Day 2 Of Posting from Voodoo - Things Are Working - My Guru Will Work on My Main Computer Tomorrow

So, here we go again, Day 2 of my laptop for my daily post instead of my main computer. This SUCKS, especially on a swimming day when my time is already constricted. I spoke to my Computer Guru yesterday morning, and I'll bring the main computer over to him so that I can drop it off around 8:00 am tomorrow morning - just before he heads out to take care of the horses. I'll pick it up later in the day (I hope). I really want my main computer back - it's a lot easier to post my daily blog with it than with Voodoo. 

My main computer isn't too different than what is 
pictured here. A lot of tower, a lot of different 
drives, and an interior with several fans to keep 
the components cool while it's on. It needs a good 
cleaning too, and Dale has all of the equipment to 
do a great job with that once he's got the side 
plate removed. 

Still, at least I have options, and that's a great thing. And it's the holiday season which means we're busy at the shop. I was busy with customers all day yesterday - DH helped every now and again, but mostly it was me and them. Fortunately, I rarely had more than two at a time, but we were both kept hopping - people trying to finish up holiday gifts that they are making for family or friends. 

I can't thank those of you who have been kind enough to 
send me holiday cards enough. It's these bright reminders 
of friendship from across the world that keep my heart 
warm in the darkest days of winter. I'm honored that you 
took the time and effort to send them my way. 

I've received several lovely holiday cards, and wanted to send a shout-out and "Thank You" to the following people: Alexcat, my High School friend Pam in Denver, Sam in Nebraska, Shiremom and the wonder dog Pippin, a new friend this year - Adopted Writer, and of course a fabulous 3-D card from my writing friend Tinnean. 

It's good to get used to using my newer Adobe 
Photoshop for my photos, but I'm not always 
thinking really clearly in the early morning, 
and often operate on finger memory. Using the 
different Photoshop version I have on the 
laptop requires me to actually think before 
I work with the photos. LOL Using my brain! 
Who would have thought? LOL

So, since it's a swimming day and my time is constricted (and I'm working on the laptop - a LOT more work for the same result), I'm wrapping this up and moving along with my day. Have an excellent Tuesday and I'll be back tomorrow. Just as rushed, but hopeful that I'll have my main computer back by Thursday morning. Slava Ukraini. 

Winter in Paradise - Learning Curves All Around

Today, (with the exception of a little grocery shopping and dropping some packages off at the Post Office), I will spend working on my Etsy stuff. I have a few questions and I'm actually going to phone them because I need some immediate answers regarding one particular issue. Things are progressing fairly well, though. I have a firm idea of how I need to handle the Swarovski crystals, and although it will be time-consuming, I'm pretty sure I'll get the hang of it soon. The laptop and I will be getting a bit of a workout today. 

I redid the photographs for my 8mm Swarovski cubes 
last week. This is the first page of six, and I'm quite 
happy with the results. They're really awesome when 
they're on the Etsy pages - bright and brilliant. I did 
receive a cell phone mount for my tripod earlier this 
week, so if I need to do more photos, it'll be a bit 
easier now. But these aren't bad. 

I'm 75-80% happy with my new phone. I love the battery life, the basic structure and the way it works (although it took a few days of learning how it communicates). What I'm not fond of is a common complaint - I'm not fond of how well it attaches to the internet. I got much better linkage through the old phone, at least sometimes. Baast seems more sporadic. (Of course, I named her after the Cat Goddess, so having things sporadic shouldn't be a surprise.) But also, it is a 5G phone operating on a 4G network, and the performance may change once Verizon rolls out their 5G to all areas, and discontinues their 3G at the end of the year. In any case, it's not so bad that it's worth returning the phone. I've just noticed it from time to time, so it's sporadic. There's a lot of good, and the bad is quite minimal. And, I have a functional phone, and that's the most important thing to me. 

I'm quite happy with my Google Pixel 6. I'm 
sure I chose the right phone. It's comfortable 
in my hand and not so different to use that 
I'm messing things up all the time. Of course 
there is a learning curve, but after several 
days, I'm feeling much more confident. 

I purchased a pop-out holder for Baast, but I'm not sure I'm going to keep it. The major problem I have with it right now is that the phone doesn't fit into my car's cell-phone stand while I have the pop-out attached to the back. I have a different cell phone holder for my car that I'll be putting on when the weather isn't as cold, but I'm not sure that will work any better. I can test that out today since I have the new holder sitting by my side in the computer room waiting until Spring. 

Of course I had to get an Egyptian themed 
PopSocket for Baast, and I chose this one - 
Isis, in her eternal glory. It's actually quite 
lovely, and I enjoy it, I'm just not quite 
sure if a PopSocket is what I want to use. 

In general, however, I'm reminded once again of how much I enjoy using a Google phone. On average, I get 5-10 spam phone calls a day. My phone is getting really good at intercepting them, allowing the caller to leave a message if they choose, and then disconnects them. Automatically. It's a total joy. I'm not even interrupted by a ring tone in most cases. I can look back over my phone log and it's populated in reds and oranges for suspicious calls. There might be one or two voice mails of an average 30 second duration that I can easily listen to and delete, and the calls I actually need are passed through immediately without interference. 

The other style of cell phone holder I've been 
looking at are the ring-style - either one or 
two rings. These are nice because they have 
a tighter profile than a pop-style of holder 
does, so it would be more likely to have 
less problem in my car cell-phone holder. 
For now I'm using the PopSocket, but that 
may only be for a month or two. 

I'm going to wrap this up and get going. I have quite a lot to do today and there truly never seems to be enough time. I hope you have an excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. Maybe it will even be a little warmer, after all, it's a scintillating 5 F (-15 C) right now . Winter in paradise ... LOL. 

Cooking, Project Runway and A One-Year Anniversary - Life Is Good

Yes, it's cold, -12 F (-24.4 C) as I type this, but that doesn't matter at all. I've already set up my laptop for today's cooking class - no forgetting or missing the time today. The class starts at 10:00 am and I think it's scheduled for an hour. I'm just going to watch and take copious notes, and I hope there will be a full recipe to print out afterward. My pork tenderloin is in the refrigerator defrosting. I'd like to make the dish later today, but I don't want to try to cook at the same time as watching. I know I'm slow in the kitchen, and I want to make sure I have the recipe correct before trying it. 

Today's cooking class is Harissa Lamb Kebob with Ratatouille, 
something totally new for me. I'm looking forward to it. I adore 
cooking shows in general, but they usually aren't detailed 
enough to actually take notes. I'm hoping there will be an 
actual recipe to download, and that if I take good notes, I 
can make this (although I'm using pork instead of lamb). 
At any rate, it looks tasty.  

It's also Friday, so I'll be watching the replay of last night's "Project Runway". It's down to five designers now, and they're all quite talented, and very different in vision and technique. It's been a wonderful season thus far, and I'm very grateful for Peacock because watching it on Fridays on Peacock has been an excellent option. 

I've been a Project Runway addict for many years now, and 
this season is no exception. No doubt that Christian Siriano 
is the most successful of the winners, but several other winners 
and some competitors, are actually doing fairly well in the 
fashion industry. I love the challenge of the whole thing. I 
admire the skills that each of the competitors have. There's 
no way I could put something beautiful together and have it 
fit wonderfully in the time frame they have for each challenge. 

It occurred to me last night, that I've had VooDoo for almost a year now. It might be a few more days before the actual anniversary, but it's pretty darned close. I can't imagine being without it now. I have no camera on my desktop computer, and the thought of having to have done WildFit or other Zoom calls with only my phone available is horrific. I like the larger screen and the built-in camera on VooDoo. I could improve things by having an external camera, but really - I don't think it's necessary at all. Perhaps I should buy it a cupcake with a candle and sing "Happy Birthday"? LOL

Last year, and continuing on into this year, has been a 
year of self-improvement and exploration. MindValley has 
been instrumental in this quest, and I'm happy to have 
found them. I'm in my second year of membership 
now, and there are more classes I want to take. I'm behind 
on almost every class, but the most important one - 
WildFit - has changed my life forever, so it's a total win 
for me. 

What an eventful year it has been! I started by getting VooDoo, then I joined MindValley. Through MindValley I found WildFit, and then, at the end of the year, the swimming pool finally reopened and I got back into the pool. I was able to go to the State Fair once again, and see my dear high school friend and sister Sharon back in her room down my hallway. I attended the Renaissance Festival's belated 50th Anniversary and finally got a new corset - something that's been on my list for more than three years. I got my tattoo - my Winged Scarab and Solar Disc featuring the Eye of Horus. I also made broad steps into closing the store later this year (at least, I'm leaving the store at the end of August, if all things work out). DH might stay another few months to get more things cleared out before locking the doors for good. 

It looks as if I got VooDoo right around 
the 25th of January last year. So yes, 
it's almost a year. I can't imagine being 
without it now. It's been a wonderful 
laptop to have and has fulfilled my 
expectations. 

I'm going to try my best to enjoy today despite the cold. I have a lot of things on my agenda besides the two computer sessions, so I won't be bored at all. Have a truly excellent Friday and I'll be back tomorrow. Try to be kind, think before you speak, and spread love. We all need more love in our lives. 

Zoom Calls, Tattoos and Video Technology - Such Exciting Times We Live In

I posted that WildFit had pulled away from their partner and moved back to a solo venture. This was relatively sudden, and as Eric said, doors were slammed on the way out, making some things a bit more "challenging". Yesterday's Zoom call was one of those challenges, but we persevered. 

There's nothing much more frustrating than trying to 
join in a Zoom meeting and not having the ID code 
to enter into this screen. It's almost as bad as black 
screen on your computer. So frustrating. I did get in, 
after a couple of minutes, but there were some people 
who missed the meeting entirely. 

Normally we would log on, enter our code, and be connected with the rest of the Tribe members and moderators. Since this breakup, the codes we had didn't work. There were a lot of us posting asking for the codes since we couldn't get into the chat room. Finally, following this or that link finally succeeded and I was one of several hundred to make it to the final chat. I was still seeing people questioning about the codes late last night as I shut down to go to sleep. 

This scarab tattoo is quite nicely done. I'm choosing 
my tattoo artist because of his artistry in black and 
white and skill with skull tattoos. I like the basic 
lines of this, but not the body of the beetle. I want a 
bit more white-space in the body. 

Although there will be a "techniques" video session next Wednesday, there won't be another live interactive meeting until the 16th, so there will be plenty of time to spread the new codes out to the Tribe as a whole. I'll miss the secondary video on the 9th because I'll be meeting with my tattoo artist about my skull tattoo. Some things are just more important than videoconferencing. LOL

This is closer to what I want, although I suspect this 
is just the line work for this tat and that the artist 
still had at least one more session planned to do 
fill-in work and maybe color work. 

Of course, I've been using my new laptop for all of these video calls. It has a camera, and up-to-date software, so it's much easier than using my phone which would be my second choice. I'm really very happy with my laptop, using it every day. The one thing that hasn't been working correctly, however, is the Waycom pen. On the Yoga, the pen is integral. It slides into a slot in the casing and charges while the computer is on. When removed, it can be used for all of the things a digital pen would be used for - drawing, pointing, or (in my case) instead of the mouse when I'm in tablet mode. 

One of the nice things about my Lenovo Yoga 9 is 
that it can be used in so many different 
configurations. Usually I use it as a standard 
laptop with a mouse, but every once in a 
while I prefer Tablet or Tent use and usually 
then, I grab the pen (on the bottom left) to 
use with the touch-screen. My pen isn't 
recharging properly, so it's time to arrange 
for a replacement. 

My pen isn't charging properly. I finally dug my way through the multi-layered customer support features, found someone who actually knew something, and was given both a case number and the correct phone number for my higher level of support (I had paid for premium support when I ordered my laptop). I'll be calling that number today and arranging for a new pen to be shipped to me.  I'll be happy to return the defective pen to Lenovo, but I want one that works and charges properly. What a concept! LOL... 

Older Wonder Woman fans well remember Lynda Carter 
in that iconic role. This Deepfake video is one of the best 
I've seen, de-aging Lynda Carter and placing her into 
Gil Gadot's role in the more recent Wonder Woman film. 
The link is in the paragraph below, and it's well worth a look. 

I leave you with a video to watch. Fake videos are prevalent throughout the internet, but some are done better than others. This one, merging Linda Carter and Gil Gadot in "Wonder Woman" is beautifully done. For those of us who were fans of Linda Carter in the role, it's a wonder to see how she might have looked in the movie. Enjoy this video of fantasy, slightly more than five minutes long, and dream the dream. Enjoy and I'll be back tomorrow. Please be kind and stay safe. 

Dreams, Reality, and Kitchens

I had an entire post written and just deleted it. It was boring. It wasn't horrible, but damn it - why should I subject you to a boring post? Suffice it to say that yesterday was a fun day, I got a lot done, and my lunch was amazing. That'll do - I don't need many paragraphs to express that. 

To watch my Coach while cleaning veggies 
and using the blender, I chose to use VooDoo 
in tablet mode, standing like a tent. The pic 
in the upper right is how I had it set up. It 
worked great! 

I'm more and more impressed with my new laptop. Yesterday I used it in tablet mode, tented on my kitchen counter so I could watch my WildFit Coach, Monica, talk about how we, in WildFit, will deal with our time outside of the 13-week program. We got the first glimpse of how we will be able to schedule ourselves so that we can take a vacation; allowing ourselves much more food latitude, before returning home and moving back to a strict plan for a few weeks to get back into sync. All I know is I'm down 13 pounds and I feel amazing. So yes, I'll listen carefully to her advise. 

WildFit was a hope when I signed up for it more than ten 
weeks ago. It's turned into a promise - it works. I'm thrilled 
to be at a weight I haven't seen for more than a decade, 
and I'm learning not only how to get the weight off 
safely, but also how to keep it off and get it back off if 
necessary. Life isn't static, you can't have a food 
plan that doesn't take that into consideration. 

For a while there, my kitchen looked like a vegetarian's wet dream. Veggies were scattered over the counter and the glass stove-top. I was working the blender in one corner, had the laptop set up in front of the microwave, and was washing and packing up veggies in the remaining apace. I was grateful that this coaching call wasn't a live Zoom meeting (those are on Fridays). My kitchen was a mass of greenery, and I had the sink and the blender both working hard and making a lot of noise. But I got a lot done, was able to listen to the coaching session, and by 2:00 pm, the dishes were washed and put away and the floor had been swept, and the kitchen looked great again. 

I dream of a kitchen with lots of counter space and 
storage space like this one. But even if I incorporated 
my dining room into my breakfast nook and small kitchen, 
I wouldn't come close to this. I can dream, but this is 
one dream that won't ever come true. 

Do you have days like that? Days when your materials stretch across every surface and you're immersed in your tasks? I love days like that, no matter what I'm working on. I lose myself in the task and feel great when it is completed and everything is set back to 'normal'. It's a feeling of accomplishment. So, I guess at the end of the day yesterday, I felt like I had accomplished something on my "day off". I won't stop dreaming about a kitchen with more than two square feet of work-space, but I've learned how to work with what I have. Now to wrap this up and start my day. Please be kind, stay safe and please wear your mask. I'll be back tomorrow. 

I'm Melting - Not Really, It's Still -13 F, But It's Getting Warmer

It's -13 F (-25 C) right now, a whole 5 degrees warmer than yesterday morning, and things will continue to improve throughout the week. By next week we'll be back into "normal" winter temps and I won't have to turn on the portable heater to keep my water pipes from freezing. That's the goal, now we'll see if Mother Nature will cooperate. 

We'll eventually get to the point where our ice will 
melt and Spring will return. That's out a few months, 
however, so right now we just want to keep the 
pipes from freezing. 

I tried to add DH to Voodoo as an alternate user yesterday because he wanted to do a few things on-line. Normally that wouldn't be a problem. On the one program that we share, he would just switch the user name and sign-in code to his instead of mine, and then he would be off and running. I guess Win 10 acts differently on this program, because instead of just changing the user name, he actually needs to have a totally separate account on the PC. Although I tried, it wasn't working properly, so I'll try and give it a bit more of a serious look today. It shouldn't be this difficult, so I'm probably missing an "I" to dot or a "T" to cross. 

The waterfall in the first photo is this 
stream on Greenland, caused by glacial 
warming. It's quite lovely, isn't it? That 
incredible blue in a sea of white. 

I ordered several e-books from Barnes & Noble last night, using my Holiday and Valentine's Day gift cards. This morning I had a message that the order "did not pass our order verification process". Needless to say, they will be getting a phone call from me today as soon as their phone banks are open. In the decades I've been buying B&N books and ebooks online with them, this is the first time I've had a message like this. At least I know what I ordered, so I can re-order them, but it's VERY annoying. Just one more thing, I guess. 

This glacial melt is from the opposite end of the world 
from Greenland. This photo is from Antarctica, where 
glacial melt is once again creating a stunning 
waterfall. Here you can see how the ice is undercut,
so the waterfall cascades out into the sea. 

I'm hungry, so I'm going to call this done, plug in photos, and start wrapping up my morning chores. Have a truly excellent day and remember, please, be kind, stay safe and please wear your mask. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Bundling Up (It's Cold Outside) and Learning New Tricks for This Old Dog

With the exception of a quick run to the grocery story, I'm hunkering down at my knitting machine today - determined to conquer that second sleeve so that I can do the neckline and assemble the sweater. I have another sweater on my horizon and want to get started on it, so I need to make serious progress today. Of course, I don't want to go outside anyway - it's cold, and tomorrow will be even worse. After all, I'm still above zero right now (6F/-14.4C) - it's a heat wave - LOL. We're going to be sub-zero overnight and barely above zero during the days until the 14th! I'll be grabbing my scarf to add that one more layer of protection between my face and the cold, for sure! 

I'll be as bundled up as this woman from Philadelphia. I've 
got my long, warm parka, I'll probably reattach the 
hood, and I'll absolutely be wearing my scarf and hat 
(and gloves - absolutely necessary). I always feel guilty 
about having to keep my car outdoors during the days at 
the shop, but there's nothing to be done about that. 

I spent most of yesterday afternoon downloading and installing the Adobe Photoshop Elements program I had purchased for my laptop. I've used regular Adobe Photoshop for more than a decade - love the program - but it's evolved since the last version I currently run, and I had to make decisions when it came to programs for Voodoo. So, Photoshop Elements was what I picked. I use Photoshop every day, and not having a program available isn't an option. Now I get the learning curve for another version and that may drive me a bit crazy - LOL. 

Photoshop vs Photoshop Elements - Elements automates 
a lot of the photo editing process. Is that good? It's not 
bad ... as long as it's still something that I can control. 
I've used Photoshop since the early 2000's, but I'm 
open to change (and I don't have a choice - LOL). 

I also purchased Microsoft Office 365 for Voodoo, but installed that right away. That gives me my Word, Excel and Publisher programs, as well as other things that I really don't use. Of course these are all newer updates than what I've used for years, so again ... a learning curve. 

The life I'm leading is certainly nothing like I had 
imagined while I was growing up. But I really didn't 
have an overriding goal in mind. I think I wanted to 
be comfortable and experiment with art, and I've 
managed to do that. I guess I achieved my goal. 

Remember when you thought when you graduated from (insert grade or school here) you'd know everything you needed to learn and could just forge ahead in your chosen career? What a bunch of hooey!!! You're never actually finished with your education. There's always something else to be learned - a new technique, a new program or a new skill. I guess my computer is keeping me young, because once again there's a ton of things to learn. 

We never truly stop learning new things. I think that's 
one thing that helps us stay young. I'm looking forward 
to learning how to use my new programs because I need 
to have them nailed before I upgrade our older desktop 
computers. 

On that note, I think I need hot tea and oatmeal. Stay warm, be kind, stay safe and please, wear your mask. As long as I don't turn into an ice statue, I'll be back tomorrow.