March 7…and so it snows

done

 

It has gone from snow, to sun, rain, to shine, wind to calm.  It is cold and miserable out and the wind, whipping.  A good day to sit in front of the windows and watch!  I think it is going to be s soup day!

What I learned today!

This is short and sweet. I have been having trouble with my little digital camera. It is a point and shoot little number and I love it…simple! All of a sudden, I get this problem. It seems to open, turn on, focus and shoot. The image appears on the screen in the back and life is good, or so it seems. After the image appears, I get an error message…WRITE ERROR. Hm. That doesn’t sound good.

When I try and get the picture off my camera and onto my computer, it is a no go. Nothing wants to unload.

I go online and look for Fuji help or tech support. The newer wrinkle, it seems, it to let others help and avoid having to have real tech support. You find a site and you ask a question and see if some computer/photographer geek will take their time and effort to help you. A lot of time, you get some bloke who says…”hey, that is what is happening to ME, so if you figure it out, give me a shout back.” Or, in my case, I lose the site and never get back to see if anyone really could solve my problems.

I have it nailed down to..”I think my disk, Picutre card, is bad. Why they go bad? I don’t know. I mean, they work one time and then they don’t. They don’t move..I don’t take them in or out, so what can go wrong?

I look up the cards at Staples and they are $40. I don’t want to spend $40 to SEE if this is the problem. Then I heard that the newer disks don’t even format correctly…old technology and newer disks. I am not sure, but I don’t want to waste $40 of yarn money for a disk. A new camera is $100.

Yesterday, I go on ebay and get a 2 G disk, same make model, etc for $13. New, no tax and no shipping. (should get it tomorrow) Hey, I will gamble with $13.

Today, I get ont he internet an google around and find that there are programs called Memeory Recovery programs. Supposedly, they can also come in a free version….a shareware deal, but I haven’t located that yet. I found one that had a trial version and lo and behold, I had a free download and it recovered my pictures. Of course, now they want money from me to let me keep the pictures I have, but …I know the pictures are still on the disk. I haven’t lost anything.

In reading more, there seems to be a simpler method to recover things from a disk you thought were lost. It is a recovery usb port thingy you jab into your computer and stick the picture card in it and it reads your pictures. They are supposed to be under $20 in more stores. I will research that area next.

So, for anyone reading this, I have learned that even if you think you have lost photo’s, you probably haven’t.

My roofers are back today and finishing up. The noise is amazing. I feel like my head is in a wooden box and someone is beating the heck out of it. They started at 7:13AM!

ok…I am back to the computer to learn more.

 

As a footnote!!!!  I went back to my camera and I thought I would see what I have to do to format the NEW disk when it arrives.  I found the format place.  It said, “do you want to format this disk?  You will lose your pictures.”  Well, I only had a dozen crappy little test pictures, so thought, go for it.  Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

I formatted the disk, even though, it was already formatted many years ago.  Duh!  Done.  As an after thought, I thought I would take a few more test pictures.

I took four of them to just see if I had made it work again.  To my wildest surprise..the pictures took and no WRITE ERROR appeared.  Hm.  That’s funny.  I took three more and lo and behold, it seemed to work.  I connected to the computer and they all downloaded…I am feeling smug and sassy! 

When the new disks comes, I will format it and keep the other one as a back up.

…and she lived happily ever after.

Just look at that face!!

Erin sent this one of Peyton doing his nightly bath. He has 1,000 face…this is merely one of them.

He was a caped crusader this afternoon. He had his favorite blue blankie tied around his shoulders and of course, his binoculars. Kaylie had her ski goggles on and the duo were invincable!

Erin takes some cute pictures and thank goodness for digital. How I wished I could have documented my children growing up…minute by minute!

Time was taken out for dog play. Sam is the most loving creature. No boy had a better pal.

Finally, it was cuddle time. Peyton loves his sister to pieces…and Kaylie…she loves her brother. Hope it will always be that way.

Then…the lights went out!

Just when you thought it was spring

Yesterday, I saw a few flakes start in the afternoon. It was cold enough and the skies looked like snow, but I didn’t really think it would stick! Surely, it would warm up and melt!

Last night as I lumbered to bed, I peeked out of the window and there it was…a nice covering on the ground and a blizzard in the air. I turned the blanket up and notch and tried to ignore it.

I have been in bed with a flu/cold that Peyton shared with me. Why do kids get through it in a few days and it leaves us oldsters struggling for 2 weeks to get rid of it. I ran the fevers, had the chills and aches and my head is throbbing from sinus. The cough…the incredible cough! I have hacked and hacked until I sound like Broderick Crawford.

Mike has gone to Lynnwood to visit Sallie for a few days and I opted out. I am staying home, in bed and drinking lots of liquids.

The hole is done!

After weeks of working on the wall in the kitchen, I think it is done! Lessons I have learned? Make note…do NOT build a whole house with husband. One of us would have ended up in the cement foundation of the house!

Besides the obvious, Man vs Woman, Mike is left handed and I am right. We really see things differently. He starts painting a wall from one side and I start from the other end. It always seems “wrong”…but I remind myself, it is different.

Mike is into everything pefectly level and square. I figure, life is too short. Close enough is good enough. He measures and measures, looks, thinks, stews and draws pictures. I just want to “do it.” Measuring is for sissy’s!! So, you can easily see, any projects we do is going to be filled with controversy.

Together…we got it done! I loved how it all came together. The colors were what I thought they would be.

Mike cut the hole and then we decided to wait until found the right picture or thing to go against the wall going down the stairs. I had this picture downstairs and it just came to life with its new home.

The stairs going down to the basement had horrible, dirty old carpet. We thought about new carpet, but it would only get dirty again. It is so well traveled. Besides, installers don’t want to come out for such a small job and I didn’t want to tackle carpeting. So, we decided to just paint it. We sanded and puttied…sanded and puttied, primed, painted, touched up and painted it again. Mike spent one day pulling tacks from the old carpeting and had to do some minor repairs on the landing. Today, one more coat of paint on the one step and he was done!

Then to hang the picture, we had to figure out a way to build something that would go over several stairs and create a platform for the ladder. It was going to go the opposite direction..no place to lean the ladder on two different step levels. I came up with one design and Mike embellished on it. I tweaked it and viola! Mike built the best tool to keep him safe while hanging the picture.

The rest of the pictures shows it all off.

the title of the picture is "waiting for the Tide"

Save Water…bathe and do laundry at the same time!

Grandchildren are truly a blessing! Anyone who has become one, knows this. We don’t see them as anything but to precious. They don’t do anything “wrong”…it is the parents fault for leaving temptation in the path of a curious child. Sure, they know right from wrong at a pretty early age, but eating dog food is just too exciting to pass up! After all, if it is good for Sammy, then why can’t Peyton have a nibble from time to time. It IS on his level, after all.

Erin was going to give Peyton his nightly bath. She drew the water and was about to start pulling off his clothes when she caught a whiff of that familiar smell coming from his pants. UGH. A Poopie! She turned her back to get some wipies and Peyton thought he would help her out…he jumped in the tub and was happily bathing himself.

Erin yelled for Kaylie to grab the camera and come up!

The mess was amazing…the clothes and 40 pounds of water in his diaper. I won’t even begin to tell you about the condition of the diaper other than, it was wet and all contents were wet.

Kaylie continues to grow and is such a love to her “brudder”. She teaches him all day long while playing with him. He is a smart little boy and he idolizes his sissy. They are quite the tag team. I hope that their love will always be as intense as it is today.

Weather…It feels pretty good outside. When the winds die down and the sun comes out, the coolness is nice.

Mike is working on the stairs. One bit more and we are done. We yanked up the old, filthy carpet and just filled and painted the steps. Of course, the problem was running outside and around the house to go from the family room to the kitchen, but we made it.

That is all I know. Life continues to go along.

It is hard to think about Global warming today. (maybe tomorrow)

Baby, it's cold outside!!!!

I am home, don’t let me out again!

This is short and sweet…just enough to let you know I made it home.

This has been a good Christmas and a lousy one. A mixed bag for sure.

The weather has changed our plans more times than I can count. We heard of another snow storm to hit on Wednesday, so we thought we could dig ourselves out and run over and see Sallie. If it was horrible, at least we could hunker down with her for the Christmas day.

The freeways were OK, but it was near impossible to get out of her apartment complex. They don’t belive in shovels! Nothing. She had 7 inches over night and on top of the several inches of ice and snow already coming earlier in the week, she was housebound and we could hardly get in her apartment complex with our 4×4.

We drove 6 miles from the ferry to her house in one hour..yes, that is right…ONE hour!!! Ice chunks on the roads were so bad, we couldn’t stay in one lane. People are idiots in Lynnwood and they drove like they were in the middle of July. Cars were tossed like twigs in a wind storm. No lanes, you sort of drove and hoped not to hit another person.

Christmas eve morning, we were on the way down the freeway to Erin’s house when we got a phone call on Sallie’s cell phone. Seems the brothers were trying to reach me via my cell phone. (I don’t talk on the cell phones much and never turn them on.) They called Sallie and told me mom was in the hospital and very ill with asthma.

It is her yearly event. Something happens in winter and she usually ends up in there for a week. Her lungs fill and she is miserable. to say the least.

I spent a few days with the kids, while Mike and Sallie returned to Lynnwood Christmas evening. (Is everyone following the story so far?) I had promised the kids I would stay and hated to disappoint them. Mom was doing OK and nothing I could do for her at the time.

Mike too, Sallie to work and cooked dinner for her. I know..you are wanting to know…pork chops. I think it is one of his 2 things he can cook.

Erin and family drove me up to Sallie’s house on Saturday. We all went out to dinner and it was great…my whole family together and no dishes to cook or wash for me. I loved it.

That night, they went home and Mike and I went to visit mom. Nice hospital and she was holding her own. We went back again on Sunday and visited.

Monday…we came home…we were gone a full week and I am worn out…not from doing anything really, but all the weather stress and worry about everything and everyone. I have mastered needless worry to an art form.

The house looks and feels sooooo good@ My bed looks even better.

I hope to nail the doors shut and stay inside for a few weeks, but know it will be most likely days before we will have to run over and do something. We will see.

Happy New year…

The Christmas pictures

Every year, Erin takes a special picture of the child/children around the tree to send and share.  Today, she thought she would get the kids to pose.  Kaylie, she is a natural ham and loves to pose!  Peyton, on the other hand,  just want attention!  He has a pretty short attention span..well, let’s face it, he doesn’t have an attention span at this age.  Erin said he went from laughing, to ignoring, to scrunching his nose to tears.  Finally, he demanded his blankie. 

Here are a few pictures that made me smile.

I know I am blessed!

At times, we muddle through the season, the weeks and the months of the year and often forget to take stock of the people around us that keep us grounded, happy and loved. 

The other day, an old friend came by to pay a visit.  She brought me a wonderful hand knit cowl for my morning walks.   She has this gift within her to always understand the person she is giving to.  She observes and remembers their favorite color, or taste …the smallest detail of what they love in life.  I love to walk, even when the temperatures are falling into the teens and this is such a perfect gift for me.  It got used right off the bat, too!    Thank you Pallas.  You are such a treasure to those of us you can call you friend, mom, or grandma.

Earlier in the week, Mike heard some thumping on the front door.  My elf friend Jan, tried to sneak a wreath she had made me and run!  I get all her gifts when I least expect them and usually, on a porch.    I even got a flock of flamingo’s in my yard once from her!! 

She had gathered all the cones, holly and salal for the wreath and put it together with a lovely bow.  She will never know how it brought my spirits up.

I normally don’t enjoy Christmas.  I guess the years of trying to just piece it in through shift work has left its toll on me.  I have spent many a Christmas alone.  Mike was at work and I got to see him, but maybe I had to wait until after midnight!   With the girls having their own lives and miserable weather inbetween us, there have been many times we didn’t get a family dinner until well after Christmas.  Since we have never had family near, it has been more of a lonely time, rather than a joyous one.

This year, because of Pallas and Jan, it has been a year to remember for me.