while I fiddled with the controls until lights appeared. The next challenge was trying to get the windshield wipers going correctly. As I rolled into the parking lot, my back wipers were going, my front ones were going, I had a red triangle glowing on my dash which was alarming me because I had no idea what it meant, and I wasn't too sure that I knew how to turn off my seat, which was heating my buns. God forbid if someone should call me because my hubby hadn't told me how to answer the phone on my steering wheel. And forget about getting gas! I didn't know where the gas cap release was.

It sure is slick, though, as a people mover. We're driving around in luxury with the little ones in their carseats and plenty of room in the back cargo area for groceries and other goodies. I'm slowly getting the hang of how to open the sliding side doors, although it is still iffy whether or not I'll get the correct door to slide open on the first try. I'll eventually get it. The hardest part is trying to figure out where my front end is and how far back the rear extends. This car is a lot bigger than my little Vibe. For now, I'm going for the pull-through parking spaces to play it safe. Who would have thought that I'd be back amongst the mini-van crowd at my age? It's worth it, though, for little Sweet Pea and little Spud.

Wacky Christmas Gifts

2011-12-07T18:39:00.001-05:00

The "Not-Keeping-Up-With-Technology Gift"

Oh, boy! My Brookstone catalog came yesterday and I finally had time to look through it this morning. I love going through their catalog because they always have unique gifts. Sometimes they have some pretty wacky ones, too. I had to highlight a few that caught my eye. Are you ready?

1. The "Not Keeping Up With Technology Gift" - This is the iDesign Tower Stereo System. I have to chuckle at it, though. Here is a speaker that stands 40 inches high with a TINY iPhone or iPod on top. Hello? Isn't the whole genius of our marvelous iPads, iPhones and small music storage devices the fact that we can cram so much into such tiny devices? And yet we have to stick it on a monolith like this? I'm holding out for a tiny version, thank you.

"The Annoying-As-Heck Gift"

2. The "Annoying As Heck Gift" - Are you someone who just can't get up in the morning? Maybe this alarm clock is for you. It's Tocky - The Rolling Alarm Clock. Tocky will wake you up with an alarm and then roll off your nightstand and jump and roll all over your room until you get out of bed to shut the darn thing off. I don't know about you but I'm thinking that someone who has a very hard time getting up probably isn't too chipper once they wake up. I suspect "long life" and "Tocky" aren't mutually compatible terms. Duck!

"The My Kid is Brilliant Gift"

3. The "My Kid is Brilliant Gift" - We all know them....those parents that can't stop bragging about their kids. If you have one of those on your shopping list, how about the Go Vinci "Look What I Made" Backpack? Now parents can not only drone on and on about their kids but they can also put their masterpieces right out there for all the world to see. Just don't be too effusive in your praise. Those tykes might offer to autograph it and sell it to you, for a profit.

"The Got-You-Where-I-Want-You Gift"

4. The "Got You Where I Want You Gift" - This is the OSIM uAstro Zero-Gravity Massage Chair. Now some folks might think it looks really relaxing. I don't know. I'm thinking that wife looks pretty smug walking past her hubby, who is immobilized in the chair. She's probably thinking, "Yeah, now I can head out to the stores and he'll be in that thing until I get home."

It is supposed to be quite a luxury item. However, when I look at it, it looks like an instrument of torture, like the Iron Maiden. You'd have to drug me to get me in that thing. It can be yours for a mere $3,293.

"The Taking-Out-Aggression Gift"

5. The "Taking Out Aggression Gift" - I have to tell you, I LIKE this gift. I saw it the other day at our local Staples and I almost got it for my son-in-law. I would have, too, if I hadn't already finished my Christmas shopping for him. This little baby is the USB Desktop Missile Launcher. You basically plug it into your computer's USB port and then you can shoot foam missiles at targets up to 25 feet away. Not only that, you can also do this remotely via Skype and MSN messaging. You don't even have to be in the same room. If you really want to have some fun, add the optional sound effects and WHEE! You've got your own miniature Gatling Gun, primed and ready to terrorize the cats and family. I want one!

Upstaged by Grover

2011-12-02T10:16:00.001-05:00

When my children were little, one of their favorite books was "Oscar's Book." This is my son's well-worn copy...a Little Golden Book. I recently grabbed it to read to our granddaughter during a Skype visit and now it's often requested when we talk via the computer.

One of the things that makes it such a great book to read to children is that the dialogue is SO dramatic, ironic, and just plain funny. There is action, there is interaction with the reader, and plenty of opportunities for the adult reader to really put some "oomph" into the reading of it.

Because our little Sweet Pea has enjoyed that book so much, I wasted no time in grabbing these little child-sized books off the shelf at our local Barnes and Noble to put in her Christmas stocking. I'm really looking forward to reading them to her, when I can pry them away from her.

This morning I was reading a computing magazine on my iPad and noticed a glowing review for a children's application. It was an interactive version of "The Monster at the End of this Book." How could I resist? The price was right ($3.99 here in the States) so I purchased it and quickly downloaded it onto the iPad. Well then I had to give it a try, right?

What fun! You turn the pages by clicking on an area in the bottom right-hand corner. In case you or your little one forget, Grover will remind you. In the meantime, Grover is animated and walks around on the pages, emoting in all his theatrical glory as he tries to get the reader NOT to get to the end of the book. Ha! What child could resist turning the page?

What ADULT could resist turning the page as well? The words are highlighted as Grover speaks them in some of the "bubbles" on the pages. For the adventurous who want to go off the beaten path, if you will, you can do other things like poke Grover and he'll deviate from the written word and respond in ways appropriate to where you are in the story.

If you are familiar at all with the story, you know that Grover tries a lot of things to keep you from turning the pages. The reader/child will soon discover that they can cause delightful things to happen if they do things like poke the ropes or touch the brick wall he builds. What fun!

I have to say, though, that I found myself a little jealous of Grover. As an actress, I've always loved really "getting into" a story when I'm reading it to young children. I love doing the voices, making the sounds, and adding the side comments before turning the pages. Now Grover was doing it all instead of me. I was upstaged by a furry blue puppet. Sheesh! But you can't keep a good thespian down and I quickly decided that there was plenty I could do in a supporting role as my Sweet Pea and I work with this application.

There is a second book available in this series called "Another Monster at the End of This Book" and I just noticed that it is available for an introductory price of $0.99 up on iTunes right now. What a deal! Can you guess what I just purchased? I think there is only one downside to these two applications. Once your little ones have had a chance to interact with them, you might never again be able to walk past them with your iPad in hand without them trailing along behind you wanting to see Grover "again."

Food, Glorious Food!

2011-11-29T19:10:00.001-05:00

Dad prepares to carve the turkey.

I come from a family who LOVES to eat so many of our celebrations and memories have centered around food over the years.

Thanksgiving with toddlers.

Apparently my hubby came from a similar family because when I married him, he brought a whole new set of family recipes to the marriage AND his own recipe box.

Will Grandma do her usual sampling?

One of the family tricks that has provided amusement at our gatherings has been my mother's tendency to "sample" the pies when no one is looking. We'd usually discover that she'd done some tasting when we'd go to bring the pie to the table and see that a little hole had been cut out smack dab in the middle of the pie.

"On your mark, get set....."

When all the family gathers together, we enjoy the same dishes over and over again. If it is Thanksgiving, you get Green Bean Casserole, Hash Brown Supreme Casserole, Sweet Potato Souffle, Dressing, Mashed Potatoes, Jellied Cranberry Sauce, Turkey, a dessert salad (affectionately called "fruit compote" by the kids), and at least two kinds of pie.

We also like to photograph food. I never realized that we did this so much until this year when my sister-in-law came around the corner and saw me setting up a shot with one of the dishes.

"Wow, " she said, "You and your brother are just the same. He's always taking pictures of food."

I'd never realized this was unusual. I thought everyone did this at special meals or when they make something that they want to remember.

After all, how else are you going to have bragging rights, if you don't snap a picture of that culinary concoction and then post it on your blog or up on Facebook?

I was going to ask my mom if she used to do this but then I figured out it would be pointless to do so. After all, she was ALWAYS taking pictures so I'm sure that there was a roast or a pie in there somewhere.

I DID have to chuckle though on Thanksgiving Day when we Skyped with our son and his family in Texas. We asked him if he had had a nice holiday with his in-laws.

"Mom," he said. "It was a curious experience spending the holiday with a different family and seeing what traditions they had. And this has to be the FIRST time that I've sat down at a holiday meal where everything didn't taste like dessert."

Yikes! Guilty as charged. We do have a powerful sweet tooth in our family.

Small Business Saturday

2011-11-28T16:28:00.001-05:00

This is the first Thanksgiving holiday season that I can remember in years when I did NOT go shopping on Black Friday. You know what? It actually felt good to be able to sleep in on Friday and to leave the madness to everyone else.

Instead we had a pleasant day with family, eating leftovers, taking a LOT of family pictures, and playing games. Some of us watched the seemingly endless football games that were broadcast . It was very relaxing.

On Saturday we tried a new tradition. I don't know if this has been going on for awhile now or if it is something new that retailers have dreamed up but local advertisers and newspapers have been touting "Small Business Saturday." The push is for shoppers to go out and visit locally-owned businesses to do some shopping, thus giving them support and sending business their way.

We headed out to Gettysburg Saturday to drive around the National Park, doing a self-guided auto tour. It was a lovely morning, with few tourists around and fairly balmy weather.

As the day progressed, the sky turned gray but still the rain held off and so did the wind so we were content to wander along the ridges of Little Round Top.....

To take pictures of the many monuments scattered around the park, which are amazing in their variations and meanings.....

To imagine the horror and carnage of those days in July so many years ago and the many families that suffered loss, realizing that this was not just a battlefield but also the final resting place of so many young men...

And to stop to appreciate the stark beauty of farmhouses straight out of a Wyeth painting. I couldn't help but also think about the townspeople and the farm folk who suddenly found themselves in the middle of this horrible conflict during the Civil War.

But back to our "Small Business Saturday," after our time spent at the Gettysburg Battlefield, we headed off through the winding back roads to the Adams County Winery to do a little wine tasting. The roads back to that little winery are so twisty that we laughed and joked among ourselves that surely this was a deterrent for those who might be tempted to imbibe too much once they arrived at their destination. Anyone slightly tipsy would be likely to find themselves having a close encounter with an apple tree if they weren't careful.

We had a lovely time there and, by the way, I highly recommend these folks and their wine. The wine is lovely, the vintners are very friendly and there's even a golden retriever who greets guests and has a wine named after him. We did our part supporting a local small business and headed on home to have yet another go at our Thanksgiving leftovers. I believe we have now set the record for getting the most meals out of one Thanksgiving meal in our household. I don't want to see turkey or green bean casserole again for a LONG time.

Outings and Shenanigans

2011-11-23T11:35:00.001-05:00

Continuing our discussion of Thanksgiving traditions, one of our favorite traditions has centered around the cousins getting together. They've been enjoying each other's company since they were babies and when they get together, mischief and fun isn't far behind.

Over the years, we've had impromptu fashion shows put on by the kids.

We've had sing-a-longs interrupted by the occasional OUTSTANDING dance moves.

We've gone on outings over the holiday weekend. This particular outing has a little story attached to it. My brother had been raving about the hamburgers at a place called the Black Diamond Bar and Grille. He kept going on and on about how they were HUGE and the best he'd ever had. So we all piled in the van and headed out one cold morning for a long drive up into the mountains to have those hamburgers for lunch. After all that driving, we got there only to find out that they were closed that day. Oh, man....we sure didn't let my brother forget about that! However, we continued on and came to this wonderful pancake restaurant that had real maple syrup with their flapjacks and after the meal, you could sit outside on their swings or walk little nature trails through the woods. It turned into a lovely outing after all.

We've enjoyed "talent shows" put on by the cousins. They've really been a hoot.

Have you heard of a group called the "Tijuana Brass?" Well, sometimes we adults have joined in the fun, hence the "Michigander Brass."

And the kids have kept us entertained while we've waited for the turkey to finish cooking.

Sadly, the cousins are scattered around the country now with job and family commitments that make it difficult to get them all together at one time. These days we are lucky to have one or two of them joining us for Thanksgiving. But regardless, we still have fun together as a family. Wherever YOU are, we hope you have some fun planned, too, this holiday weekend with family or friends.

Smile for the Birdie!

2011-11-22T15:15:00.001-05:00

Ah, Thanksgiving! That time of year when families travel from near and far to get together to eat too much, shop too much, act like fools, and make wonderful memories.

In our family, my brother's family and our family have taken turns for years getting together to spend the long weekend together. We've had certain "traditions" that we've followed over the Thanksgiving holiday which I'll share with you in the next few posts but one of the most sacrosanct has been posing for family pictures.

At some point in the weekend, we all get into our festive outfits and gather in one central location, set up the cameras on the tripods, and then the fun begins.

We take many different combinations of pictures.....photos of each family, photos of just the kids, photos of the adult siblings, and photos of the siblings with our mom.

These photo sessions can drag on and on, sometimes erupting into gales of laughter and other times deteriorating into testiness.

The one thing that they all have in common, though, is that they are snapshots of times in our lives that will never come again. Despite the dorkiness of them or their perfection, they will always remind us of the special joy we have shared as family.

They are treasures that I enjoy looking at every year.

Perhaps my all-time favorite is this picture that was taken the Thanksgiving immediately after I had finished my 6 months of chemotherapy after a diagnosis of breast cancer. The joy reflected on our faces is so evident. We were a family united together, alive, and life was good. It still is! May you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving this week (or have HAD one - for my Canadian friends).

Case in Point

2011-11-17T15:48:00.001-05:00

Today was the beginning of the big Christmas sewing push. In other words, I spent the morning ironing all the fabric for the novelty pillowcases that I always "gift" to my extended family and then cutting out the various components. Tomorrow my friend is coming over with her sewing machine and I'll have my machine set up and we'll spend the day doing our Christmas sewing. I plan to have all my pillowcases finished by tomorrow evening. That's the plan!

In case you're wondering what pattern I follow, I use one from an organization called Pillows of Love. They help women and children in crisis. Some years back, our church's women's ministry group made a bunch of pillowcases for this group and I kept the pattern and have been using it ever since. Here is a link to the pattern, which is available for free. If you go to their website to check it out, read about their work. They are a great organization.

In the meantime, my new case for my Kindle Fire arrived today. It is a leather cover made by Marware. You can read all the particulars on Amazon's site here. When I first opened it up and tried to put the Fire into it, I really struggled to get it into the corner grippers. I finally manhandled it into it and it's securely in there. Of course, after I had put all that effort into it, I discovered the simple instructions (pictures only) which had fallen out of the box when I opened it and slid to the side that showed you had to SLIDE the one side into the right-hand top and bottom grips and then press the other side down into the grips. Oh, boy!

The case is kept closed by an elastic strap that goes over the front of the case. When the case is open, it looks like this. At first I thought, "What in the world is with that left side of the case?" OK, so I looked at the instructions again. The honeycombed strips come into play when you use the case as a stand for the Fire. The instructions never mentioned (or showed) what the thick elastic band was for but I figured it out anyway.

I used to sing in our church choir after all. Our choir folders have something similar. In this case, you can fold the left side back and secure it with the thin elastic strap, and then slide your hand under the thick strap to hold your Kindle Fire. I would imagine if you wanted to show something to another person, this feature would also come in handy, enabling you to one-handedly hold the Fire pointed toward the person while you point or gesture at the screen with your other hand.

Back to that "stand" feature. If you want to use your case as a stand, you push the left side of your fire out of the grips and then pull it forward along the left side of your case either up to the first honeycomb strip or the second, depending on how much of an angle you want for your viewing. It works ok if you want to view things from the horizontal position but I didn't see any way to use it as a stand in a vertical position. There also isn't a lot of flexibility in the viewing angles offered. It's pretty much the two options. But I found one that worked for me.

Also, the first two times that I popped the left side of my Fire out of the case to put it into the stand position, it was rather stiff and tight to do this but I noticed that it is getting easier so I think it was just because it was brand new.

You can see in this picture how the case is designed to fold in the back when you adjust it to use as a stand. Your elastic strap just sits in the back while it is used in this manner.

As far as access to controls on the top and bottom of the Kindle Fire, the case is designed to give you full access. This shows the bottom of the Fire in the case. As you can see, it's no problem to get to the on/off buttom, the audio jack, or the charging slot. The top of the case is similar, leaving the speaker unobstructed.

I'm pleased with the case. The Kindle feels very protected in it. It's a smart-looking case and sturdy. My only criticism would be the lack of versatility in the viewing angles you can set when using it as a stand.

Putting Out the Fire

2011-11-16T14:44:00.001-05:00

My Kindle Fire arrived yesterday and I've been playing with it, as you can expect. I promised you that I'd post some reviews of it for you and I'm going to give them to you in manageable bits, as I discover what all it will do and how it performs. The picture above is one of the opening screens after you press the tiny power button on the bottom. You use this button to power the Fire up, turn it off, put it to sleep, and wake it up. Once you've got it "fired up," you swipe the yellow arrow to the left and you are taken to your Home screen.

Your Home screen will have a rotating display of icons representing the latest apps and books that you've opened. On the bottom shelf will be things you've "pinned" and want to have remaining there (until you remove them). The ones you see are ones that Amazon had placed there for me when it was shipped. I haven't gotten around to customizing it yet.

The first thing I did after powering it up was start downloading some of my books onto it. When you press "Books" at the top, it gives you the option of viewing either the books you have in the "Cloud" (in other words, your archive) or on the "Device." You can then sort them by Author, Title, or Recent. Since I have lots of books in my Cloud, it was easier for me to do a search and then select the books to download that way.

One other way you can customize how these books are displayed is by choosing either "Grid View" or "List View." in the first picture of my Cloud books, you were looking at it displayed as a Grid view.

This is how it looks as a List View. Those little down arrows are what you would press to download the book onto your device.

I couldn't remember what "Pulse" was so I decided to explore that. Once I opened it up, I realized that it is similar to "Flipboard" which I use on my iPad. It is a customized reader where you can pick and choose what blogs or news feeds to follow. Instead of "flipping" pages, it has a "timeline" appearance which is nice and you just swipe left or right to see the pictures and small synopsis of each story. To read something in greater detail, you just select it.

I did a little searching within Pulse to see what feeds and blogs were available. I was delighted to see that Google Reader was there and it let me log right into it and then it displayed all the feeds/blogs that I currently follow in Google Reader. I simply select the ones I want to add to Pulse by pressing the "+" sign by the ones I want.

I had no problem logging into Facebook and following along with the posts. It is set up pretty much just like Facebook on your smartphones. As I was typing a status update, I noticed that Kindle Fire is constantly coming up with words it anticipates that I might be typing. To use one of the words, you just touch the one you want and it pops into whatever you were typing AND puts a space after the word so you don't even have to do that. This feature was a little distracting at first but it hasn't taken me long to become much more comfortable with it and to start using it more and more.

Of course, I HAD to add a few apps right away. Amazon had already put some on my shelves just waiting for me to download them, if I so chose. But what I really wanted first was Netflix and Comics. It was getting too late last night to search for more. I did notice that quite a few of the games I had on my Kindle 3 did NOT download to the Kindle Fire. It said something about them not being compatible or able to be downloaded onto this device. I'm assuming that their codes need to be rewritten for the Fire. So app developers, let's get cracking, OK?

Speaking of the Comics app, here is what a page from a comic looks like on my Kindle Fire. Cool, eh? You can zoom in if you need to, of course. The colors are wonderful. I just love being able to read comics on an e-reader.

The only glitch I've had so far with my new Kindle Fire happened last evening.....LATE last evening. I was ready to head to bed and wanted to turn off the wireless. I could not get that wireless to turn off for love nor money. The instructions said that you just have to "toggle" on or off. I know that I was trying to swipe to the right, since that is how I would interpret toggling with that type of visual display. It stayed firmly in the "On" position. Now I swear I tried poking the Off button too but maybe I didn't. It WAS late. Finally I just turned the Kindle completely off.

First thing this morning I called Kindle support. Let me just say that you can access support by going to Settings and then picking "Help & Feedback" which is the first choice. A screen comes up with a list of topics under FAQ & Troubleshooting but you can also choose "Contact Customer Service." I chose that and it was a very simple thing to indicate a general topic for my problem and then to press either "Call me now" or "Call me in five minutes." I chose the "Call me Now" button and in less than a minute, my phone rang and I had Customer Service on the line. I felt kind of stupid telling her my problem and even dumber when she said "Press the word 'Off.'" I did this and immediately the Off was highlighted and my wireless was now turned off. I don't know what happened but it has worked like a charm ever since. I was giddy with delight (and probably lack of carbohydrates) since it was 7:00 a.m. and I couldn't thank the service rep enough. If I was nitpicking, I would say the Amazon folks should have designed the "on" and "off" as radio buttons so you would intuitively know you needed to press them, instead of swiping them.

That's it for this first part of my Kindle Fire review. I'm really enjoying it. It is every bit as responsive as my Apple iPad. Until next time.....I'm off to play with Fire.

Come on Baby, Light My Fire!

2011-11-15T19:39:00.001-05:00

My Kindle Fire was scheduled to be delivered today so I decided to do some productive work while I waited for the UPS man. I've been meaning to tackle the closet in our spare room upstairs. It has gotten so full with suitcases, fabric, Christmas presents, and off-season clothes that I could barely walk into it.

My linen closet in the bathroom upstairs is full to the brim so I've been stashing some sheets for the twin bed in our spare room in here, too. Plus there are still some of our son's things in it.

See, I told you.....no room to walk in THIS closet!

Oh, and let's not forget the quilt batting that has been stashed in here as well as Christmas wrapping paper from LAST Christmas.

The first thing I did was move the suitcases out of the closet so I could walk in there, as well as put the Christmas presents temporarily in the other room. Then I grabbed some boxes and some garbage bags. Next job was to sort through the hanging clothes and remove clothes that needed to go to Goodwill. That helped quite a bit.

I sorted through my fabric and neatly folded the larger pieces. The smaller pieces were put into some clear little bins with lids to go on the top shelf in the closet. I also dragged my son's guitar amp (why I still have this in our closet, I don't know) and put it way back in a corner of the top shelf.

The batting was arranged up on the shelf as well, next to a tub with lots of quilt blocks for a big reproduction Civil War quilt that I've been working on forever, it seems like.

The final result was a fairly neat closet that I can walk into and easily find things in. And before I could rethink anything, I lugged the bags of clothes and the box of other donations down the stairs and out the door where I loaded them into my car and made the trip to Goodwill to donate.

Look at that! It's the carpet. You can actually see bare carpet with nothing scattered all over it. Wow! I WILL confess, however, that I did have to put a few Christmas presents back in there to hide them from curious eyes next week when the family arrives for Thanksgiving. It's a big joke in our family that EVERYONE knows where Mom's hiding place is for Christmas presents but hey, if they look, they lose the fun of being surprised. Besides, it has a nice sliding door that I can conveniently shut.

Just when I was finishing up, I heard a truck pull up outside. I looked out the window and yippee-ki-yay! It was UPS. My Kindle Fire had arrived. Guess you know what I was doing this afternoon. I'll give you my first impressions in my next post.

Feeling the Vibes

2011-11-12T14:27:00.001-05:00

Did you survive 11-11-11? Apparently, it was supposed to be quite an auspicious date. Of course, most of us were probably aware that it was Veterans Day here in the States. That happens every 11-11, whether it is 2011 or not. I did a little digging though, and discovered some of the other "buzz" around the date.

The date happens only once every 100 years. Chances are that you won't experience another 11-11-11 unless health care REALLY improves between now and 2111. Quite a few cultures and groups considered the date to be very lucky. The Hindus think it is quite lucky since the number "1" symbolizes the sun. I guess because the sun is considered "life-giving", then you can pack a lot of life in 11-11-11.

Speaking of packing life in the date, apparently obstetricians were gearing up for a very long day. Many expectant mothers were scheduling Caesarians for the 11th. One doctor even offered to refund his fees for any baby that he delivered that day. I believe I read that he was going to hold the funds in trust for the kids until their 21st birthdays, though, so let's hope he is still around then.

Lots of folks were getting married yesterday. The date is considered a great one for new beginnings. I suspect one ulterior motive might have been that it is a hard date to forget, making it less likely that you'd forget your anniversary.

Quite a few folks of a more "pagan" slant were expecting a bunch of mystical creatures known as the "Spirit Guardians" to show up around mid-morning yesterday. These creatures supposedly watch over us mortals. They also supposedly prompt you to look at the clock at 11:11 as a way to get your attention throughout the year and do things like make streetlights go off when you go by. This is supposed to let you know that something big is coming. I'm not sure why they were supposed to actually show up yesterday. Maybe it was to whack us on the back of the head, like Jethro Gibbs on NCIS, for those of us a little slow on the uptake.

I read one 11-11-11 website that was predicting three possible scenerios:
Something good was going to happen, something bad was going to happen, or nothing was going to happen. Gee, I think that about covers it all, don't you?

I read that Egypt closed the pyramids to tourists yesterday so that no weird groups would show up and perform pagan sacrifices on them. All I can say is, "Thank God!"

So did you have any unusual experiences yesterday? See any Spirit Guardians? I didn't notice any over here but I DID get an "aura" mid-morning. I suppose it could have been related to the date, but I'm more prone to think it was the usual visual manifestation of the migraines that I'm prone to having. For the rest of you who had "nothing", hang in there. It's less than 200 years now until your next chance to feel the vibe.

Now, Which One Was That?

2011-11-09T15:26:00.000-05:00

"I HATE the way they have those windows set up at McDonalds, " I told my husband.

He looked up from the Solitaire game he was playing on the iPad and said, "Huh?"

"I mean, how confusing can they be," I complained. "You place your order at the drive-up speaker and then they tell you to proceed to the first window."

"So what's the problem?" he asked.

"Well, what's the first window?" I replied. "Technically, they have you stopping to pay at the second window."

He looked at me like I was nuts. "No, they don't," he said, slowly and clearly like he was speaking to a two-year-old. "You pay at the first window. It's simple."

"But actually that's the second window because you pick up your food at the first window. The first window is at the head of the line and the second window is behind it," I explained. "If they really wanted to be clear, they'd say 'Proceed to the first window you come to' and then there would be no confusion."

My husband shook his head. "You're the only one who thinks like this," he said.

"Think about it," I countered. "If you wanted to be first for something, would you want to be at the beginning of the line or at the end of the line?"

"At the beginning of the line, of course," he answered.

"So if you're in a line of cars pulling up to two windows, the first window you come to is actually the second window along the wall because the first window is the one after it, at the head of the line.You've got a whole line of cars who have to get past the intermediate window in order to get to the 'prize' window (the FIRST window) to get their food, right?" I told him.

He stared at me. "I swear I don't know how your mind works. Nobody else comes up with this stuff," he said.

Today I stopped at McDonalds to get a cup of their specialty coffee. I drove through the drive-in area, placed my order, and the clerk told me to drive up to the first window.

"OK, I can do this," I thought. "I'll stop at the second window and get it right this time."
I drove up to the window but no one was standing there. "Aha," I thought. "They finally got it right."
I started to drive up to the next window but some frantic motioning from the other window stopped me. A clerk was leaning out the window, beckoning me to come back to pay.

So I put the car in reverse, backed up and gave her my money. I toyed with the idea of going inside and telling the manager how they needed to change their instructions OR change the signage on their windows but I was too embarrassed to take the time. I had forgotten that I still had the car in reverse when I gave it the gas to continue on to the FIRST window to get my coffee and nearly gave the guy behind me (and myself) a heart attack.

Siri, I Think I Love You!

2011-11-06T13:05:00.001-05:00

Now that I have my new iPhone 4s, I have acquired my own personal assistant. Yes, the new iPhone comes with Siri. I can't give you all the technical mumbo-jumbo as to what Siri is but I CAN tell you in layman's terms that she (and I use the humanizing pronoun deliberately) is an artificial intelligence-type of program built into the new iPhone. You speak to her just like you would to a normal person and she answers you.

For example, to get the screen above, I pushed my home button and said, "Siri!"

She replied, "Yes, Dee?"

I said, "Do you think it is going to snow this week?"

You can see her answer on my phone's screen. Siri will do things like read incoming texts to you, write a text and send it for you, call people for you, set up reminders for you, pop up a map to show you how to get to a place you ask directions to, and even make recommendations for things like a good Indian restaurant.

That's only the tip of the iceberg. There's more she'll do. You can read all about Siri on Apple's website here. What I particularly like is that there was no tedious learning curve to use Siri. She was quite agreeable right from the start. I can remember the old PDA days when you had to "train" your device to recognize your voice and then train it to recognize your handwriting. Boy, have we come a long way, Baby!

Apple says that Siri will be able to do more and more amazing things as the months go by and more people use it. Now if this was a sci-fi movie, you might be getting a little twinge of foreshadowing right about now. Could Siri one day become too smart for her own good.....or for OUR own good? Ah, who knows? In the meantime, I'm going to enjoy having someone (or something) at my beck and call who does what I want when I want them to do it. Besides, I'm notoriously bad at typing on these little phone keyboards and it's incredibly nice to be able to just say a message and have it show up in email or text format.

Siri is also funny. I asked her if the iPhone was the best smartphone. Her response?

"You're kidding, right?"

A Novel Use?

2011-11-04T16:17:00.000-04:00

When my iPhone 4S was on order, I blogged about my search for the right case/cover for it. The result was the BookBook case shown above. It seemed perfect for someone who loved reading as much as I do. But then I got my iPhone and started using the case. Alas, it wasn't as perfect as I had hoped. The size and weight was great, it felt just right in my hand, and the protection it offered my phone was wonderful.

The drawbacks were several major ones that I just couldn't get around. The main drawback was the fact that there was no cut-out for the rear-camera. Whenever I wanted to take a picture, I had to undo the tab at the top (cleverly disguised to look like a bookmark) and push the phone up partially from the bottom of the case until it cleared the holder enough for the camera lens to be usable. The second drawback was when I wanted to talk on the phone, I had to fold the cover back onto itself and hold it that way while I talked. It felt stiff and awkward. The BookBook case also was advertised as being usable as a wallet/credit card carrier. I knew from reading reviews that it wouldn't hold many cards. But if I put three cards in there, it was very difficult to push out the one in the clear vinyl. I guess the thought was that you could just keep an ID there and flash it at folks who ask for an ID instead of having to take it out all the time. Also, if I put several bills in the wallet part, I could barely pry the credit cards out because it made things so tight. In all fairness, it would probably loosen up over time since it is made of leather.

So I did some more research and finally settled on a colorful CaseCrown Glider case for my iPhone and I'm quite pleased with it. I love the color, it feels wonderful, and I can easily put it in my special FM transmitter device that I use to listen to podcasts and music through my car's stereo. That left me with the BookBook case. Should I try to sell it? I REALLY liked its uniqueness and the feel of it. What to do?

I decided to adapt it to hold my miscellaneous credit cards, ID cards, and store cards. I have so many of these darn things that they don't all fit in my regular wallet, which I reserve for the really important cards like my driver's license, military ID, debit card, bookstore card, and insurance cards. I WAS using a separate wallet for the other cards but it was bulky and took up space in my purse. Looking at the little BookBook, I decided it would be perfect for these auxiliary cards.

I took the little "dummy iphone box" that had come with the case, cut off the top end, reinforced the sides with packing tape, and voila! I now had a perfect little container to hold my extra cards. In they went. The velcro tab that was designed to hold the phone in place works perfectly to keep the cards from sliding out. I can also put several cards that I use more frequently on the other side of the case in the card slots.

My new system has been working great. It's perfect for its new use. In keeping with the literary theme of the case, "All's well that ends well."

A New Look

2011-11-03T11:59:00.000-04:00

If you're a regular reader of this blog, you're probably rechecking your link and wondering what in the world happened to Hot-Flashed Funk. Well, don't worry. You've arrived at the right blog. We just have a new look.....a more modern look. I blame it on my email. You see, I opened up my email today and there was the November update from Blogger highlighting the new templates they were featuring. These templates are more in keeping with the trends these days in electronic magazines and blogging.

I couldn't resist. As my son frequently tells me, "You LOVE change, Mom!." He's right. I love to shake things up and try new things. I also have been enjoying reading blogs and news on my iPad via Flipboard, Blogshelf, and Zite which use formats similar to the new Blogger templates.

So....to read one of my posts, just click on the post and you'll see the expanded post. To see other posts, just scroll down and click on whatever strikes your fancy. If you are wondering where the links on the side went to, look up in the blue bar across the top of this blog where it says "Pages." Click on that down arrow and you'll see that I've made a separate page for each of the different link categories. If you see something you want to share with the world, the new template makes it easy to share the link now on Twitter or Facebook.

In the next few weeks, Blogger has promised to roll out more gadgets in support of these new templates so maybe I can get back to including a pic of my latest knitting project or my tweets or random books from my library. But if not, I'll just have to blog about projects as I finish them and you can always head over to Twitter to follow me. I don't Tweet a lot so you won't be inundated. You'll find me over there as "Booklassie." And I must say...looking at the picture above, I never noticed before now that my monitor that's hooked up to my laptop when I'm working at home is askew. I guess that would explain my view of life. Have a great day today, kids!

The Facetime Horror Show

2011-11-02T09:24:00.000-04:00

My new iPhone 4s arrived Monday and I've been having fun setting it up, getting things transferred over from my old iPhone 3 and trying out the new features. Let me just say right now that I LOVE Siri. FINALLY I have somebody I can boss around who actually will listen to me, even if she IS an artifical intelligence "person."

After I finished my phone activation, I decided to take my iPhone out for a "test run", so to speak. I called my brother.

"Hey, John, I'm calling you from my new iPhone," I gloated.

"Cool," he replied. "Hey, doesn't it have Facetime? We could try using that."

"OK, hang on, " I said, as I searched the call screen for the icon, "Let me switch over to it."

Sure enough, up popped my face in a little window and the phone indicated that it was trying to connect to my brother but no picture was coming up. We fiddled around with our phones, talking all the while on them, trying to figure out what we were doing wrong.

"Hey, remember that YouTube video I sent you of that old couple trying to figure out how to use their computer's webcam?" I asked him. He laughed. "I sure hope these phones aren't recording us."

"Oh, maybe I have to click on the 'Accept' button," he said. Up popped his face.

"Jeez," I said. "Where ARE you?"

"I'm in my computer room but it's pretty dark in here," he answered.

"I'll say," I laughed. "All I can see is a floating head. You look like that host of the old Saturday afternoon horror show we used to watch on TV when we were kids."

"Maybe this will help," he said, as he reached up to turn on a light he had hooked to his computer monitor.

"Aargh, turn it off," I chuckled. His receding hairline made the glare on his forehead blinding.

"Sheesh, I can see you but I can barely see me on this phone. I'm in this little box up in the corner, " I said, as I took off my glasses and leaned closer to get a better look. "Holy s___! Is that what I look like? Look at the bags under those eyes! I could fit a whole sale at Macy's in those."

We spent the next 5 minutes amusing ourselves making faces at each other via Facetime. Ain't technology grand?

"Hey, what's this little camera icon down here in the corner? Maybe I can take a picture of you on the screen like I can when I'm Skyping," I mused aloud. I pressed the icon. Suddenly I was looking at my tablecloth.

"Whoops, that must activate the camera on the back of the phone," I told John.

"Hey, neat," he said. "Do you still have snow there? You could show me."

We spent the next 5 minutes aiming our phones at different views in our houses.

Our fun was interrupted when he had to cut the conversation short to leave for an appointment. Gee, and we were having so much fun. Just think of all the great moments of sister-brother bonding we've been missing without Facetime. Until next time......

We Made the Weather Channel

2011-10-31T10:25:00.000-04:00

Yes, our little corner of Pennsylvania made the national news this weekend when a freak snowstorm hit us on Saturday. Jim Cantore, from the Weather Channel, actually came to town and was broadcasting live from our area as the snow came down. Now remember....this was October 29, not the end of November or early December.

It was a really wet, heavy snow too, which made it particularly devastating to tree branches, fences (like our neighbor's fence seen in the distance from our backyard), and power lines). The towns just south of us got about 10 inches of snow Saturday. We got about 5-6 inches of snow before things tapered off and I suspect it was actually more but the weight of the snow just compacted everything down.

I kept expecting us to lose power. The lights were flickering all day and several times they went off but came right back on. I was working away on my computer most of the day and even when the power went off, it came back so quickly that my computer just came back up without rebooting.

We were the lucky ones. When all was said and done, over 250,000 people in our area were without power. Ugh! Even our church was without power until Sunday afternoon. Our church staff decided to cancel most of the activities and one of the services but they went ahead and had one service without power or heat and over 170 people showed up. The heat generated was from warm hearts and good fellowship.

I got a lot of knitting done Saturday and Sunday. It was the perfect time to snuggle under a blanket in the recliner, find some episodes of a British comedy to watch (I'm currently working my way through past seasons of the British show "The IT Crowd," and to work on winter knitting.

I finished this cowl. The pattern is the "Nougat Cowl." I love the colors of the yarn, don't you? It reminds me of the changing leaves of trees in autumn (not that you'd know it, looking at the trees in my yard after our winter storm). This wasn't a Christmas gift. I took a quick break to knit this up for myself. When I saw one like it at my local yarn shop and found out they had some of the same yarn available, I just had to snap up a skein and whip one up, too. Now that it is finished, I'm working on a Boo Boo Bunny for little Luke. His sister, Mika, reminded me that Luke didn't have a bunny of his own. She was holding HER bunny at the time, which I had made for her when she was a newborn. That was all the incentive I needed to get busy on some knitting for baby.

Stay warm! Winter is obviously just around the corner.

Killer Apple Antics

2011-10-29T08:24:00.000-04:00

Every so often you stumble across something so funny you just have to share it. Today is that day, my friends. In keeping with the "scary" theme of Halloween and with a tip of the cap to someone who did a great job of musical editing, I give you......The Attack of the Killer Apples! Enjoy.

Freaky Friday Faves

2011-10-28T11:01:00.000-04:00

It's Friday again and if predictions hold, this could be the start of a "Freaky Weekend" so I'm calling this post, "Freaky Friday Faves." Yes, things are afoot for the weekend and I'm excited to see if they pan out. But more on that in a minute. Let's get started on five things that have or had me feeling blessed this week, shall we?

1. Our little Mika - Isn't she sweet as a daisy in this picture? It is always a joy to receive a weekly update on the grandchildren, especially since the update is accompanied by new pictures. I can't wait until she gets here for Christmas.

2. Our little "spud", Luke - Not to be outdone by his big sister, our grandson, Luke is getting cuter every day as well. From the pictures we've seen, he seems to be quite the smiley boy and I have a feeling that this is indicative of a good-natured personality. Boy, I can't wait to hold this little guy again.

3. It looks like the new iPhone 4s is on its way to our house. We got the notice yesterday that the Commander's new iPhone was enroute and due to arrive here today. Since we ordered both phones on the same day, I'm hoping that means that mine will also be delivered today although so far, I haven't received any email to that effect. Even so, I can live vicariously through his enjoyment of his new phone. At least I have my new iPhone case here and all ready for my phone, when it arrives.

4. Snow is in the forecast! Yes, you read that right, folks. They are predicting 3-6 inches of snow here in south-central Pennsylvania for tomorrow afternoon. This is October. If the snow arrives as predicted, it will be the earliest appreciable snowfall on record in this area. Could this be a harbinger of things to come this winter?

5. Bad A__ Housecleaning - No, that's not me. I just couldn't resist sharing this picture with you. A friend posted it on Facebook. I don't know who to credit the pic to (so sorry for that) but just love the humor. Wow, if I tackled my housecleaning like that, I almost think that dirt would cower before me, or at least run to the neighbor's house. Sadly, I haven't reached this level of cleaning yet.

Do you have some highlights to share for this past week? Why not blog about them and then jump over to Living to Tell the Story and click on Mister Linky to join the fun?

Pardon Me While I Locate My Brain

2011-10-27T16:42:00.000-04:00

"No, no....you DON'T want to keep going!"

Something happened on my way to visit my mom in the nursing home. I went one way and I think my brain decided to go a separate way. You see, I was driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike just one stop over from my town. It should have taken me about 20 minutes. Well, you know how your brain kind of goes on automatic pilot when you're driving sometimes? Maybe that's what happened.

"Maybe I need one of these smart cars to tell me what to do."

As I approached the exit, I noticed police cars set up at the exit ramp with flashing lights, a long line of cars and trucks sitting on the ramp and lined up all the way through the exit terminals and down to the road I wanted to go on, and a temporary electronic sign set up by the exit saying "Caution...accident. Expect long stops."

"No problem," I thought. "I'll just go on to the next exit and get off there and take the back roads over to the nursing home. That way I'll avoid getting stuck in this jam."

So I sailed right past the exit and got about 200 or 300 yards past it when I suddenly realized......oh, no......I'm on the Turnpike, not Interstate 81. The next exit isn't one mile down the road. It's 22 miles down the road. It's like being in a cattle chute. You can't just turn around and head back. You have to stay the course and keep on going until you reach the next official exit before you can loop around. It wouldn't have been so bad except that it was a gray, rainy day, most of the leaves have already fallen off the trees, there was a mist hanging around so that there wasn't even much of a view to see, and I had lots to do at home.

I called the Commander to get some sympathy. "Hey, it could be worse," he said. About 10 minutes later, he called me back. "Where are you?" he asked.

"I'm heading back now. I finally made it to the next exit," I replied.

"Oh, too bad," he answered. "I was just thinking that you might want to take Route 11 back when you get off the Turnpike because the exit you want will probably still be blocked."

He was right, of course, but it was too late to do anything about it. I did the logical thing. I sailed past the exit I wanted AGAIN and just headed on home. I'll try again tomorrow.

"Hey, brain....where in the world are you?"

Guess my brain was lost in space today. Thankfully Mom wasn't expecting me so she wasn't disappointed. Luckily, I had gassed up the car the other day, too, because my tank had been rather low. Let's hope I can figure out what road I'm on by tomorrow. Oy!

Disguised as a Book

2011-10-26T17:24:00.000-04:00

BookBook Case for iPad

Wow, this company ships quickly! I ordered my BookBook cases on the 24th of October and they arrived today, the 26th of October. Talk about a pleasant surprise. Let's take a look at the iPad case, shall we?

Here is what the case looks like before you put the iPad inside it. There is a leather thong-type strap that hooks around a leather circle. There is an elastic strap on the top of the side where your iPad goes as well as two leather tabs on the bottom that the iPad slides into. The inside is a nice soft suede that provides a non-scratch surface that won't damage your iPad screen.

Here is how it looks with my iPad inside the case. I had to take my Smart Cover off the iPad but all that means is that I have to put it to sleep myself now and not expect it to go to sleep automatically like it used to when I'd close the cover.

BookBook case set up as Stand

When you want to use this case as a stand, you slip the top of your iPad out of the elastic and take the leather strap out from behind the iPad. It sounds fussy but indeed, it is a very quick operation. Now you put your iPad back under the elastic and then fold your case open, taking the leather strap around, under, and back to the little circle thing (sorry, I don't know what the official name for it is), and then adjust the angle you want for the stand before wrapping the strap several times around the circle to secure your stand.

iPad in Upright Stand Position

Reverse the procedure when you are finished using your iPad in the "stand" postition. When you aren't using it with the "no-hands" approach, you can just hold it like you would a book on your lap and it will stay open while you manipulate your screen as normal.

BookBook case Spine

Put your iPad in sleep mode or turn it off when you're done using it and zip up your case and this is the end result. It looks just like a book. How cool!

BookBook iPhone case

I also got my case for my new iPhone 4s (which still hasn't arrived). I wanted to show you how the two cases compare in size. If you've ever seen a pocket-size New Testament, my new iPhone case is about the same size.

Waiting for my new phone

Now I just have to get my new phone and then I'll take out the "dummy" filler and slip that baby in my new case and put a few credit cards and my driver's license on the other side and I'm good to go. Oh, guess I'd better slip a twenty in there as well, in case I get hungry for a snack.