mecometer ~ instrument for measuring length
You know, it’s all about the baby steps. I bought myself a couple of little notebooks to write stuff down in so I don’t forget stuff, now I just have to remember to make use of them. You know, like writing down ideas for my Monday blog post. *sigh*
I’m starting to wonder if we’re ever really going to get spring. We’ve had the odd good day, but never more than two in a row. Lately it’s been cold and rainy, and some parts of Ontario got snow yesterday - including us. Granted ours was a really wet snow that didn’t stick, but still ...
However, that’s not stopping the grass from greening up and the leaves from unfurling on the trees. I see tulips and daffodils blooming in other people’s gardens (I don’t have any myself). But because of the up and down weather my sand cherries didn’t bloom this year and I still don’t have my roses uncovered. Nor my wild flower seeds planted, although the planters they’re going in are set up along the deck and filled with dirt.
Another sign that spring will find a way ... I saw Daphne’s babies yesterday. I was sitting at the dining room table watching a couple of mallards wandering around the back yard when I realized Daphne was swimming in our pond instead of the pool. Then I realized there were about half a dozen little ducklings milling around in front of the pond. By the time I’d got to the window to have a better look, the whole lot of them disappeared under the fence at the back of the yard.
I’m finally getting back into the writing groove, albeit slowly. At the very least I had enough words in to make my wordage report worth while. If you’re interested in how I did, you can check it out on my Other Blog.
And the truly amazing part about getting so many words in is the fact I’ve been on a bit of a reading binge lately - four books in four days. I really, really have to make time to start updating my Goodreads list. I started out at the beginning of the year swearing I was going to update at least once a month; I’m only five months behind so far.
Saturday night there wasn’t much of anything on television (even with all those extra channels we have now) so the hubby looked through our DVD collection and found a monster movie we hadn’t seen yet. He suggested that we make this a regular thing, watching our B movies on Saturday night for my review on Wednesday.
As I discovered last Wednesday, it’s hard to review a movie you saw months ago. Kind of like trying to find something to say about a book you read months ago. Which is a real shame because we’ve seen a plethora of really, really bad movies so unless I see them again, I probably won’t be including them.
This means my Wednesday posts will be as much of a surprise to me as it is to you. So be sure to check back for my review of ... War of the Monsters. Ooo, scary!
May 15, 2016
May 11, 2016
White Zombie
Some movies are so bad they’re good, and some movies are just ... bad. My husband and I enjoy watching them both and I thought it would be fun to share the best of the worst. So without further ado, here’s my bad movie review of the week. I leave it up to you to decide whether the movie is bad, or just the review. ;-)
With zombies being so popular right now I thought, what better movie to start my movie reviews with than the very first feature length zombie movie, White Zombie?
This movie was released in 1932, and for all you youngsters out there that means it’s in black and white. And no, colorizing it would not improve it. This movie features Haitian zombies, not the rotting flesh zombies that are so popular today, and the zombie master, Murder Legendre, was played by the king of the horror flicks, Béla Lugosi.
A young woman named Madeline (played by Madge Bellamy) arrives in Haiti to be reunited with her fiancé Neil (played by John Harron). Apparently on the voyage over, she met plantation owner Charles Beaumont (played by Robert Frazer) who insists that the young couple get married at his estate. On their way to this estate they witness a burial at a crossroads, which is supposed to prevent the deceased from becoming a zombie.
Of course Beaumont is hopelessly in love with Madeline and enlists the aid of zombie master Legendre to make her his. The young couple get married and during the wedding feast, Beaumont slips her a potion that makes it appear that she’s dead. Later, he and the zombie master steal her body and turn her into a zombie. When the distraught Neil goes to visit her tomb and finds her body missing, missionary Dr. Bruner (played by Joseph Cawthorn) helpfully tells him about how Legendre has been turning people into zombies.
Meanwhile, Beaumont is having second thoughts and goes to Legendre’s castle to get him to reverse what he’s done to Madeline. Not only does Legendre refuse, but Beaumont realizes the zombie master is trying to turn him as well. Neil and Bruner arrive at the castle to rescue Madeline and Legendre uses his mind control to make her try and kill Neil. Bruner manages to knock Legendre out and the zombies he had going after the men walk off a cliff instead. Then Beaumont and Legendre struggle on the same cliff and they, too, fall to their deaths. With the death of the zombie master, Madeline is freed from her living death and is reunited with Neil.
It’s a low budget film and it shows. By current standards the effects in this movie might seem a little tame, mostly atmospheric lighting, but when you consider the age of the film, it’s actually kind of interesting. Talking movies had only been around for about five years when this movie was made and they made good use of music, like drums, and spooky background noises.
It’s been a while since I’ve watched this, and what I remember most is the really demented looking “head zombie” and the way the filmmaker kept focusing on Béla Lugosi’s eyes. He’s got the creepiest eyes ever. And I have to say, the thing that ruined it for me was the way Dr. Bruner kept asking if anyone had a light for his cigarette, even during the final clinch between Madeline and Neil.
You know what? You don’t need me to tell you whether this movie was good or bad, you can check it out for yourself:
Hope you sleep well tonight!
With zombies being so popular right now I thought, what better movie to start my movie reviews with than the very first feature length zombie movie, White Zombie?
This movie was released in 1932, and for all you youngsters out there that means it’s in black and white. And no, colorizing it would not improve it. This movie features Haitian zombies, not the rotting flesh zombies that are so popular today, and the zombie master, Murder Legendre, was played by the king of the horror flicks, Béla Lugosi.
A young woman named Madeline (played by Madge Bellamy) arrives in Haiti to be reunited with her fiancé Neil (played by John Harron). Apparently on the voyage over, she met plantation owner Charles Beaumont (played by Robert Frazer) who insists that the young couple get married at his estate. On their way to this estate they witness a burial at a crossroads, which is supposed to prevent the deceased from becoming a zombie.
Of course Beaumont is hopelessly in love with Madeline and enlists the aid of zombie master Legendre to make her his. The young couple get married and during the wedding feast, Beaumont slips her a potion that makes it appear that she’s dead. Later, he and the zombie master steal her body and turn her into a zombie. When the distraught Neil goes to visit her tomb and finds her body missing, missionary Dr. Bruner (played by Joseph Cawthorn) helpfully tells him about how Legendre has been turning people into zombies.
Meanwhile, Beaumont is having second thoughts and goes to Legendre’s castle to get him to reverse what he’s done to Madeline. Not only does Legendre refuse, but Beaumont realizes the zombie master is trying to turn him as well. Neil and Bruner arrive at the castle to rescue Madeline and Legendre uses his mind control to make her try and kill Neil. Bruner manages to knock Legendre out and the zombies he had going after the men walk off a cliff instead. Then Beaumont and Legendre struggle on the same cliff and they, too, fall to their deaths. With the death of the zombie master, Madeline is freed from her living death and is reunited with Neil.
It’s a low budget film and it shows. By current standards the effects in this movie might seem a little tame, mostly atmospheric lighting, but when you consider the age of the film, it’s actually kind of interesting. Talking movies had only been around for about five years when this movie was made and they made good use of music, like drums, and spooky background noises.
It’s been a while since I’ve watched this, and what I remember most is the really demented looking “head zombie” and the way the filmmaker kept focusing on Béla Lugosi’s eyes. He’s got the creepiest eyes ever. And I have to say, the thing that ruined it for me was the way Dr. Bruner kept asking if anyone had a light for his cigarette, even during the final clinch between Madeline and Neil.
You know what? You don’t need me to tell you whether this movie was good or bad, you can check it out for yourself:
Hope you sleep well tonight!
May 9, 2016
Mythopoeic Monday
mythopoeic ~ giving rise to myths
The best laid schemes ...
... o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!
~ from To a Mouse, by Robert Burns
You know, I really have to stop making plans for my weekends. It seems like every time I look forward to a weekend and have big plans for it, something happens that throws a monkey wrench into the works.
This weekend the hubby was away at a bowling tournament and I had plans to get all kinds of things done. I had a list, damn it!
About mid-morning on Saturday I started getting a headache. It wasn’t too bad, so I just ignored it. I don’t know if things would have played out differently had I not tried to ignore it, but by lunch time it was getting serious. I tried coffee, I tried Advil, I tried a nap. I even went out to run a couple of errands thinking the fresh air might help. It didn’t.
So then I tried coffee, Advil, and napping all at once and by supper time (a late supper) I was starting to feel human again. But by then it was too late. My whole day was gone and I had precious little to show for it. *sigh*
And unfortunately, there was no catching up on things on Sunday either. There was a brunch with the in-laws and an unexpected trip to the city. And of course it was family dinner night too.
But ... the weekend wasn’t a total loss. I did get to cross a few things off my list, one of them being changes to my Other Blog. I cleaned up the side bar and removed the A to Z post I had pinned to the top of the page. You can read about the rest of the changes HERE.
There’ll be a bit of a change here as well. I’ve been wanting to do a bit more with this blog for a while now, and I’ve been tossing a few ideas around. Despite the fact I’ve been reading more, I did not want to do a book review thing. Been there, done that, still getting my email spammed with offers for free books in exchange for review. Trouble with that is they’re seldom books I’d care to read.
But one of the things the hubby and I enjoy is movies. Specifically, bad movies. A couple of people have suggested I should review some of these movies and I kind of like the idea. So starting this week, I’m going to designate Wednesdays as my bad movie day. So be sure and come back to see what movie is first to get the honour.
And now, just because I can, I’m posting a picture of my mother’s day present:
For anyone who’s interested, the tea in the cup is Bear Trap, an herbal tea from David’s Teas. I’m not normally one for herbal teas, but this one’s pretty good. It’s even better as an iced tea.
Sometimes being a mom is a great gig. ;-)
The best laid schemes ...
... o’ mice an’ men
Gang aft agley,
An’ lea’e us nought but grief an’ pain,
For promis’d joy!
~ from To a Mouse, by Robert Burns
You know, I really have to stop making plans for my weekends. It seems like every time I look forward to a weekend and have big plans for it, something happens that throws a monkey wrench into the works.
This weekend the hubby was away at a bowling tournament and I had plans to get all kinds of things done. I had a list, damn it!
About mid-morning on Saturday I started getting a headache. It wasn’t too bad, so I just ignored it. I don’t know if things would have played out differently had I not tried to ignore it, but by lunch time it was getting serious. I tried coffee, I tried Advil, I tried a nap. I even went out to run a couple of errands thinking the fresh air might help. It didn’t.
So then I tried coffee, Advil, and napping all at once and by supper time (a late supper) I was starting to feel human again. But by then it was too late. My whole day was gone and I had precious little to show for it. *sigh*
And unfortunately, there was no catching up on things on Sunday either. There was a brunch with the in-laws and an unexpected trip to the city. And of course it was family dinner night too.
But ... the weekend wasn’t a total loss. I did get to cross a few things off my list, one of them being changes to my Other Blog. I cleaned up the side bar and removed the A to Z post I had pinned to the top of the page. You can read about the rest of the changes HERE.
There’ll be a bit of a change here as well. I’ve been wanting to do a bit more with this blog for a while now, and I’ve been tossing a few ideas around. Despite the fact I’ve been reading more, I did not want to do a book review thing. Been there, done that, still getting my email spammed with offers for free books in exchange for review. Trouble with that is they’re seldom books I’d care to read.
But one of the things the hubby and I enjoy is movies. Specifically, bad movies. A couple of people have suggested I should review some of these movies and I kind of like the idea. So starting this week, I’m going to designate Wednesdays as my bad movie day. So be sure and come back to see what movie is first to get the honour.
And now, just because I can, I’m posting a picture of my mother’s day present:
For anyone who’s interested, the tea in the cup is Bear Trap, an herbal tea from David’s Teas. I’m not normally one for herbal teas, but this one’s pretty good. It’s even better as an iced tea.
Sometimes being a mom is a great gig. ;-)
May 2, 2016
Monophagous Monday
monophagous ~ feeding on only one type of food
So ... I'm sitting here and it's Sunday night, and it's after midnight and I need to come up with something to post about and ... I'm coming up empty.
It could be because I'm tired, it is after midnight, or maybe the well has finally run dry. I don't know. But I do know I'd better come up with something tonight because I'm not going to have time to finish this in the morning. At least not first thing in the morning.
****Almost as soon as I typed that last night, I realized trying to keep going was an even worse choice. I would have ended up staying up too late, which meant I would have got a late start to my morning, which would have thrown my whole day off, which would have made me even crankier than a normal grey, dismal Monday morning would have. So ... better late than never****
Okay, I'm on a tight schedule today. If I don't get this post finished and up in the next half hour, then I might as well just skip it because I won't have any time until around 4.
I have to chuckle at the irony of this. I did almost as many posts on my Other Blog during the month of April as I've done in the last two years total on it, and yet I'm stuck for just a single post here for the day.
But the challenge is over - no more trying to come up with a post based on a letter of the alphabet each day. I'm hoping to make a few changes, as in posting a little more often to both my blogs, maybe add a couple of new features. Ideally that's something I should have been working on over the weekend, but ... Saturday just kind of disappeared on me, and yesterday it was grey and dismal and I drove to the city for some much needed shopping therapy. ;-)
I actually had a lot of fun with the A to Z Challenge. Would I do it again? Maybe. If I was more prepared. I've done it a couple of times in the past, but this year it was kind of a last minute decision. I think to be successful this has to be planned for ahead of time. I spent way too much time on my blog posts, leaving me not enough time for my blog visiting.
I still have about 50 blogs on the list to visit, which is pretty good considering how long that list is. And the list is still there if you're curious. Just got to the A to Z Challenge and scroll down a little for the links.
There was a wide variety of blogs out there with an amazing range of topics, and a lot of talented bloggers. There were blogs with photos that are just breath-taking, gaming blogs, cooking blogs, family history blogs, blogs with stories, blogs with information ... and I've bookmarked a bunch of them to go back to.
I wish I could have commented on everyone's blog, but that just wasn't possible. Mostly I commenting on the writing blogs, because that's where my own interests lie, but there were a few others that were so great I just had to say something.
If I do it next year I'd like to keep track of my stats, even if it's only for my own use. Things like the number of blogs visited, the kinds of blogs there are, if the person appeared to forget they'd signed up, how easy they were to navigate ... I have to admit, if a blog was taking too long to load, or it was confusing or I had to really search around for the posts, I skipped it. And I didn't like the ones with the popups to sign up for a service or newsletter.
Hmm, I wonder if I could do an A to Z based on the bloggers that signed up for it? Now there's a thought! LOL
So ... I'm sitting here and it's Sunday night, and it's after midnight and I need to come up with something to post about and ... I'm coming up empty.
It could be because I'm tired, it is after midnight, or maybe the well has finally run dry. I don't know. But I do know I'd better come up with something tonight because I'm not going to have time to finish this in the morning. At least not first thing in the morning.
****Almost as soon as I typed that last night, I realized trying to keep going was an even worse choice. I would have ended up staying up too late, which meant I would have got a late start to my morning, which would have thrown my whole day off, which would have made me even crankier than a normal grey, dismal Monday morning would have. So ... better late than never****
Okay, I'm on a tight schedule today. If I don't get this post finished and up in the next half hour, then I might as well just skip it because I won't have any time until around 4.
I have to chuckle at the irony of this. I did almost as many posts on my Other Blog during the month of April as I've done in the last two years total on it, and yet I'm stuck for just a single post here for the day.
But the challenge is over - no more trying to come up with a post based on a letter of the alphabet each day. I'm hoping to make a few changes, as in posting a little more often to both my blogs, maybe add a couple of new features. Ideally that's something I should have been working on over the weekend, but ... Saturday just kind of disappeared on me, and yesterday it was grey and dismal and I drove to the city for some much needed shopping therapy. ;-)
I actually had a lot of fun with the A to Z Challenge. Would I do it again? Maybe. If I was more prepared. I've done it a couple of times in the past, but this year it was kind of a last minute decision. I think to be successful this has to be planned for ahead of time. I spent way too much time on my blog posts, leaving me not enough time for my blog visiting.
I still have about 50 blogs on the list to visit, which is pretty good considering how long that list is. And the list is still there if you're curious. Just got to the A to Z Challenge and scroll down a little for the links.
There was a wide variety of blogs out there with an amazing range of topics, and a lot of talented bloggers. There were blogs with photos that are just breath-taking, gaming blogs, cooking blogs, family history blogs, blogs with stories, blogs with information ... and I've bookmarked a bunch of them to go back to.
I wish I could have commented on everyone's blog, but that just wasn't possible. Mostly I commenting on the writing blogs, because that's where my own interests lie, but there were a few others that were so great I just had to say something.
If I do it next year I'd like to keep track of my stats, even if it's only for my own use. Things like the number of blogs visited, the kinds of blogs there are, if the person appeared to forget they'd signed up, how easy they were to navigate ... I have to admit, if a blog was taking too long to load, or it was confusing or I had to really search around for the posts, I skipped it. And I didn't like the ones with the popups to sign up for a service or newsletter.
Hmm, I wonder if I could do an A to Z based on the bloggers that signed up for it? Now there's a thought! LOL
Apr 25, 2016
Metoposcopy Monday
metoposcopy ~ fortune-telling or judgement of character by the lines of the forehead
The weather was so beautiful last week that for the family dinner on Sunday I decided we should barbeque our pork chops, which meant salads to go with them. And of course after spending my morning making a potato salad, pasta salad, and broccoli salad, the weather turned cold and overcast. *sigh*
We still barbequed of course - it would take more than a little cold to prevent that - but it would have been nice to see a little sun. And it was cold enough Sunday night that the heat came on a few times. Guess Mother Nature isn't as done messing with us as I thought.
The hubby asked me to install the program that came with my printer on his laptop last week because he wanted to play around with the CD labelling feature (my printer prints directly onto CDs). Of course this being me and my life, finding the disk with the program on it is a story in itself - I actually found it by accident when I was cleaning out a desk drawer yesterday. So I installed the program without a hitch, and of course being printing software it sent a test page to the printer.
Now if you recall, when the cable company callously made me replace my router with their modem/router combination, I had to re-setup the wireless printer. And because I didn't do it myself the first time and my printer could sense an amateur at work, it gave me all kinds of trouble, culminating in it printing everything I sent it twice.
I have a theory about this. I don't know if it's because of the TiVo or the phone, but we're actually running two networks - a 2.4G and a 5G (whatever the heck they mean). The installer said to run off the 5G whenever possible but my laptop can only find the 2.4G.
I'm pretty sure the printer is connected to the 5G network and so is the hubby's laptop. So it should come as no surprise that the test page sent by his laptop only printed once. And pretty quickly too. Granted his is a brand new laptop and mine is at least five years old, but still ... I'm thinking it might be time to get an external hard drive to backup my laptop onto and then have it checked out thoroughly by the computer doctor.
The desktop in my office is six years old as well, and it's pretty much a crap shoot whether it's going to work properly or slowly on any given day. Ah, technology.
*shakes head sadly*
Much to my surprise I'm still on track with my posts for the A to Z Challenge. Still way behind on the blog visits though, I'm a little over halfway through the links list. But at least I caught up on visiting the blogs of the wonderful people who've left comments on my posts. :-)
This is the last week and I'm kinda glad. I took up the blogging challenge to give my writing a boost, and in that I've succeeded. However, between coming up with a daily post and all the blog visiting, I don't really have any time for anything else.
I have ideas for posting at least twice a week on both my blogs, I'm actually looking forward to getting some editing done, and I have some ideas I'd like to develop on a new book series. Not to mention I want to get going on the next book in the Moonstone Chronicles.
So ... lots of plans, now I just have to find the time. LOL
The weather was so beautiful last week that for the family dinner on Sunday I decided we should barbeque our pork chops, which meant salads to go with them. And of course after spending my morning making a potato salad, pasta salad, and broccoli salad, the weather turned cold and overcast. *sigh*
We still barbequed of course - it would take more than a little cold to prevent that - but it would have been nice to see a little sun. And it was cold enough Sunday night that the heat came on a few times. Guess Mother Nature isn't as done messing with us as I thought.
The hubby asked me to install the program that came with my printer on his laptop last week because he wanted to play around with the CD labelling feature (my printer prints directly onto CDs). Of course this being me and my life, finding the disk with the program on it is a story in itself - I actually found it by accident when I was cleaning out a desk drawer yesterday. So I installed the program without a hitch, and of course being printing software it sent a test page to the printer.
Now if you recall, when the cable company callously made me replace my router with their modem/router combination, I had to re-setup the wireless printer. And because I didn't do it myself the first time and my printer could sense an amateur at work, it gave me all kinds of trouble, culminating in it printing everything I sent it twice.
I have a theory about this. I don't know if it's because of the TiVo or the phone, but we're actually running two networks - a 2.4G and a 5G (whatever the heck they mean). The installer said to run off the 5G whenever possible but my laptop can only find the 2.4G.
I'm pretty sure the printer is connected to the 5G network and so is the hubby's laptop. So it should come as no surprise that the test page sent by his laptop only printed once. And pretty quickly too. Granted his is a brand new laptop and mine is at least five years old, but still ... I'm thinking it might be time to get an external hard drive to backup my laptop onto and then have it checked out thoroughly by the computer doctor.
The desktop in my office is six years old as well, and it's pretty much a crap shoot whether it's going to work properly or slowly on any given day. Ah, technology.
*shakes head sadly*
Much to my surprise I'm still on track with my posts for the A to Z Challenge. Still way behind on the blog visits though, I'm a little over halfway through the links list. But at least I caught up on visiting the blogs of the wonderful people who've left comments on my posts. :-)
This is the last week and I'm kinda glad. I took up the blogging challenge to give my writing a boost, and in that I've succeeded. However, between coming up with a daily post and all the blog visiting, I don't really have any time for anything else.
I have ideas for posting at least twice a week on both my blogs, I'm actually looking forward to getting some editing done, and I have some ideas I'd like to develop on a new book series. Not to mention I want to get going on the next book in the Moonstone Chronicles.
So ... lots of plans, now I just have to find the time. LOL
Apr 18, 2016
Muriated Monday
muriated pickled; preserved
Well ... I guess Mother Nature got over her snit, because by the end of last week there was no ice on the pool when I got up in the morning and the weekend was absolutely gorgeous. AND I have two little green shoots coming up in the front garden.
Speaking of gardens ... I don't know if you're aware of the crisis regarding the falling numbers of the bee population, but there's a big push on for everyone to plant wild flowers. I was looking at our patio area and started thinking, and then I remembered the long planters my mother-in-law had at the cottage (we used to call them her horse troughs) and then I asked the hubby what he thought of the idea of building a planter along one end of the patio for wild flowers.
To my surprise, he liked the idea. In fact, he even suggested we border both open sides of the deck with planters. And to save time, because it's still bowling season so he wouldn't have time to build me planters for several weeks, he gave me the green light to buy ones. So, guess what I'll be doing next weekend?
You know, unless it snows or something. ;-)
I had a friend come over for coffee on Sunday, so naturally I had to go on a baking binge. Saturday I baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, molasses cookies (they're kind of like gingerbread), and chocolate drop cookies. Then Sunday I had a brain fart or something and baked a cranberry oatmeal bread, an apple oatmeal bread, and some cranberry/apple mini muffins. I don't know how much I expected my friend to eat, but she had plenty of choices. ;-)
Surprisingly, at least to me, I'm still on track with the A to Z Challenge. Well, at least as far as the posting goes. I'm still way behind on my blog visits, but you can read about it on My Writing Journal.
The hubby got his lap top connected to our wireless network - and without my help. Colour me impressed! I'm still having problems with the printer, but it's no big deal to print from my office.
Funny story. I got the desktop computer in my office connected with a wireless adaptor, which of course plugs into a USB port. Despite the fact I have like 7 USB ports on this computer, I also have a Tardis USB hub (because the Tardis is cool!). So I plugged the adaptor into the hub because it was on top of the computer.
What I'd forgotten is that the Tardis came with sound. Specifically, the same sound Doctor Who's Tardis makes. And my Tardis made that sound every time the light on the adaptor blinked. Which was pretty much all the time. And did I mention the blue light on top of the Tardis blinked at the same time?
So yeah. I had to move the plug to the back of the computer. :-D
I had one little change to make to our channel lineup at the beginning of the week and now everything seems to be fine. *knock on wood* And now ... I'm being forced to learn how to use the TiVo because I'm babysitting tonight and I don't want to miss Supergirl and Scorpion. Yes, I could probably watch them at the daughter's house, but with the way my luck runs I'll have to leave right in the middle of the good part.
Wish me luck!
Well ... I guess Mother Nature got over her snit, because by the end of last week there was no ice on the pool when I got up in the morning and the weekend was absolutely gorgeous. AND I have two little green shoots coming up in the front garden.
Speaking of gardens ... I don't know if you're aware of the crisis regarding the falling numbers of the bee population, but there's a big push on for everyone to plant wild flowers. I was looking at our patio area and started thinking, and then I remembered the long planters my mother-in-law had at the cottage (we used to call them her horse troughs) and then I asked the hubby what he thought of the idea of building a planter along one end of the patio for wild flowers.
To my surprise, he liked the idea. In fact, he even suggested we border both open sides of the deck with planters. And to save time, because it's still bowling season so he wouldn't have time to build me planters for several weeks, he gave me the green light to buy ones. So, guess what I'll be doing next weekend?
You know, unless it snows or something. ;-)
I had a friend come over for coffee on Sunday, so naturally I had to go on a baking binge. Saturday I baked oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, molasses cookies (they're kind of like gingerbread), and chocolate drop cookies. Then Sunday I had a brain fart or something and baked a cranberry oatmeal bread, an apple oatmeal bread, and some cranberry/apple mini muffins. I don't know how much I expected my friend to eat, but she had plenty of choices. ;-)
Surprisingly, at least to me, I'm still on track with the A to Z Challenge. Well, at least as far as the posting goes. I'm still way behind on my blog visits, but you can read about it on My Writing Journal.
The hubby got his lap top connected to our wireless network - and without my help. Colour me impressed! I'm still having problems with the printer, but it's no big deal to print from my office.
Funny story. I got the desktop computer in my office connected with a wireless adaptor, which of course plugs into a USB port. Despite the fact I have like 7 USB ports on this computer, I also have a Tardis USB hub (because the Tardis is cool!). So I plugged the adaptor into the hub because it was on top of the computer.
What I'd forgotten is that the Tardis came with sound. Specifically, the same sound Doctor Who's Tardis makes. And my Tardis made that sound every time the light on the adaptor blinked. Which was pretty much all the time. And did I mention the blue light on top of the Tardis blinked at the same time?
So yeah. I had to move the plug to the back of the computer. :-D
I had one little change to make to our channel lineup at the beginning of the week and now everything seems to be fine. *knock on wood* And now ... I'm being forced to learn how to use the TiVo because I'm babysitting tonight and I don't want to miss Supergirl and Scorpion. Yes, I could probably watch them at the daughter's house, but with the way my luck runs I'll have to leave right in the middle of the good part.
Wish me luck!
Apr 11, 2016
Monocarpic Monday
monocarpic ~ producing fruit only once
I think the above picture pretty much sums up why Mother Nature and I are no longer on speaking terms. I don't think the duck is all that happy with her either.
While we didn't get the massive snowstorm the weatherman was warning us to expect yesterday it was still pretty darn cold and we did get some snow last night. And he may be promising warmer temperatures and sunshine towards the end of the week, but I'll believe it when I see it. Just like those storms in the winter we never got. In fact, I'm pretty sure we've had more snow this spring than we did all winter.
Surprisingly, I'm keeping up with my blogging for the Blogging From A to Z Challenge, but boy am I glad we have Sundays off - I needed the break. I am behind on my blog reading for the challenge though. By my calculations, I should have visited almost 700 blogs by now and at last count I was just over 400. What surprises me is the number of blogs I've gone to where the blogger appears to have forgotten they signed up for the challenge.
I'm still having problems with the commenting - usually the WordPress blogs. Some days I'm able to comment, but most days it lets me go through the process and my comment just doesn't appear. And yes, I admit I don't comment on every blog I visit. Sometimes the post just doesn't appeal to me, and quite honestly commenting is really time-consuming, which makes it all the more frustrating when I make the effort and my comment doesn't show up.
In any case, I've found a lot of great blogs and the best ones I've bookmarked so I can return to them later. If you'd like to follow my progress, check out my other blog, My Writing Journal.
Last Monday, in a plan designed to save us some money, the hubby and I had our phone switched over to our cable service, where we already had our internet and television. And while we were at it, we got a TiVo receiver and changed our channel package. It was a good move ... in theory.
First, the installation process. Our living room is at one end of the house, my office is at the other. I need internet access in my office, so that's where the modem was, along with a router so my lap top and printer could connect wirelessly. I knew the phone would need a modem of its own, but since that was the end of the house where the cable came in, I figured it would be no big deal.
What no one told me was that that TiVo needed internet access too. And the installer couldn't figure out how we got our internet cable from one end of the house to the other in our mostly finished basement. So ... he installed the combination router and modem in the living room. Not only do I have to buy a wireless adapter for my desktop computer, I could no longer use my own router, which meant I lost the connection to my wireless printer. *sigh*
And let's talk television. Before he left, the installer showed me how to access the TiVo with the remote, and then referred me to some on-line videos that would show me how it worked. And then I tried to watch TV, specifically, the Space Channel. We were supposed to have basic cable and then 40 channels of our choosing. What we had was basic cable. One phone call and two hours later, I had the channel situation straightened out. Or so I thought.
The next night we discovered another channel was missing from our lineup. This only took about 45 minutes to fix. Then last night we discovered yet another channel missing, so I spent the next hour selecting every channel above basic cable, one by one, to see which ones we were getting and which ones we were not. We were getting 8 channels we didn't ask for and were missing two we did ask for. Unfortunately, by the time I had the chance to call tobitch at complain, it was too late. I'll have to do that later today.
Meanwhile, I was able to get the wireless connection to the printer going again, but for some reason it's printing everything twice. And it takes the signal forever to get to it. Now the printer is physically plugged into the desktop computer, so maybe once I get the wireless adapter for it the printer will behave. Or maybe I have to get a signal booster.
All I know is, this all better be worth it in the end.
I think the above picture pretty much sums up why Mother Nature and I are no longer on speaking terms. I don't think the duck is all that happy with her either.
While we didn't get the massive snowstorm the weatherman was warning us to expect yesterday it was still pretty darn cold and we did get some snow last night. And he may be promising warmer temperatures and sunshine towards the end of the week, but I'll believe it when I see it. Just like those storms in the winter we never got. In fact, I'm pretty sure we've had more snow this spring than we did all winter.
Surprisingly, I'm keeping up with my blogging for the Blogging From A to Z Challenge, but boy am I glad we have Sundays off - I needed the break. I am behind on my blog reading for the challenge though. By my calculations, I should have visited almost 700 blogs by now and at last count I was just over 400. What surprises me is the number of blogs I've gone to where the blogger appears to have forgotten they signed up for the challenge.
I'm still having problems with the commenting - usually the WordPress blogs. Some days I'm able to comment, but most days it lets me go through the process and my comment just doesn't appear. And yes, I admit I don't comment on every blog I visit. Sometimes the post just doesn't appeal to me, and quite honestly commenting is really time-consuming, which makes it all the more frustrating when I make the effort and my comment doesn't show up.
In any case, I've found a lot of great blogs and the best ones I've bookmarked so I can return to them later. If you'd like to follow my progress, check out my other blog, My Writing Journal.
Last Monday, in a plan designed to save us some money, the hubby and I had our phone switched over to our cable service, where we already had our internet and television. And while we were at it, we got a TiVo receiver and changed our channel package. It was a good move ... in theory.
First, the installation process. Our living room is at one end of the house, my office is at the other. I need internet access in my office, so that's where the modem was, along with a router so my lap top and printer could connect wirelessly. I knew the phone would need a modem of its own, but since that was the end of the house where the cable came in, I figured it would be no big deal.
What no one told me was that that TiVo needed internet access too. And the installer couldn't figure out how we got our internet cable from one end of the house to the other in our mostly finished basement. So ... he installed the combination router and modem in the living room. Not only do I have to buy a wireless adapter for my desktop computer, I could no longer use my own router, which meant I lost the connection to my wireless printer. *sigh*
And let's talk television. Before he left, the installer showed me how to access the TiVo with the remote, and then referred me to some on-line videos that would show me how it worked. And then I tried to watch TV, specifically, the Space Channel. We were supposed to have basic cable and then 40 channels of our choosing. What we had was basic cable. One phone call and two hours later, I had the channel situation straightened out. Or so I thought.
The next night we discovered another channel was missing from our lineup. This only took about 45 minutes to fix. Then last night we discovered yet another channel missing, so I spent the next hour selecting every channel above basic cable, one by one, to see which ones we were getting and which ones we were not. We were getting 8 channels we didn't ask for and were missing two we did ask for. Unfortunately, by the time I had the chance to call to
Meanwhile, I was able to get the wireless connection to the printer going again, but for some reason it's printing everything twice. And it takes the signal forever to get to it. Now the printer is physically plugged into the desktop computer, so maybe once I get the wireless adapter for it the printer will behave. Or maybe I have to get a signal booster.
All I know is, this all better be worth it in the end.
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