Monday, June 22, 2015

My Summer Complaint

It’s hot! I just looked at the outdoor thermometer, and it reads 100 degrees in the shade. Oh, it’s also almost 5:30 pm. Now that’s hot.

In fact, it’s so hot that I have had to alter my lifestyle a bit. I am not a morning person. I usually wake very early, but I stay in bed reading or on the computer until 7 or 7:30 am. It just takes me a while to get moving. These days I have to hit the pavement for my daily (well, almost daily) walk by 6:00 a.m., the coolest part of the day. I have to admit that it’s quite pleasant to be out before sunrise and not having to deal with the sun in my eyes. (Bright light bothers me a bit now.) No one else is out except the people who leave for work early, but the birds are very chirpy early in the morning. So it’s me, the birds, and an audio book. Not bad.

Mr. Fixit had a scan this morning. We’ll get the results this coming Friday.

Monday, June 15, 2015

I Love YouTube!

I’m still on my “cozy” mystery kick. Yesterday’s selection featured a yarn shop setting. I found a knitting term that I had never seen before. At 3:00 am I was researching “umbrella swifts.” After a short time I realized that I recognized the item, but I hadn’t known the name. It a mechanical yarn winder. I had seen them somewhere but didn’t know how they worked.

Next stop—YouTube. There are several videos instructing us  of limited  knowledge the proper use of umbrella swifts and yarn winders. There are even instructions for constructing one. I made sure to show Mr. Fixit that one. I hope he got the hint.

YouTube is one of the wonders of the internet. I don’t care what you need to learn how to do, someone has done it before and made a video.

Our older son works in the R & D in computer stuff (that’s a technical term), but he has several rental properties and has flipped a few houses. He does most of the never-ending repairs and remodeling. I asked him once, “How do you know how to do all this electrical and plumbing work, laying floors, car repair, etc., etc?

His reply, “YouTube.”

It’s an absolute wonder!

Wednesday, June 3, 2015

Odds and Ends from My Camera

Occasionally I’ll see something and think, “I could use that as blog material.” I grab my camera and take a photo. Nine times out of ten I’ll delete the pics without using them. Today I was checking to see if there was anything worth saving on the camera—there wasn’t much. But there two that I decided to use.

My printer and I had a run-in the other day. For several days I had been receiving alerts saying that any ink spraying from the cartridge could be cleaned up with a wet cloth. I couldn’t understand why I should be getting that particular alert. I had no ink spray. I checked the inside and saw nothing. It’s pretty dark in there. After a few days I grabbed my handy-dandy purse flashlight and took a better look. Yes, indeedy, there was black ink. Following the instructions, I got a wet paper towel and proceeded to put my had inside the printer. I was working blind. When I pulled my hand out, it was covered with black ink. “No sweat,” I thought. “They said it would clean up with water.” I immediately washed my hands, transferring some of the ink from my left hand to my right.

Guess what. It’s can only be cleaned up to a certain point. This is the way my hand looked for a couple of days. I looked like a mechanic who had just finished removing the head gasket for a car. It took a couple of days  to disappear completely. I walked around for those few days  with my hands fisted.squirrel 001

The printer is now awaiting a trip to the electronics bin at our recycling center.

A couple of months ago while I was having breakfast on the deck, I saw a squirrel with a white tail running down the street. It was unusual. I saw one more time another day, but then it disappeared. I didn’t have my camera with me either time. My phone doesn’t zoom enough to have used it.

This morning as I was walking, I saw it again. I managed to get into the house, get the camera, and get back outside before he disappeared again.

squirrel 003 

Click on the photo to enlarge it enough to see my little furry friend. I should have cropped the dead peonies at the bottom of the picture. Oh well.

Monday, June 1, 2015

Media Priorities

Today in our little town, Sen. Lindsey Graham announced his plans to run for President. It was quite a big deal in here in Central, SC. Our local media provided coverage of the event.

While I am not a supporter of Sen. Graham, I was a little surprised by our local NBC affiliate’s web page just after the announcement was made. The first story listed was not about a South Carolinian running for the office of President, but it was an article about Caitlin Jenner (once known as Bruce Jenner) and his reassignment surgery. As a matter of fact, Sen. Graham was the third story.

While I am not a supporter of Sen. Graham, I do believe that his announcement was a bit more newsworthy than that of the personal life of a former world class athlete.