Serene Sunday

 

Shasta Daisies and Marigolds this morning

Today was indeed serene and quiet, a welcome change after the tech and electrical issues of the past week.  Dave had a nice bike ride while I did laundry and watched some Mad Men episodes.  Dinner at home and the three of us (me, Dave and Maggie) just had an evening stroll.  Evenings are the tolerable part of the day here right now, with highs in the upper 80s to low 90s and high humidity.

We are treated to a splendid lightning bug display every evening lately.  The usual parking lot lights are still not working as a result from the electrical issues earlier this week, so it’s really dark out except for the lights on our rig.  It will be good to have those lights working again but, in the meantime, the lightning bug show is even better with less light on the property.

Yesterday while cleaning, I made a couple of adjustments in furniture placement.  I’ve cleared out a few things lately – some clothes, etc. – and have been looking at making things more streamlined in our rig for ease of cleaning and, well, one just has to do this occasionally living in a 40’ RV.

 

I remember when I purchased this wicker box about 30 years ago.  It’s about 2’ long and 1’ wide and tall.  It was during a Saturday outing with a girlfriend in Old Town Spring, Texas in an import shop.  It has had several purposes over the years; however, since we began full-timing, it has been sort of at a loss for a sense of purpose.  Being in the mood I was in yesterday, I had decided that it was time to bid it farewell and brought it over to my office with its next stop the dumpster.  “It’s just one more thing to dust,” I thought, “and what is it really doing these days?”  Obviously since it went to my office and not the dumpster, I must not have had it in my heart to part with it. 

It is sort of a part of me, of that time in my life when I was an independent free spirit embarking on an amazing journey of finding my spirituality and self.  Crazy as it sounds, I felt like I would be parting with an integral piece of me.

At the suggestion of another dear girlfriend, my wicker box friend has a new purpose.  It will be my Treasure Chest, the keeper of mementoes of the places we stay.   I already have in mind one item that will be placed in it when we eventually leave here.

When I’m old(er) and gray(er) and perhaps not living this lifestyle any longer, my wicker friend will contain special items to help me recall here, there or wherever we may roam.

I think that’s pretty cool.

It’s back in our home again.  All’s right with the world.

Thanks for stopping by!

Back in the World

 

Power was restored to the office this afternoon and we’re back online.  I was able to update iOS, set up my new phone and then backup and sync it.  Took a bit of doing and even some more tech stuff.  iTunes did not automatically detect my phone, so I had to research that issue and fix it after finding a solution.  That entailed finding the device on my laptop, uninstalling the driver and reinstalling it.

Sheesh.  My brain is fried. 

Unfortunately, not all the data in some apps transferred over to the new phone, so I have some inputting to do.  I’ve also got a nice stack of documents that need to be input to a program on my laptop and some scanning to catch up.  There’s the laundry to get done tomorrow, but I’m grateful that the power is back on and we have the washer and dryer here.  So nice not to have to go to a laundromat!

But, hey, everything is back online and I even got some housecleaning done this morning, too!

Although the temperature today wasn’t all that drastic, up in the mid 80s, the humidity was really incredible.  It slacked off a bit in the later afternoon, but for most of the day it was pretty miserable outside.  I pretty much stayed indoors.  I think we’re in for more of the same tomorrow.

Short and sweet tonight.  Tickled to have our office back and that we have an office!

Thanks for stopping by!

 

Friday Happenings

 

Today’s parking lot visitor

We are now on day three of no power to the office and, therefore, no Internet as we know it.  Luckily, my iPhone can serve as a hotspot for brief periods online.  At least we can check email and hang out for a few minutes.  It brings back memories of our early full-timing days with satellite Internet, meting out a few minutes online here and there. 

Our electrician is on site right now attempting to find the problem.  We’re hopeful he will be successful soon.  Or at least before the weekend is done.  I’m going to need to do laundry before long; the prospect of a laundromat really isn’t appealing.

My wireless keyboard was ready to retire after over two years of faithful service.  I was back to Radio Shack this afternoon to pick up two – one for me and one for Dave. 

 

Dining room table without functional office.  At least it’s temporary!  Those are the new wireless keyboards on each of our laptops.

This one is slightly different from the retiree, being a tad bigger (but definitely still a comfortable lap size) and has the numeric keypad on the right.  The other one had a built-in flat mouse area which I never used; I preferred to use my mouse and pad.  I have always missed my keypad area on the right, and it’s nice to have that feature again plus the mobility and comfort of the wireless keyboard.

Yesterday I was back at Radio Shack with the objective of having the latest iOS update downloaded, version 7.1.1.  It requires a network connection in order to download and I could use the one at RS.  Well, it downloaded just fine but would not complete the verification process, stating that I was no longer connected to the Internet.  Excuse me?  The RS tech and I labored over this for some time before I finally said “Enough,” and went on to order pizzas for pick-up. 

Apparently that error message is a glitch in version 7.1.1; the tech researched while I was there.  Last night and today I did some research on it and apparently that’s not the only issue.  Over quite a few forums I read folks having issues with this iOS update actually crashing their phones and causing them to be inoperable.  Lovely.  Perhaps I’ll wait until the next version??

Keeping with the theme of “What’s gonna break, freak out, have a glitch, etc.?” over the past week, when I attempted to order Dave’s pizza of ham and mushrooms, I was told they had run out of mushrooms about five minutes prior to my calling.

Hahahaha!

Alrighty!  We seem to be on a roll here!

The good news is my Blogger blog roll is functioning normally again, at least as of about ten minutes ago.  Sweet.  I’ll have some reading to do in order to catch up.

I guess the other good news is that in the short time of typing this post, I have fallen in love with my new keyboard, a Logitech K360.

The other good news is we have a collection of classic James Bond movies on DVD.  Goldfinger is on right now. 

Thanks for stopping by and have a great weekend!

Yesterday Craziness and Blogger Issues

 

View from our first campfire of 2014, Sunday evening

 

Dave had an evening doctor’s appointment for 6:45 PM yesterday.  Right around 6 PM, my iPhone croaked.  Buttons and display nonfunctioning.  Fine.  Figured I’d drop Dave off here at home after his appointment and then boogie over to Radio Shack in the mall for a replacement.  The phone was over two years old and I guess it just chose that moment to call it quits.

Right about that time, the power in the office (and the rest of the mill) went out.  Concerned that it might be widespread and we would lose power to our rig, I needed to reschedule the doctor appointment.  (We did not want to leave Maggie in an increasingly hot RV should it lose power.)  That meant, of course, I had to try to find the number of the clinic the old fashioned way, because my phone was dead and the number was stored in there.  Finally found the number and called the clinic.

Guess what?  They didn’t even have him on the schedule.  Well!

Snagged an appointment for him this afternoon and then headed over to Radio Shack.  Why RS versus the AT&T store in the same mall?  Would you believe the AT&T store can’t do anything for me because I have a Texas number and they are not a national store branch.  Really?  Experienced that shortly after we arrived here in 2011; Radio Shack has had my biz ever since.  The guys there are friendly, helpful and know their stuff.

I was eligible for an upgrade on my iPhone at a significantly discounted price and RS happened to have a sale going on top of that.  Long and short, I made out like a bandit with a new iPhone 5S.  Of course, this version is slightly bigger and the charging cord connection is slightly different, so that meant new Otter Box and a new second cord for the truck.  Still, I came out way ahead of the game.  Got three $10 coupons, so I’ll be headed back in the next day or two for a replacement wireless keyboard.  This one is ready for retirement, the same one is on sale at RS and I have a coupon.  Whoohoo!

RadioShack as a company is apparently bleeding and there are hundreds of stores slated for closure.  I bet this one will soon be gone, which is unfortunate.  The mall changed hands a few months ago and most of the stores are gone. 

My phone is charged but I still can’t download the latest iOS version or my apps from the Cloud because I need to be on a wireless network.  Don’t have a wireless network because the modem and router are down because I don’t have power in the office.  Oh well, at least our electrician got the well pump working this morning.  He’ll be back this afternoon to get power back on line.

Hopefully.

Our RV is on a different power line, so we’re thankful we have power to our rig.

Blogger Issues

For probably at least a couple of months, my blog reading list does not automatically load.  I have to reload the page to get blogs to show up, sometimes having to reload more than once.   Over the weekend, I started seeing only the most recently updated blog in my reading list.  Looking at Blogger’s help forums, this is apparently a widespread issue.  The last response from Blogger was about a week ago, indicating they are aware of the problem and working on it.

I can call up individual blogs from the list on the left and read them, but I tend to not get around to that.  Well, especially this past week with all the technology surprises I’ve been tackling.  So!  If I’m not commenting on your blog these days, hopefully I’ll get back to it soon.

I’ve been playing with WordPress a bit again.  My Scotland blog resides there and I’ve been reading some of those entries again, taking a wee stroll down memory lane and the awesome Winter I spent in that bonnie land.  The blog photos did not export to WP and that’s a real shame, but at least the text is there and I do still have the photos on my computer.

Will I switch to WP?  Probably not, as my “community” is Blogger-based.  When I say “community,” I’m not referring to followers of my blog but rather those bloggers whom I follow.  You all feel like neighbors, friends.  LiveWriter works on both platforms, so . . . we’ll see.  I may experiment with posting on both sites for a while, just for giggles.

Thanks for stopping by!

 

What’s In Store This Week?

 

I’m thinking perhaps this week will be a bit quieter than last, although it is early yet, eh?

The work week ended in a whirl last week.  We had been having some Internet issues and, after talking with our IP, it sounded like our router was the culprit.  Thursday morning I began the process of installing a new wireless router . . . only to be interrupted in mid-morning by a quick trip to the vet with Maggie.  She had a “spot” on her belly which looked most like a bite of some sort, but wanted to be sure it was no cause for alarm.

Turns out it indeed was nothing.  Our dynamite vet got her seen quickly and didn’t charge for the visit.  Figured I might as well stock up on her food while I was there.  She has been on prescription food since her episode last month.  Have tried to transition her back to her regular food, but that was unsuccessful.  Oh well.  If this is what agrees with her for now, so be it.  In the area and need a vet?  I’ll steer you to Spring Mills Veterinary Hospital.

Okay, back home and to our regularly scheduled programming.  Router installed and my laptop, Dave’s laptop, my iPhone, router extender in the rig and our Wii console all online.  Printer?  Printer?  Oops.  It would not connect.  After troubleshooting most of the afternoon, realizing it wasn’t gonna happen and then researching printers,  I found myself at Best Buy around 5 PM picking up an HP Envy 4500.

Meet Hal, the newest addition to my office

Why a name?  Why “Hal”?  Well, both old and new printers use 61 ink cartridges.  Took the ones out of the old printer and popped ‘em in Hal.  Hal responds (text only, of course) that these were from an older generation machine and would I please replace with newer cartridges?  What?  They are 61s and the same ones that I’d get if I bought new  . . . how the heck did you recognize that they came from the old printer?  Creepy.  Hal it is, then.

Long and short is that Thursday evening was spent attempting to get Hal and Dave’s laptop (an Asus) to converse.  They simply refused to speak to one another.  Hal was installed correctly and completely on the Asus and was recognized as the default printer; however, Hal refused to accept and produce anything the Asus had to offer. 

Fine.  I went to bed.

A couple of hours Friday morning resulted in getting the old HP printer uninstalled from the Asus and then reinstalled as a local printer.  Connected those two via USB cord and voila!  We have printed material!   On researching and hearing stories of others with the same issues, I’m led to believe it is a Windows issue, specifically Win 8.1.  Sheesh.

The up side is that getting the old HP into Dave’s part of the office frees up an enormous amount of space on my desk.  Nice.  It’s much less constricted, open and free of “stuff.”

I can also print from my iPhone to Hal, which is sort of nifty.  Not sure how often I’ll use that, but I guess it might come in handy sometimes.

Tickled that I did all this without calling Geek Squad and getting outside technical help.

Back in the early 1990s, I did hardware and software beta testing for Apple in Houston.  For years I worked from home in medical billing and as a medical transcriptionist and had to be able to troubleshoot and fix issues.    I’ve set up systems and networks, installed software, etc.  These tasks are even easier now, as virtually everything is plug-and-play.  I know how this stuff is supposed to work.  When something doesn’t, I’m the proverbial terrier wrestling with something.  My teeth sink in and I’m reluctant to let go until it’s resolved.

These lilies finally bloomed

Found out late Friday afternoon that a piece of equipment would be picked up early Saturday morning.  I always make out a bill of lading and take a photograph of whatever is leaving once it’s loaded on the truck.  So!  My alarm was set for 6 AM and I actually managed to crawl out of bed, although I was still sleeping for the first 15 minutes of being on my feet.  Ha! 

Dave went with me to the little farmers market up the road later Saturday morning and scored a couple of nice tomatoes.  Me?  I got two more walnut chocolate-chip cookies.

Got a kick from watching Momma Groundhog and little ones

Moving ahead to Sunday . . . having taken care of personal business (paying bills, doing paperwork, etc.) and other chores the day before, Sunday was a chill day for me.  Dave split and chopped wood in the late afternoon and we had our first campfire of 2014.  It was a perfect evening for it.

View from the campfire

So now it’s Monday morning.  Errands are run and my every-other-Monday report submitted for work, so I’ll move on to my next project.  That includes programming a remote camera for work.  Guess I’ll be putting on my geek hat again later today!

Whew!  And it’s just the beginning of the week!

Life is interesting and good, eh?

Thanks for stopping by!