Things Giving Me Joy and a Garage Door Malfunction

Had a lovely update from my sister Starlet in Pine Ridge, South Dakota this morning. Her laptop had been broken, but is repaired once again and she sent a quick update on the family and what's been going on back on the Reservation. It really made my morning hearing from her again, and I sent her an immediate reply, catching her up on what's been going on here in the Cities. Hopefully we can get a bit better at staying in touch. Having her with a laptop helps a lot, since her phone is ancient and doesn't text well. 

I always love watching this video of Beethoven's "Ode 
to Joy" from his Ninth Symphony. It's such fun, and 
always leaves me moved because it's one of my absolute 
favorite pieces of music. I've put the link below in 
the paragraph in case you'd also like some Joy in 
your life today. 

An online friend sent me a link to a flash-mob performance of Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" just to spread some happiness. (Want to see it too? Here's the YouTube URL https://youtu.be/kbJcQYVtZMo ) I've seen it before, of course. Many times. But I always watch it completely through because I absolutely love it, and the music always makes me weep tears of happiness. There's nothing like Beethoven to make me transcend the small worries and embrace the greater view. I was addicted to Beethoven in my youth (and still am, to be honest), especially the 9th Symphony. I still count him among my top 10 at all times. 

Dusty Hill (on the left) was the bass player in 
the long-time Texas trio "ZZ Top". Best known 
for "Legs" and "Sharp-Dressed Man", they 
were a force in music for decades. 

Yesterday I heard that the bass player from ZZ Top died earlier this week, age 72. That's not too many years from where I am now. I have every intention of living until age 85 or longer, but it's still a bit scary when the ages of people passing get closer and closer to your own age. I loved ZZ Top - their music always made me smile. I'll play "Sharp-Dressed Man" today in his honor. 

I probably have at least one set of all of the above 
earphone/earbud styles. I really want a set of 
wireless earbuds that will settle down into my 
ears well and stay through activity. It may be an 
impossible dream, but I'll dream it anyway. I added 
a set of bone conduction transmitters for swimming 
coming in my latest Amazon order. I listen to audio 
books while in the water, and it's annoying when I 
can't hear well. I also like tunes every now and then. 

Apparently today is a day for music. I guess I'll fire up Spotify and listen when I can. I have a new set of earbuds coming, but the several sets I already have will work for the time being. I have weird ear canals, it's really difficult for earphones to fit properly, and it just doesn't make any sense to wear wireless ones when one or the other is always falling out. I have too many sets of earplugs I had high hopes for sitting in their boxes below my computer desk. It's not that they don't work, it's that they don't work for my anatomy. *sigh* But I live in hope, and I hope the new sets I've got coming will work better. 

This is NOT my garage door, but it's one that has a 
similar problem to mine. Our door is very old and 
very heavy. Mark (my garage door guy) has warned 
us that we'll have to replace it at some point, but 
we're trying to push that off as long as possible. 

On the home front, one of two cables that help raise and lower our garage door broke last night as I was closing the door after I got home. I immediately called Mark at our garage door repair company and he'll be here at 8:00 am (or slightly before) to get things fixed. I might have to go into work for a short time until DH and Mark are finished with the repair, but we'll at least need to get the door opened long enough for one (or both) of the vehicles to get out of there. Just one more thing! 

I'm out of here. Have an excellent day, enjoy yourself and spread some happiness if you possibly can. I'll be back tomorrow. 

I Think I Can ... But I'll Wait Another Week or Two

After loads of research, reading, reviewing and comparing specs, I think I've finally decided on a new laptop. A Lenovo Yoga 9i (15"). But I'm not ordering it yet. For one thing, once I've outfitted it the way I want it, it's over my budget so I have to think hard before buying. For another thing, the company has a new laptop they are introducing that I want to double-check first - the ThinkPad X1 Titanium Yoga. I want to double-check this newest entry in their line before making my final decision. My old laptop was fine yesterday, starting two times without complaint. Maybe it was happy because it had two days off, but I can't take a lot of chances. I need a dependable laptop. I'll mull things over for another week or so, but then I'll have to decide and purchase something. 

The Lenovo I'm looking at is a 2-in-1 - meaning it can 
be a standard laptop, but also folds into a tablet or 
tent-style. I've looked at hundreds of laptops over the past 
two weeks and I kept coming back to two different 
Lenovo models and one Dell. 

The things I'm dreading the most are (1) a new OS - I hated Windows 10 when I first tried it, uninstalling it and reverting back to Windows 8.1. Now I'll be stuck with Win 10, and that's a learning curve. Another worry is (2) getting all of my programs and websites loaded up from one machine to the other. That's always a bit of a pain, and for some programs, it's also a serious time sink to download the program again. Do you have suggestions for me? I wish there was a magic wand I could wave to move my programs from A to B. Also, I'll have to subscribe to Microsoft for the few Office Programs I use daily, and also to Adobe for the Photoshop parts I use. The subscriptions I'll choose will be multi-user, so when we replace our desktops later this year or early next, we can just add those to the subscriptions without additional cost. 

Although I could do a cable to cable transfer from one 
laptop to the other, after some research I found this 
program which I think will work better, and for $50, 
it will save me hours of work. Their free version is 
quite limited - only up to 500Mb of data, and their 
Technician level is WAY beyond what I want in terms 
of need or $, but the Professional version for $50 will 
do fine. I'll be sure to buy and download a copy on 
my old and new laptop, and will also use it when we 
get new desktop computers later this year or early next. 

It does seem as if so many things are going onto monthly subscription payments instead of outright purchases. It's hard to budget when you can't remember all of the various charges paid every month. I wonder if any of you know a program where I can enter these monthly subscription fees in once and it will keep track for me on a monthly accounting. I'm sure there's something like that out there. 

Lakota Star Quilts will usually also add white into the 
colors used, but the eight-pointed star is very traditional. 
All ceremonial gatherings usually end with gifts of star 
quilts and Pendleton blankets. I've been fortunate in my 
life to have received several of both items and I use 
and treasure them. 

I had another email from my sister in Pine Ridge. It's wonderful to be in more frequent contact with her after all these years. She's not a beader, never learned it from Grandma, but she became a power quilter for Grandma's memorial service. Star quilts are a traditional give-away gift and mandatory for ceremonies like funerals and memorials. I have two from that memorial that were given to me and I treasure them. Anyway, my sister is thinking about setting up her quilting frame again. She has a couple of tops finished and the batting already on hand, it's just a matter of sewing them together. I'm not a hand-sewer, so I'm always floored by what she can do with a needle and thread. She, on the other hand, is floored by my beadwork. It's a mutual admiration society - LOL. 

I'm cold and need my tea and oatmeal. I'm out of here and I'll be back on Monday morning. I hope all of you have a wonderful weekend. As always, be kind, stay safe, and please wear your mask.