It's a "Day Off" - So It's a Busy One, Plus Rain and Fences

A quick post today - first, the fence. The fence posts did NOT end up getting set yesterday. The rains came and went and came again, and they postponed until Thursday. That's fine - DH is still here. If they need to cancel again, they could come in the afternoon of next Tuesday and that would be OK too, but I'm hoping tomorrow will work out. 

It is my understanding, that they will be setting the fence 
posts similar to the far right side - the concrete above the 
fenceline to protect the wood of the posts. 

The rain came, and it rained, and rained and rained. I'm quite sure all of my plants are delighted - lots of moist soil to cuddle those roots and encourage growth. For people, it was a drippy, drippy day. I ended up forgetting the power cord of the laptop at the shop last night, so have to drop by and pick that up on my errands today. I only have the one cord for the laptop, and although it runs well on battery, it won't be good for long periods of time. I'll get maybe an hour or so out of it without supplementary power. 

The Lenovo power cord for my laptop is still 
plugged in at my desk at the shop. I need this, 
so I'll have to drop by the shop first thing this 
morning to retrieve it. 

I already have my first load of laundry in the washer, and I have a stack of bills at my computer desk waiting to be paid later today. I can tell it's going to be a very busy day. Grocery shopping, maybe some minor cooking (Friday will be my cooking day this week), and a lot of general tasks will keep me busy through the day. I never seem to be lacking things to do on my "days off". I'm really not sure if anyone with a house and/or family ever REALLY get a "day off" unless they're on vacation. Even then, we're usually the ones who keep track of the sun block, who can put our hands on the swim gear, and who can make the dinner reservations. It does make me wonder if "Man"kind can actually do anything. It seems to me that it's "Woman"kind who does most of the actual day-to-day work. 

Women can do anything! But, I can't make power appear 
out of nowhere for my laptop, so picking that cord up 
is on my agenda today. *sigh*. Good thing it's on 
one of the ways I go to my co-op. 

On that note, I'm heading out to the pool. Rosemary was back yesterday and she's looking much better. Her back had really been bothering her last week, so she took the time to give it some rest. She seems back to her perky self once again, which is great. I've got to nab her address from her - I would have done a wellness check on her last week if I had it then. Wellness checks at our age isn't a bad idea at all. So ... have a wonderful day. Mine will be busy, but I'll relax late in the day chatting with Aearwen. I hope all of your tasks aren't too horrid and I'll be back tomorrow. Slava Ukraini and חיים למען ישראל. 

Today (and the Next Few Days) I'm On The Laptop - Apologies For Equipment Failure

On Saturday night, after I returned home from the store, I reached to my mainframe computer and turned it on, only to be meet by a loud BEEP from my APC. I immediately shut the computer down again and reached behind my screen to see that the APC was pulsing with a red light. Time for a new battery - *sigh*. Checking my phone, I saw that Batteries Plus was open until 8:00 pm so I determined I would head over there as soon as I was finished with dinner.

The APC I have for my computer is quite similar 
to this one. DH has a larger one for his computer 
just a few feet away to the East. They have saved 
our computer systems through lightning storms 
and power outages. I wouldn't be without them. 

This isn't something I hadn't done before. I have two APC units in our computer room - one for DH's computer setup, and one for mine. I have two others at the shop (and a third currently not in use for a backup computer that I rarely turn on). I've changed a lot of these heavy brick batteries. It's pretty simple - pry the old one out, disconnect the leads, put the new one in, connect the leads, turn the APC unit back on and voila - ready to go.

The battery that I purchased is quite similar to this 
one and not too expensive for what it does. It's 
a brick, though. Heavy and clunky. 

EXCEPT ... it didn't go. The APC was fine - all green lights. The computer monitor and printer were fine - the other two things that are plugged into my APC. But my computer wouldn't turn on. I wasn't getting any response when I pushed the "Power" button. I should have felt a little resistence from the switch, I should have heard a small "click" when I pushed it, but it was like pushing dead air. The computer switch had broken.

 

All I need is my computer power button to be 
functional once again. I know my system is old, 
but I don't have the money right now to deal with 
Dale building a new one. He's been working on a 
new computer for DH for more than a year (the chip 
shortage has been a serious issue). 

Now, as a fix goes, this is pretty minor, and I didn't want to bother my Computer Guru with such a minor thing over the weekend, so I'll phone him today and try to drop the computer to him on Wednesday. The weather is supposed to be lousy on Tuesday and Wednesday, and he's not close by, but no matter. I'll drive out there twice on Wednesday - once to drop it off, and once to pick it back up. Whatever's necessary. I'm pretty sure it just needs a new ON/OFF switch to be fully functional once again, and it could use a good cleaning because I can't get to it at home to vaccuum it out periodically (which I should be doing, I know). I'll phone Dale when the sun is up and he's done taking care of the horses. Hopefully he can envelope me in. Meanwhile, I'm on the laptop for a few days, so my daily posts may be a bit different - not bad at all, but a bit different - LOL.

I love "Voodoo", my Lenovo laptop that I purchased more 
than a year ago. I use it constantly, and it's working out 
great for me. It's not what I usually use for my blog posts, 
however, so I beg your understanding if things are a bit 
more stumbly for a few days. 

 
Today I start work on my e-mail for our 4-Day End of the Year Sale. I need to make sure everything is accurate, that the dates are correct, and that I have all of the people added to my mailing list that I need to get added. Unlike most stores, we rarely run sales. We have clearance items at deep discounts all of the time - overstock from beads that just have too much quantity on our shelves. But a true sale - where almost everything in the store is reduced? Those things are extremely rare for us.

It's a huge sale, our 4-Day End of the Year Sale, 
and I'm starting work on that e-flyer today 
when I get to the shop, But I have a lot to 
do before then, so I have to get this posted and 
get out of here. 

 

We have our Black Friday and Small Business Saturday sales where beads of various types are on deep discount, but those sales don't apply to much outside of our beads. Our four-day sale, on the other hand, applies to almost everything in the store including the artwork, Navajo weavings, Hopi and Zuni Katchinas, Pueblo pottery, sterling silver and turquoise jewelry, and various artifacts such as scatter fans and peyote rattles. This sale is a BIG sale, and every once in a while, we'll move some serious product. We all work all four days, and then we collapse for three well-earned days off. (Of course, DH and I have to come in to do the year-end printouts and reports and reset the computers for the new year, but that's relatively minor and doesn't take more than two hours).

 

So, I guess the rest of my month is pretty much scheduled for me. My crazy life. I had been looking forward to one more "normal" week before diving into our holiday schedules, but apparently my main computer decided against normalcy in my life. I hope it's the switch, that would, at least be an easy and relatively inexpensive fix. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow - again on the laptop. Slava Ukraini. 

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. 

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. 

Voodoo or Anubis? What Do You Think? Please Let Me Know

Today's "day off" consists of a lot of the normal stuff - several loads of laundry, grocery shopping, putting the garbage cans at the curb for pickup, and some housecleaning, and my regular convo with Aearwen - but also I need to fine tune some stuff on the new laptop and maybe even set up and do some knitting. Wow - it suddenly looks like a really full day - LOL. 

I'm thinking about Voodoo as one name for the new laptop, but 
I also know that it is an active spiritual belief system, like 
Wicca or other "pagan" beliefs, and I don't want to be 
disrespectful. Maybe Anubis will be the better choice 
to avoid problems and remain respectful of alternative 
pathways. 

I've bounced two names off my friends and family here - Voodoo and Anubis. Although I love Voodoo, I don't want to be disrespectful either, and it is an active religious pathway for people. Anubis is probably less likely to potentially bother people, but I don't like it quite as much as Voodoo. I'm a bit torn. What do you think? Would I be disrespectful to name my laptop Voodoo? The last thing I want to do is make light of a serious spiritual pathway. Opinions and thoughts please? 

Anubis is one of my favorite Egyptian Gods. He is 
the God of mummification and the afterlife, and 
also the God of lost souls and the helpless. He's 
been a spiritual guide of mine for a long time. He 
might get a laugh out of having my laptop named 
after him. 

I heard that Mike Lindell of "My Pillow" fame is making a total ass of himself about the recent election and the defeat of Trump. He's determined that the election was stolen from the former President, and is saying so at every opportunity. Bed, Bath and Beyond as well as Kohl's have discontinued carrying his products, and I certainly won't be buying any more of them. I have to say that I use a "My Pillow" on my bed and actually like it a lot, but I won't buy a replacement. I'll live with the one I've had for several years and buy a different brand when I need a new pillow. 

Anubis and Namo (from Tolkien, for my non-Tolkien 
friends) have so much in common and they often 
merge in my thoughts and images. They're both 
rather frightening, yet have aspects of kindness 
and care as well. I could do worse than naming 
my new computer "Anubis". 

On that note, I need to get moving on today's long list of errands and chores. Oh, I probably should add cleaning the shower to my task list for today. At least that doesn't take long - just spray and let the spray work for a while before giving the walls a quick scrub. Yeah - I think I can sandwich that in too. So, have a wonderful day - be kind, stay safe and please wear your mask. I'll be back tomorrow as we head into a deep freeze later this week and all of next. Time to really bundle up with sub-zero temps for a while. Ick! 

Good Inbolc and Happy Groundhog Day

Today is the beginning of Inbolc - the halfway point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox. It's also Groundhog Day, so let's hope that furry critter forecasts an early Spring. In a specific Tarot spread of the Celtic Calendar, Inbolc is IX - The Veiled Lamp. The reading of the man passing through non-physical worlds silently, his lamp showing him the way. He seeks wisdom and walks through with detached perception. 

I'm not fond of the Rider Waite Smith
deck, but have many other Tarot decks
I prefer. Here, The Vailed Lamp is from
 an Egyptian-styled deck and the lamp 
is an ancient-styled oil lamp. 

In the Standard Calendar Tarot spread, February is VIII - Justice - The Balance and the Sword. It denotes the search for truth and justice without prejudice and works towards  balanced interpersonal relationships with harmony as the ultimate goal. So either way you look at it, it should be a pretty good month. 

In a different Egyptian-influenced Tarot 
deck, this is VIII Justice - Ma-at, who 
was associated with justice at the final 
weighing of the heart. I don't own 
this deck, but the pictures are stunning. 

One of the (many) problems that go along with setting up a new piece of computer equipment is getting things set up the way I want and remembering which programs I have linked to each other. That failed me yesterday and will probably cause ripples for a while, when I accidentally ended up changing my Google log-in while searching for a program I forgot I had linked to Google. I had to set up a new password, and I'm probably going to be stumbling over log-in blockades for a while until I've caught all of them. Ick! 

Windows 10 and I are coming to a grudging understanding. I 
do love the variety and photography of the wallpapers I 
can have flashing on my screen. Yesterday's choice was 
Colors of Autumn - stunning and enjoyable. I'll pick a 
different screen saver grouping for today. 

Yesterday was also the first day of "trial by fire" of the new laptop, and I have concluded that I do love it. The screen is quite a bit smaller than my old laptop, but I'm getting used to that because the resolution of the monitor is stunning. I didn't get a chance to pair my wireless earbuds with it yet, but the actual soundbar of the computer is awesome! I've been hitting my Spotify playlists in the early morning - great fun, good music. 

One of the really awesome things about my new 
computer is the cover - it's real leather in a deep black 
tone, textured the way leather should be. It makes it 
tactile and warm instead of aloof and cold the way 
a metal casing would. I was trying out names yesterday 
and "VooDoo" seems to be one it likes. I'll try it 
for a while and see if it sticks. Otherwise, "Anubis" 
is another possibility. 

The new laptop backpack is great. It is smaller than my old carryall, but that's good in a lot of respects. It means I can't stuff it full of paperwork - I actually have to deal with the paperwork I generate and put it away properly. Shock! I'm liking the entire package though, and it came just in the nick of time since I don't think Franken-Smaug will start up any more. I'm not destroying Franken-Smaug quite yet, I may still need something on there that didn't get transferred properly, but after a couple of months, I'll pull the hard drive and smash it to bits. Then I can get rid of the casing. 

On that note, I'm out of here. I hope all of you have a fabulous first day of Inbolc and that you are treated kindly by any and all you interact with today. I'm hoping my friends on the East Coast didn't get too pounded by this latest snowstorm. It sounds like it was a doozy! Have a good day, be kind, stay safe and please wear your mask. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Sunday Was A New Backpack and Hockey - Great Hockey

On Friday, while I was getting my new laptop set up and transferring data and programs from my old, dying laptop over to the new young-un, I got the final package from Lenovo delivered to the shop - the carrying case for my new baby. Although DH asked if he should bring it home, I didn't think that necessary - just grabbed my Denver Broncos backpack to bring the new computer to the shop with me. I did open the box when I arrived Saturday morning, though, to find a lovely, heavily padded backpack-style case for my new computer. On Sunday morning I went to work. 

I ordered this Sandy Lisa St. 
Tropez laptop backpack from 
Lenovo at the same time as I 
ordered my computer. I wanted 
something different to carry my 
equipment, and my bags tend 
to get overstuffed too quickly. 
I'll have less room in this one, 
so it might stay cleaner longer. 

I pulled everything out of my old computer bag - there was a lot of paperwork and assorted items in there, most of which I don't need to have immediately at hand, some of which I actually do. I then started populating the new bag with the essentials - computer and stand, mouse and various earplugs - wired and wireless., my checkbooks (rarely needed, but I do keep track of e-checks issued in them), my code book (essential and probably more valuable than anything else in there) and various plugs that allow me to download items onto my iPods and other gizmos. It is now very full, but seems quite content, and when I needed a couple of things early this morning, I knew right where to find them. Success! 

The Retro Jerseys are in the colors of the old Minnesota 
North Star jerseys (like the old jersey I still have hanging 
in my closet). It has the Wild logo in North Star colors 
also. That green and gold is a classic color combo and 
the Stars always looked great in it. The retro carried 
through the breezers and socks - it was wonderful to 
have these colors on a Minnesota team again. 

DH and I had a rather lazy Sunday. There was no football, and the hockey game didn't start until 7:00 pm. Once the game started, however, we were glued to the TV to watch my two favorite teams go at each other on the ice. It's hard for me when my Minnesota Wild play my Colorado Avalanche. I love both teams. But Minnesota was wearing their Retro jersey uniforms last night and I loved it! It brought back great memories of when we were North Star season ticket holders. Those many times I was sitting in the Met Center in our assigned seats with Johnny and Wayne in the row below us and Mattie tending bar in the foyer. 

The old Met Center was the home for the Minnesota North 
Stars ice hockey team, and when we first started attending 
games there, we were as far up as we could get - standing 
room only in some cases. We finally had enough money to 
buy season tickets and made some life-long friends among 
the other ticket holders and workers in our section. The 
building was demolished on December 13, 1994. I was 
watching from the top of the parking ramp at Mall of 
America as it was imploded. An IKEA stands there now. 

I don't recall how many years we had those tickets, I'm thinking five, but it could have been a few more. DH is a true hockey fan - more than football. He grew up playing defense on various school teams and school teams are taken VERY seriously here in the State of Hockey. Because he went to Catholic schools, and they weren't part of the Minnesota High School Sports Association at that time, he wasn't able to participate in the Minnesota State Boys High School Championship. I think he's always regretted that, because he was on some excellent teams. He continued playing pick-up hockey into his 40's, and our friend Johnny, mentioned in the paragraph above, still plays every week, even though he's in his 70's. Such good memories. 

It's tempting to get a MacKinnon jersey from the 
Colorado Avalanche also - he's a heck of a great 
player and I love the Av's logo. I doubt I'll indulge 
in two different jerseys, but ... who knows. Maybe. LOL

I have to say, the best part about loving both teams in a match up, is that I come out ahead, no matter which team wins. As is so happens, the Wild pulled it out last night with the win, 4-3. I think I'll have to buy one of those Retro jerseys - they're wonderful. And maybe an Avalanche jersey too - they have a great logo. On that note, I'm out of here. Time to make breakfast and get moving. Have a wonderful Monday. Be kind, stay safe, and please wear your mask. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Progress - It's more Than Just a Word

By the time DH got home last night, I was pretty much finished getting the new computer set up and functional. I'm still stumbling around Win 10, it's not built into my fingertips yet, but the data is moved and the programs have also seemed to move well. It's not my desktop, it's a laptop, but it's a fun one and after a bit more massaging, it'll be just about perfect. 

I'm still very undecided about what to name my new 
laptop. It's being shy, and hasn't shown its personality 
to me yet, but I'm sure it won't be too much longer. 

My "Lord of the Rings Online" game will need some more tweaking before I can easily play it on the laptop. but DH and I worked on it in tandem last night and got some of the tweaks completed. That will probably take a bit longer, especially because I play it on my laptop as well as my desktop and the two settings have to be identical for it to appear on-screen properly. That's not happening right now, so I'll have to figure out a work-around. I suspect, for this game, I'll have to change my pixels from the 3840 x 2160 down to 1920 x 1080. If I can do that, it will look great on both computers and I won't have the issues I was having with the higher resolution. 

I've been playing Lord of the Rings Online since the original 
beta, more than 13 years ago. I'm not as intense about the 
game as DH is, but I enjoy it. I need to get things arranged 
so that I can play it on either my desktop or my new 
laptop with ease. That'll require some tweaking. 

So the actual migration might be over, but the murmuration of linking my programs between two different computers still needs a bit of work. That wonderful synchronicity that can exist when working in two different locations needs a bit more tweaking. I'll try to get that resolved, as well as understand the laptop and Windows 10 a bit better, at the shop today. 

Windows 10 might be a learning curve, but the wallpapers 
they have for it are stunning. I have been enjoying flipping 
through those, although I'll end up loading my own 
wallpapers down the line. 

So thanks all, for your patience during this long period of indecision and jumping into the dark pond. I think I made all the right decisions, and now I have to find a way to live with the result. Moving forward - LOL. Meanwhile, as we expect another snow of 2-3 inches today/tonight, I'm out of here. Have a wonderful weekend and please, be kind, stay safe, and wear your mask. I'll be back on Monday morning. 

Knitting Snarls and a Hilarious You-Tube Video for Computer Transfers

DH saw his ENT doctor on Monday. Fortunately it turned out that the drainage tube from several years ago was not in his ear, but unfortunately, his problem actually is an abundance of scar tissue from the various surgeries and infections he's had throughout his life. The doctor cleaned things up a bit, and DH is back on VERY EXPENSIVE eardrops for two weeks. That means he can't wear his hearing aid for two weeks which limits his assistance at the shop. Chickie has been warned. 

Ear infections are no joke. The pain is excruciating. I used 
to get ear infections regularly as a child and I remember 
being in so much pain that I was vomiting. DH has
ear drops (2X-day, morning and night) that help him
keep infections at bay. He's on a two-week regime 
of ear drops right now and hopefully that will take 
care of this latest infection. 

Yesterday's knitting sessions were an exercise in frustration. I had no problem getting up to the part where I add the cables into the cuff, but once I hit that, the needles snarled and the stitches dropped or only partially knit. The first sleeve worked like a charm. The second ... not so much. After six attempts and more than four hours, I gave up and put everything away. I'll start again on Friday and see if I'm more successful. I'll watch a few more videos in between. Maybe there's a technique that could help my success ratio. One of my favorite teachers has a nice You Tube video about cables, so I'll spend some time watching it and learn a few tips and tricks. 

I just want to add a simple 2x2 cable on my sleeve cuff. 
I did it last week, no problem. It worked like a dream. 
Yesterday's attempt was a nightmare. So I'll have to start 
again on Friday and hopefully I'll have better luck. 

My docking station arrived at the shop yesterday. I'm looking forward to taking a close look at it and seeing how it will help me transfer items from the old to my new computer. I also grabbed my old 1TB external hard drive - I have an old "My Passport" from Western Digital that I used for system-wide backups. I'll find out how to delete everything that's currently on the drive and then I can look into using it to transfer programs over to my new Win 10 laptop. I found this absolutely hilarious video on You Tube - watch it if you want a laugh, the guy is a hoot! (link: https://youtu.be/KkeF3XdEQbA ) To make things short, he used his WD "My Passport" to migrate several very old programs onto his Windows 10 machine, and they work, even though direct transfer seemed impossible. He's worth watching just for the fun of it, though. 

OK, the guy is a total hoot! If you're just looking for the 
information on how to transfer, move to the 15 minute 
mark. But if you want to laugh along with me, listen to 
the whole thing. It's worth the time. 

So I'm planning ahead. I'm keeping the power cord for Franken-Smaug with me at all times, now. I can't trust in having power for a lot of battery life, and I don't want to be caught short on those few occasions when I need a system more up-to-date than my Win 7 desktop. I can hardly wait to have a reliable laptop once again. 

I do love my mug of hot tea in the morning. I have Earl 
Grey for breakfast and herbal for my to-go cup. I add 
Mandarin oranges for my lunch along with a small bottle 
of milk, and I'm set. Oatmeal for breakfast is always welcome 
with fresh blueberries as often as possible. Yummy! 

On that note, I'm going to bundle up, have some hot tea and oatmeal, and get going. I'll need my winter coat today - it's very cold out (only 10 F right now). I hope all of you have a wonderful and joy-filled day. Please stay safe, be kind and wear your mask. I'll be back tomorrow. 

Computers, Football and Remembrance - All Good

On Sunday I bit the bullet and ordered a new laptop. I'd been researching it for almost a month, as "Franken-Smaug" started getting harder and harder to turn on. My old Toshiba has served me well over several years, but my dragon is losing his fire. Before he totally died and turned to stone, I want to get the data moved to a new piece of equipment, so I had to get something in-hand. It came down to a choice between Lenovo and Dell, and I had two different windows open with a fully configured system ready to buy, and it came down to one thing. Which one could I get into my hands faster. Lenovo won. Dell, to do the machine I wanted, would have been up to seven weeks before I would have the computer. Lenovo will be able to ship MUCH faster than that. 

The Lenovo isn't 100% what I wanted, but it came 
in at less than $1500 once they applied various 
savings for me. I'm not fond of the Intel, but it's 
actually a version that tested very well. It's got 
the hard drive capacity I required, and a great 
processor. They can ship it later this week, so 
it's a total win/win. 

So, I ended up with a Lenovo Yoga 9i (14") in Shadow Black with a docking station (which might make transferring programs and data from "Franken-Smaug" to the new kid on the block much easier) and an aluminum laptop stand because I wanted it - LOL. I got a one-year family subscription to Microsoft, a two-year extended warranty, and Adobe Photoshop Elements which will eventually replace the old Adobe Photoshop that I run on my desktop computer. It was expensive, but it came in within budget, actually $500 below the top limit I had been willing to spend. I've already transferred the funds to my account, so I'm ready to pay the bill when it comes due. 

Superbowl 55 will feature Brady vs Mahomes and should be 
a good show. DH and I purchased ribs (already in the freezer) 
to make for Game Day, and I'm quite sure we'll have way 
too much to eat during the day. But, I'm really hoping it'll 
be a good game. All too often Super Bowl games are a 
disappointment. 

We spent the day watching football - the Tampa Bay/Green Bay game was excellent fun, the Kansas City/Buffalo game was a bit boring. Of course once the Wild ice hockey game started, we switched off from football and watched hockey until period breaks. DH does have his priorities - LOL. He was an EVIL person (in a very GOOD way) and wanted to clear the pantry from a lot of leftover baking materials from the holiday season. So he made me a 2/3 batch of Chex Mix which was my primary food yesterday (I'm so addicted to the stuff), and a big batch of "Everything Bars". My holiday weight will come right back on again - *sigh*. 

I absolutely LOVE Chex Mix. Maybe because I adore 
salty snacks. DH makes a killer version of the traditional 
snack, and he had cereal and stuff to use up from the 
Christmas batch. He was going to save it for Super Bowl, 
but figured we'd have enough stuff to eat for the game, 
so he made it on Saturday. I'll have it totally eaten by 
mid-week. 

Today we both have our semi-annual dental checkup appointments, mime as soon as they open the clinic, DH about two hours later. I'm knocking on fake wood, hoping that once again I get a clean bill of health from my dentist. I'm totally petrified of dental work, although clean-and-check has never been a problem for me. If I have to have Novocaine and actual work done, however, I'm petrified. My dentist can always tell if I haven't had all of the proper prep work done because I look like a rabbit frozen in the headlights. I'd rather avoid that if at all possible - LOL. \

The Egyptians believed that as long as a name was remembered, 
that person was never truly dead. Today I remember Helen 
and Arthur (Fiondil) and keep them alive in my thoughts. I 
miss them both. 

I'm also thinking about two people I never met in person, but whose friendship I cherished. Helen was a person I met in the beading boards on early AOL and Yahoo. She was a bright light person - kind, loving, talented and filled with joy. She passed many years ago, and I remember her with a piece of chocolate cake. Today, in 2015, a great friend in the Tolkien community passed - Arthur Boccaccio, aka Fiondil. We were in touch for several years and he gave me my name, Erulisse, a word appearing in his wonderful "War of the Valar" work. Many times I would text him with a quick question or a request and he was always helpful, kind and giving. I miss him and his words. 

On that note, I'm SO out of here. Have an excellent Monday and I'll be back tomorrow. And please, remember to be kind, stay safe and wear your mask. The life you save may be your own! 

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. 

Knit, Shovel, Repeat --- Knit, Shovel, Repeat ...

We picked up the truck around 8:30 am and it looked great! Apparently it was a couple of brackets that were slightly cracked and needed replacement that caused the extra day, but they came through and had things done by our firm deadline. DH went off to work in the falling snow and I returned home to have a lovely day to myself. 

One of the Craftsy classes I've purchased is this one - "Machine 
Knitting: Sweater Basics" by Renee Callahan. Her machine 
is quite a bit more powerful than mine, but mine is perfectly 
able to step up to the challenge. I want a longer sweater than 
the pattern, so have added rows onto the project. I think I'll 
be quite happy with the end project. 

I've been wanting to start knitting a sweater, and have a course on Craftsy dedicated to working out measurements for a basic sweater on a knitting machine. I downloaded the class materials and printed them out ... oh, wait. No ... I actually didn't print them out. I realized, after sending a print command that wasn't being acknowledged, that I hadn't added the printer to the network. Duh! (Hand strikes forehead.) Grabbing my code book, I added the printer to the new router's network and now all things are happy. My Fing is glowing a happy green, my modem isn't trying to reach something just out of reach, and I was able to print out my worksheet. 

Homes used to be several rooms that 
revolved around a central family area. 
Now, homes are revolving around routers 
and a variety of electronics. I had forgotten 
my printer and it wasn't happy. The router 
was trying to remind me, but I was slow to 
understand it. Now everything has been 
joined together and are happy again. 

Setting up my machine, I then watched portions of the class to understand the worksheet. I chose her "Medium" size because I'm not a "small" person (nor am I a "large" person). The worksheet had me putting on 140 stitches - almost the full width of my machine. I got the yarn on and knitted, and knitted, and knitted. 186 rows later, I pulled it from the machine. I had the back of the sweater complete ... but ... I didn't like it. It was too big - too wide. I would look as if I had drowned in a sea of knitwear. 

I'm really not into oversized sweaters. I think they 
are really cute on skinny, young people. I don't 
think they're good on me. I want something that 
will look good and help keep me warm, so I took 
it apart and reknit it in a size that I think will fit 
me better. 

I took a half-hour to shovel the walkways and driveway of the snow that was falling heavily by then, debating whether I should go with the remainder of the sweater as it was, or to review the pattern. By the time I had settled down to a bowl of soup, I had decided changing the measurements would be the better idea. So, I settled down and revised my pattern. I took apart the first knitted back, rewound the yarn to use in a second attempt, and started with 120 needles in work instead. Less than 90 minutes later I had knit my new total of 171 rows, added waste yarn to the top, and had pulled it from the machine. Much better! I'll try to do the front on Sunday, but if not, I'll catch up with it next Friday on my next day off. 

My laptop searches keep coming back to the Razer 
Blade 13" laptop. I want to step back a little and do 
an in-depth comparison of my top 3 or top 5 choices, 
however, before finalizing my choice. It might be 
the Razer, but I want to be absolutely sure. I want it 
to be my laptop for at least five years, possibly as 
many as ten years. I have to "choose wisely". 

Now I'm going to end this for today. I still have to have breakfast, shovel the walks and driveway and head out to work. Today I'll be doing more research on a new laptop. I have to get one ordered soon - Franken-Smaug is having a harder and harder time turning on. I'm not fond of dealing with new software, downloading new programs, or subscribing to Microsoft and Adobe Photoshop, but I need a reliable laptop that I can take to and from work with me. No choices. Have an excellent day - be kind, stay safe, and please wear your mask. I'll be back tomorrow.