It's a Weekend of New Equipment - TV's and the Treadmill

We'll do anything for hockey, including rewiring existing TV's and purchasing new ones, if needed. LOL In this case, we did both. DH rewired the upstairs TV and determined the downstairs TV needed to be replaced. After a lot of looking, DH finally decided on a small Westinghouse TV, which will arrive at the shop today (it was only $13.99 for overnight shipping, so why not?). He can fuss with getting that set up in the computer room, and do whatever prep work he needs to do for it during the day today and do the actual install tomorrow. But tomorrow he also wants me to teach him what to do with ... 

Here's my old treadmill, folded up and ready 
to be taken away. It served us well for more 
than 20 years, but finally gave up the ghost. 
It's been more than three years that I've been 
without a treadmill, and my doctor is insistent 
that I needed that type of exercise to help my bones, 
so I caved and bought a new treadmill at 
the State Fair. It was VERY expensive, but 
very worth the expense. 

The treadmill. Yes, it arrived yesterday and it's BEAUTIFUL. It actually takes up almost the exact same area and length that our NordicTrack took, but with a LOT more bells and whistles. It took the two guys, who were VERY experienced in set-up, a bit more than an hour to take away my old treadmill and assemble my new one. There is one back plate that had incorrect screws and they immediately ordered that part to be shipped to me, (no charge of course), assuring me that the install of that part was minimal effort (very true) and that the electrical board it covers was sealed, so dirt wouldn't be an issue either. 

Here's my new treadmill, all set up and ready to go. It 
took the guys a bit more than an hour to get it all put 
together. I'm not sure if DH and I would have EVER been 
successful at doing it - there were definitely some 
tricky parts and these guys were experts. They said they 
had put together a LOT of equipment for the State Fair 
booth, and it showed. They knew what they were doing 
every step of the way. 

Later in the afternoon, after an afternoon of frenetic cooking: (1) Ogre Juice for my nest week's lunches, (2) baked fruit for my breakfasts - 12 containers worth, (3) honey roasted baby carrots - so nummy; I decided a trial run was called for. That required digging into my closet for my old gym bag, retrieving exercise clothes I haven't worn for several years. 

Of course, the clothes had been washed, I wasn't about to put on scuzzy clothing. I always washed them after every week's exercise sessions - usually two times a week. Then I had to hunt for my shoes - that was more difficult. I actually didn't find my shoes until this morning, substituting a second set (not as comfortable) for my initial treadmill try out. 

There are a ton of virtual trails available for the 
treadmill. I've started out just random choices, but 
I'll soon be downloading specific ones. I'm still just
 getting started - two miles yesterday, 1-1/2 mile 
today. I'm VERY happy. 

The machine itself had been automatically uploading and updating throughout the afternoon. I had connected it to the WiFi almost immediately after the guys left in the morning, and the first thing it wanted to do was update. So, I let it do its' thing, and it uploaded and installed new updates for a couple of hours before it was well fed and happy. I logged myself in as a user, set up my personal profile, and decided to start with "Virtual Trails" - a scenic run through various areas around the nation. I notice it has Spotify, so I'll load in my password for that and get some decent music down the line too. But, I did two miles yesterday, and another 1-1/2 mile today, so I'm very pleased. I like it! My doctor will be delighted, and my bones will probably be very happy as well. 

It's a Day Off But It'll be a Busy One

I'm totally off schedule today - doing my blog at 6:15 am is EXTREMELY late. But I was up quite late watching the four-hour History Channel documentary about D-Day. I was glued to the TV for that one. If you didn't see it, put it onto your MUST SEE list. It was all actual taped words from D-Day soldiers mouthed by actors chosen for their resemblance to those actual people. If the language wasn't English, it was subtitled, because it was always spoken in the original language - French, German, English, etc. It was a phenomenal show - kept both DH and I enthralled and glued to the TV set, but it was a long show, and I ended up going to bed two hours after my usual time. 

Apparently there was an archive of never-listened to audio 
tapes from D-Day survivors that the producers listened to, 
clarified, and then melded together into a four-hour 
outstanding documentary. If you get a chance to see this, 
it's well worth the seeing and absolutely glues you 
to the TV set. 

So, I set my alarm for 5:00 am instead of my normal 3:30 or so, did a quick, but thorough meditation, and here it is, 6:15 am, and I'm getting a short blog up for all of you before diving into what will probably be a very busy day. I know I'll be making Ogre Juice, I only have tomorrow's portion in the fridge and need four more for next week. I'm also going to see about working on cleaning the siding on the house - at least for the front entry. Now that the bird nest is gone, and DH finally attached the upper hose for me, I can get to work on the siding and make the house look lived in and welcoming. 

I bought one of these from Amazon a month or so ago, 
and used it to get rid of the robin's nest and crap 
around my front entry area on Wednesday. It works 
really well - almost as good as my actual pressure 
washer, without the muss, fuss and weight of the 
larger machine. It just attaches directly to your garden 
hose and you control the type of spray and 
when you're spraying very easily. Highly recommended. 

I have a bunch of computer work to do today also, so I'll be working on that inside. I'm also going to try to spend some "me" time outdoors. I'd really like to enjoy some of our summer weather while we have it. So, on that very short and rushed note, I hope you also have a lovely day and that you have the opportunity to spot something beautiful around you - something that will make you happy that you're part of this day on this world in this universe. Be kind, be "good", and Slava Ukraini. I'll be back tomorrow. 

August is Slipping Away!

Good morning and Happy Monday. It's the start of a new week, and on Sunday, we'll be at the Renaissance Festival for opening weekend. DH and I worked on the house yesterday, he had a bug up his ass to clean the craft room. As usual, my loom was an item of contention, but I returned it to the place it had resided before I had started to work on it again, and it seems happy there. I'm not 100% pleased to have it off my work desk, but it does allow me to clean and put away the materials that have gathered there since I put the loom up more than two years ago. (It's a VERY slow project!). 

I try to be very conscious about keeping trash minimal 
and recycling as much as possible. I know I'm not as 
good as many people, but I'm pretty consistent. 

I cut up a bunch of boxes. It's a good thing this is a recycling pickup week because I'll JUST (maybe) have room for my kitchen recycling bag to go into the bin before wheeling it to the curb on Wednesday morning. This week I have to concentrate on two things - working on the website for DH, and getting Sharon's room habitable once again. I doubt she'd like to share her bed with my Mom's dresses and their rack, so those need to get moved. 

Although I do the traditional "Spring Cleaning", the end 
of summer "Fall Cleaning" that I do is always my major 
annual clean. In part it's because Sharon is visiting and 
I want a clean house for a guest, but I also like having a 
clean house every now and again before we mess it all 
up again. 

I have a bit of time before Sharon gets here. I've done a lot of cleaning, but there's still quite a bit more that should be done. Some people do Spring Cleaning. I do some, of course. The dirt of winter needs to be pushed out of the house, and I do. But my major clean is always my Fall Cleaning for when Sharon comes to visit. It's my opportunity to do a deep clean on my house, and I take full advantage of it. 

Zahn McClarnon, Hunkpapa Sioux, plays the main 
character, Joe Leaphorn, in "Dark Winds". He's a 
good looking man, and an excellent actor, but he's 
not Navajo. He just looks wrong for the part. Those 
of you familiar with "Longmire" may recognize 
him from that. 

DH and I finished the night off by watching an episode of "Lewis" and then "Dark Winds". DH and I both enjoy Tony Hillerman books - DH is a bit obsessed, rather like I am with Tolkien. I hadn't watched the show before. DH was complaining about having a Lakota as the star - acting as a Navajo, and I admit, I have to agree. That's just really poor casting. They film the show in the Four Corners area, and I guarantee there would have been several excellent Navajo actors who could have played that role. Instead, they're all over the nation with tribes. The main character is Lakota, the secondary sidekick character is Kiowa. At least they have a lot of Navajo extras, and it was a lot of fun to hear the Navajo language again. It's a unique language, extremely complex and difficult to learn, which, when combined with their complex kinship system, sets the Navajo aside and apart from any other tribes. 

So, it was a relatively good day. I know we'll be regretting going to Renaissance on Sunday when we would much rather stay home, have a nice breakfast, and continue housecleaning. We'll see, but I suspect we'll be heading to Ren. It's tradition, LOL. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Stay-at-Home - Day 46 - A Return to a New Normal

I'm looking at my laundry basket, knowing that my washer is 1/2 flight down from my lower level. The problem with living in a four-level 1/2 split house is access when mobility is limited. Today I'm going to be stretching that because I need some clean clothes - I'm on my last set of underwear and I also want clean towels and shirts and leggings. So yeah - my choices are diminished. 

I love my Samsung front-load washer, even with the
various quirks that it has. I'm grown to depend on it
over the last few years and it does a good job. 

On a positive note, my knee scooter should be delivered either today or tomorrow (I'm hoping today, but it may be tomorrow). Tomorrow is a bit more difficult since I have to be at the doctor, then the bank, and then deal with a few mail orders at the shop before I can return home. I'm going to be driving all over the place and won't be home to accept a delivery. But, I registered on their website and I'll at least get a text when they are delivering the item. That might help. 

We're absolutely enthralled by the Brokenwood Mysteries, and delighted
to catch up on more episodes during another promotional
"Watch for Free" event. I have no idea how long this promo will
last, but I'm happy to take whatever I can. 

We're back into a promotional "free TV" event, and we've been continuing onward with "Brokenwood", which we adore. We're trying to get several episodes watched on an average day, and are almost finished with Season 4 of 6. It's such a great series - humorous and with good characters and plot twists. 

On that note, I'm going to try to get my laundry basket downstairs and start a load. Have an excellent Wednesday and I'll be back tomorrow - probably a late post tomorrow since my Doctor appt is scheduled for first thing in the am. As always, Stay Safe, Keep Social Distancing, and Be Well! 

Stay at Home - Day 10

Yesterday was a relaxing day - playing Lord of the Rings Online for most of the day and ending the day with a few marathon episodes of "The Brokenwood Mysteries", which are a pure delight. DH had seen this series before - a couple of episode in a late season, but I had never seen it. Our cable plan is giving us premium channels at no charge for April, so we immediately went on to Acorn and started binge watching Brokenwood. Of course, that led me to thinking about the New Zealand All Blacks rugby team, so before I went to sleep, I had to watch their Haka once again. It's always a thrill and delight. 

I'm a new convert to this series, so we're binge watching it, a
few episodes at a time. It's got a great cast and they work really
well together, and seeing the beauty of New Zealand is always
delightful to see. 

My loan officer needed an update on a single page of our application, so I got that done first thing this morning and scanned and sent off to her. I'm so grateful that we deal with a small bank - the service I've gotten for this loan application has been exceptional. I'm quite sure I wouldn't be as fortunate if I was with one of the major banks. 

I think the logo for the New Zealand All Blacks Rugby team
is one of the more beautiful logos. It's crisp and clear and
is totally theirs. 

My youngest niece messaged me this morning, asking how DH and I are holding up. It was really sweet of her, and it appears we're in the middle of a family round-table update that was also wonderful to read through. So far, everyone seems to be doing well. though, so once again, I'm very thankful. 

Even though I'm housebound, I'm still trying my best to
reach goals and not backslide too much. 

And, I managed to get a solid 1-3/4 miles in on the treadmill this morning, so I'm creeping back up to the two miles I have as my goal. Hopefully by the end of the week I'll be up to that. But if not, at least I'm getting my exercise and that's super important for physical and mental health. Goals are getting accomplished, despite the pandemic. 

Be sure to wear your mask and gloves. Stay healthy and
keep your eyes on the far goal. 

As always, I hope all of you are safe, healthy, and just going a little nuts with the movement restrictions in place. I plan to be back tomorrow, so have a wonderful day. 

Country Music - Not My Genre but What A Great Show

I guess the Emmy's were held last night. I didn't watch them. I was tied up with Ken Burns' new epic - "Country", and totally enthralled. I did see some of the outfits for the Emmys on-line this morning and I'll try to take a closer look today and perhaps share some with you later this week. But - "Country". It was mesmerizing. 

I'm not a Country Music fangirl, but I'm totally loving
watching this eight-part series by Ken Burns. 

I have to state off the front that I'm a Metal-head - not a country music fan. But I also have to be truthful and state that it wasn't always the case. I was a country fan for about three years perhaps a decade or a bit longer ago. I remember those days well. I also grew up with friends whose parents were country fans, so I was accustomed to the music as a younger child and young adult. I wasn't a fan, but I recognized the music as powerful. 

I remember this album in the living room of my best friend's
house on the Air Force Base. Her Daddy loved Country music
and was always playing it when I went to visit with her. 

Like most of Ken Burns' photographic docu-dramas, "Country" is filled with photographs with steller narration and on-point sound snippets and music. But country music is very much alive, and many of the movers and shakers within the genre are also very much alive, so in-person interviews and memories play an important role in this. I missed the first four episodes because of conflicts, but caught the fifth of eight last night. It was well worth missing a boring awards show to listen to music and memories from people who have helped shape our musical world so profoundly. 

I remember singing along proudly with Jeannie C Riler's "Harper
Valley P>T>A>" song when it crossed over the charts and became
a major hit on the popular music radio stations. It never really
occurred to me that it was a "country" song. 

Country music is a foundational music and an experiential music. It brings songs from the heart and from life, puts them into a musical framework, and throws that package out into the world where it will affect anyone who listens. It's not a genre-specific music - good songs cross over into the pop and sometimes rock-and-roll genres, and they can be played by hundreds of artists over long periods of years. I didn't listen to country music while growing up, but "Harper Valley PTA" and "Ode to Billy Joe" were certainly on the playlists of the pop station I listened to. I had heard of the big stars of country - Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Dolly Parton, Reba McIntyre, and others. I had gone to the theater to see "Coal Miner's Daughter" with my Dad when he visited me in the Twin Cities one year. It was a great movie to watch with him and we both enjoyed it. 

"Ode to Billie Joe" by Bobbie Gentry was a hit that crossed over into
pop culture in 1967. It was so popular and haunting that a movie was
made based on the song in 1976. 

Country music in the USA is pervasive. It might not be the hip-hop of LA, but the rhythms translate and the life stories trickle through all walks of life. Everyone can have a bad day or a bad experience. Everyone can be poor or unhappy. There's light at the end of that tunnel. Country music memorializes the walk to get from Point A to Point B and all of the various scenery along the way. The documentary is on for a few more nights, and if you can watch it, I recommend it. 

Happy Monday, enjoy your day, and I'll be back tomorrow. 

Thinking About Golf - My Ridiculous History With the Sport

Sunday was a combination of working in the yard and watching the final round of the US Open on the television. I was never a massive golf fan, but my mother-in-law loved watching the game and I started watching with her when I visited. I don't play the game - my "skills" at golf would leave the greens in terrible condition and the other golfers on the course rolling on the ground laughing hysterically. 

When I was working for a living as an Administrative Assistant, I
was also involved with a professional group called "Professional
Secretaries of America". We held a four-day conference at Maddens
Resort on Gull Lake, and I attended along with several friends.
It was a great place to stay and we had a blast between meetings. 

I recall one time when a friend of mine and I decided to play while we were away at a conference. The location was at one of the northern Minnesota resorts, quite beautiful with blue skies and a friendly breeze. We didn't have clubs, but it was a resort and we could rent some. So off we went onto the rolling hills and greens of Maddens Resort. They have four different golf courses, and honestly, I'm rather amazed we were allowed onto any of them. We were pathetic! 

Of course, we were slow as turtles, not the famous turtles at Augusta
National. Don't know about those turtles? They pretty much have the
run of that famous golf course and have been known to interrupt the
flow of some very famous competitions and some renowned golfers. 

We were slow, my friend and I. The goal for most par 3 holes is to get to the green in 1 stroke, 2 maximum. I'm pretty sure it took us 5 strokes to get there. I won't even think about the longer par holes. We had a great time, but we quit after nine holes. Our scores for the nine? We actually tied, and the score we had - a 72 - was the total par for the full 18 holes. We had achieved what possibly might have been the worst game ever played on that course. We laughed so hard, and decided that golf probably wasn't our game. 

Of course, snow golf does actually exist. Here we have two die-hard
golfers at Majestic Oaks. The ball needs to switch from white to
either yellow or red, but yes, some courses actually are open in the
depths of winter. At Majestic Oaks in Ham Lake, MN, you get a
club, a tennis ball, holes that are 6" diameter, and warm-up
stations with hot chocolate, all for $5. It actually looks like fun. 

As I grow older, though, I see the appeal of the game. Just getting outdoors for a few hours and actually exercising both through hitting the ball from point-to-point and from walking from hole to hole, it's actually a good thing. I suspect if I lived in a place that was warm enough for golf to be played year-round, I might look into it. Fortunately for everyone concerned, I live in the Frozen Northlands and golf is a sport that usually gets played for six to eight months a year. It would be hard to learn something and then have to put it back down again just to cross-country ski across those greens in the winter months. 

Augusta National Golf Course is iconic and fabulous and beautiful. Just
getting that green during our last bits of winter makes me smile. I
like living here in the Frozen Northlands, but by this time of the year,
we're always chomping for Spring to finally come to stay. 

So I suspect I'll continue to enjoy my golf via the televised version. For me, Spring always arrives with Augusta and the Master's Tournament. While we're fighting with the early spring or late winter weather, their flowers are blooming and their trees are fully leafy and swaying in the breezes at Augusta. Seeing that golfing event always gives me hope for the upcoming season. 

On that note, I'm wrapping this up. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. Now it's time to hit the gym and work off some of that excellent dinner DH put together for us last night - very yummy and WAY too many calories.  

Open That Closet and Don't Stumble (Much)

We're back into snow mode and that's OK, except for the fact that our snowblower seems non-functional and we're getting several inches of snow every 12 hours. This ends up requiring a lot of shoveling, so I've got less than 30 minutes to pull this together before leaving to shovel the driveway from our overnight flakes. Such is life, in a way. 

You can be multifaceted. The paints of your life always manage
to work together. I probably wouldn't paint a room with three
diverse colors like this, but I don't mind being a writer, a
shopkeeper and a metalsmith - three very different colors. 

In the nature of life, there always seems to be something waiting to be cleaned up, washed up, painted over or dusted. It's not so much housecleaning as life cleaning. It's not essential to wash the sheets and change the bedding every week, but it you don't actually open that internal linen closet, it's going to get musty and stale and when you finally pull out that clean sheet to put onto your virtual bed, it's not going to be much of an improvement. 

I can't even manage to think about how many hours I spend
practicing the cello. I certainly didn't want to practice every
day - I fought it as much as any kid who would rather be
outside playing with friends. But looking back, I'm really
happy that I stuck with it for as long as I did and that
I accomplished as much with my music as I was able. 

Maybe that's why we practice. Artists draw every day, musicians practice every day, writers write every day - motions frequently performed become habit. I like having a scheduled life with specific tasks to achieve by each day's end and many people share that comfort with me. It's when things pop up to throw off the schedule that challenge the mind. It's how those challenges are met that define the person. 

Stumbling blocks can be many things. Here, the policeman is
being tripped by the escaping criminal. Sometimes if there
are no stumbling blocks, we manufacture some. It's human
nature. 

How flexible are you to those stumbles that life throws at you? I'll be testing out personal scheduling boundaries today when I shovel early and when I have the cable TV tech invade my personal space in early afternoon (the cable box died yesterday morning - DH is aghast and it MUST be fixed or replaced ASAP). Do you open your mental linen closet often enough to keep things fresh? Do you practice your craft or do something you love every day? These are things that will keep you from going musty and old and it's never too late to begin a good habit. 

I think I'll have one day without snow today, but starting tonight we'll have another storm roll through with another 4"-6" of snow in the next 24 hours. It's OK, it's part of life. Roll with those punches and party on. Happy Wednesday - I'll return tomorrow. 

What Makes A Good Haunted House?

Once again, Chickie is taking a vacation day. This is Day 3 of 5, the 4th to be taken on Thursday. DH is calling this week "Hell Week" since he has to work four days. I guess that's understandable since he usually gets away with working two. Poor baby! ... NOT! 

Starring Claire Bloom and Julie Harris, "The Haunting"
kept me breathless and shivering. I loved the book and
I loved the original 1963 B/W movie. The remake
of 1999 was pretty awful. I've heard good things
about the modern Netflix series, but haven't seen it. 

I loved your varied responses to yesterday's post about horror movies. I totally agree with my friend who put the original "The Haunting of Hill House" at the top of her pile. That movie frightened me for days on end and I found it totally addicting and still watch the original when I can. I actually consider it more of a suspense movie than a horror film, but totally agree nonetheless - it's damned scary and so very well acted. I have read the book many times, but the remake of the movie was a total disappointment. They just didn't understand that slow build-up of suspense.

Does anyone else remember "Rose Red"? That
amazing house was the star of the show, but it
was mesmerizing. In the days of TV mini-series,
before the large range of channels currently
available, "Rose Red" was the conversation
around the office water cooler. 

"The Haunting", (which I believe was the movie title with the book adding the "...of Hill House"), had a fabulous copycat in 2002 called "Rose Red". Does anyone else remember this one? It was written by Stephen King and took place in a fictitious town in Washington state. A purportedly haunted house being investigated by a university doctor and a team of psychics. I loved the investigators, but more than anything, I loved that house. It was 'edge of your seat' scary and reminded me a lot of Hill House in that the house was very much a character and the star of the show. 

Those hollow bangs moving down the hallway in "The Haunting", and
Julie Harris' question of "...then whose hand was I holding?" along with
the doors creaking and trying to bend open, and the small whispers
seeking entry made for a winning haunted house movie. Even
on Top Ten Haunted House films lists, "The Haunting" comes in at
number one! 

I guess I just enjoy that slow build-up and when buildings themselves have presence and 'life?'. It's one reason why I enjoy "The Shining" so much, although I do class that as horror without reservation. Having old buildings contain soul - positive or malevolent - isn't a new trope. It's an established angle to horror and ghost stories for a long, long time. Probably before there were homes to be haunted, there were caves, and certainly there were haunted springs and waterways. But that's a different focus - that brings us back to Jason and Crystal Lake. 

Geez - for someone who really doesn't like horror films, I've managed to do two posts in a row with horror/suspense viewings as a focus. I guess, even though I may peek through my fingers, I actually enjoy the occasional fright. Have an excellent Tuesday, I'll return tomorrow. 

Out With The Old and In With The New - A Melodrama

We all start the day differently. For some people it's brewing a cup of coffee and looking out on the world, sniffing the fresh brew while watching the early morning sun creeping over the surroundings. For others, it's waking the kids and hopping into the shower before heading out the door to work. For a few people, it's probably both. For my DH, it's turning on the TV and sometimes the computer, then starting a cup of coffee brewing and hopping into the shower. By the time he's awake, often two TVs are on - upstairs and downstairs - and he's drying off at the computer with coffee at his right hand. He wakes up and turns on a TV, and goes to sleep by turning off a TV as the last thing before the lights go off. 

I like quiet in my mornings and if I listen to anything, I bluetooth
my Sirius subscription through my phone. Still, silence can be
golden and allows my thoughts to get into order for the day. 

I'm a bit different. I wake up and after morning hygiene, I settle myself at the computer. The TV behind me is off. The radio is off. in fact, any sound at all is off because I usually also have my computer sound (which I only access via headphones anyway) set to off. I enjoy relative silence without a lot of media throwing itself into my day. 

No TV for DH equates to "Mayday, Mayday ... the
ship is sinking! 

While at work yesterday I got a text from DH. Although it simply said that the upstairs TV was broken, underneath the mild words stood a larger statement. Something along the order of "My God! The TV is broken! How can I survive without my daily influx of constant news and stock market reports! The world itself is coming to AN END!!!" ... followed by a gasp and a collapse into uncontrollable tears. Melodramatic? Yes, but not too far off the mark - LOL. 

Oh no! The TV is broken! Whatever can be done???

I suggested that we could watch whatever was on our Tuesday schedule from the downstairs TV and go to Best Buy on Wednesday, choose a new TV, and have it set up soon. His reply to that? "I'm there." He was already at Best Buy, preparing to purchase a replacement TV. My reply was "OK then - go for it." 

He ended up with a 43" Samsung flat screen TV for
less than $250. It's a nice TV. He bought a sound bar
to go along with it because his hearing is so bad
that he wanted the extra control a sound bar brings. 

When I arrived home again, box parts were strewn across the bedroom, a new TV and sound bar were set up where the old TV had stood since March, 2004, the old behemoth TV was taking up a good chunk of the bedroom floor, and he was cursing at the controls because he didn't have the password for our home network. After I grabbed the code for him and learned how to operate the input device on the remote control, I got him set up and within 30-45 minutes, the new TV was functional and purring happily. 

It's going to take a while before he figures all of the controls
out on the new TV. The old TV was huge, clunky and heavy.
The new one is sleek and light-weight, but has a whole
new set of remote controls. 

DH wrangled the old TV into the back of Minion for a return trip to Best Buy. They accepted the old TV for recycling for a $25 fee - less expensive than anywhere else I knew of. After looking at other TV's he had looked at, we went to dinner at Olive Garden, picked up cupcakes for a late dessert (so late that they're actually going to be eaten today) and called it a night. The old TV had been ours for 14 years and 2 months. I'd say we got our money's worth from that set. 

Have a great Wednesday and enjoy your particular happy place this morning. DH will be happy because he has a new TV, I'll be happy because yet another crisis has been weathered. LOL. 

Cable Woes and Possible Resolutions

I'm feeling a bit better this morning - already lost four of the five pounds I gained from Sunday's food overindulgence. DH is probably still going to be cranky - he also gained five pounds but is probably still packing it on today. He also will have to deal with the Comcast cable tech today since our cable box finally gasped a death knell yesterday sometime during the day. Yes - we use cable. We like it, and we're old, so that's where it's at. 

We have a cable box that's similar to this, although much older. We
need a new one now - our box is kaput! 

Anyway, after getting home from work last night, DH wanted to check the stock market and he was sure that the financial channels would be doing some in-depth analysis or special reports on the drop in the market. But the main TV was suddenly only getting channels up to approx channel 25, no higher. The cable box has been slowly dying since last summer, but it picked a bad time to die. I spent a half-hour or so on the phone with Comcast, and they will be sending a tech out this afternoon to change the box to one that works (actually, we have three boxes and two of them are now dead, so they'll get to change over at least two of them later today). 

It's been nice to watch shows on my own schedule if I happen
to miss something. That hasn't been possible for almost a year,
so it will be great to have a cable box that actually works! 

I'm actually rather happy that this happened. We haven't been able to access our "on-demand" service for almost a year. I haven't had the time, inclination, or desire to disconnect the malfunctioning box and take everything to Comcast for replacement, so I'm more than happy that they will be coming here. DH can deal with all of this. Better him than me. 

DH has been watching this show for years (it's in season 5 now). This
is, supposedly, the final season, and it does seem that they are getting
close to a resolution of this 222-year-old mystery. It's modern-day
archaeology in near impossible conditions, and rather fun. The
episodes can be rather tiresome, though, throwing out small pieces
of information at a time. 

So, his afternoon is set, and hopefully when I get home from work tonight I'll have a DH who is in a much better mood. Or, at the minimum, I'll have functional TV's once again which will also make me happy. Now, if they could manage to resolve something or find something neat and kewl on "Curse of Oak Island" tonight, my Tuesday will be complete. LOL Have a great day and I'll be back tomorrow - cold and busy. 

A Relaxing Sunday of Discovery

DH and I had a lovely Sunday relaxing and watching a lot of National Geographic television. We got totally pulled into shows on what caused the death of Tutankhamun, what items truly were in his tomb and whether they were his or were hand-me-downs from other tombs, and also a wonderful two hours on locating the burial place of Genghis Khan and the history of China's First Emperor and his huge tomb. It was a day of relearning old facts and discovering new ideas. So fun! 

This death mask of Tutankhamun is the best known
of his artifacts. It features 20 pounds of gold and uses
lapis, turquoise and red carnelian (or agate) for the
colorful bands. It's had a rocky history but
hopefully will now be protected. 

Because I've been studying Egypt and the Pharaohs for what seems like my entire life, I couldn't miss new shows about Tut, but I had forgotten that Egypt was building the "Grand Egyptian Museum" which will open sometime in 2018. When? Well, that seems to be anyone's guess. The old Cairo museum is being emptied and everything on display, including a lot that had just been in storage because of lack of space, will be now displayed on exhibit within the bright, climate-controlled conditions of this new museum which is tucked into the Giza plateau. 

The Grand Egyptian Museum is located just 2 kilometers
from the Pyramids, on the Giza Plateau. It is expected to
have a provisional opening in May, but a firm date is still
unknown. Last week a huge statue of Ramses was moved
to it's new home in the Grand Egyptian Museum. 

Of course Tut is a major draw. Just that death mask would be enough to pull me there. But add in the more than 80% of the items from his tomb that have never been seen since their initial removal, and Egypt will set a magnet up calling me there. Of course that's all kinds of dangerous too, but I might take the chance within the next ten years or so. I've seen a lot of artifacts and several exhibitions on Egypt here in the USA; even followed one specific exhibit from Milwaukee to Denver to see it for several days in a row. I've flown to various cities to see Ramses and other Pharonic exhibitions and have loved each one. Spending a long time in the Grand Egyptian Museum should be phenomenal. 

The current Cairo Museum was built in 1902 and houses 120,000
artifacts, most of which are in storage. It desperately needed 
either an upgrade or full replacement, but Cairo is massive, and
finding room for a new building within the city was impossible.
Placing it closer to the Pyramids will increase tourism and it allowed
for a large, expansive building with climate-controlled storage for
the historic artifacts of this amazing region. 

So I'm dreaming once more - about travel, about Tutanhkamun, and about art - because it all comes down to the art. This coming Sunday won't be as relaxing. I'll be watching Super Bowl and trying to not eat too much during the game. But even if I do, there's always the pool waiting for me on Monday morning. Enjoy your day. I'm going to pepper this post with some photos, and then head out to swim my mile.