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Thursday, June 18, 2015

What I've Been Doing Lately

{Abby Gail Sound Asleep on My Office Chair; June 12, 2015; shot with phone camera}

{Note: She twitched herself awake soon after I took the picture and looked at me with utter betrayal. She made me laugh!}


Lest you think I’ve been lazy like Abby Gail above, let me tell you what I have been doing (besides the usual every day chores):

  • I went camping, relaxing and tubing.

    It was a wonderful time. I was extremely pleased to see that the younger kids LOVED to come over to our site. They are so cute and adorable. I am sorry to say that I have not taken many pictures of people - only one shot out of many were of people. Maybe next time.

  • I have been dealing with needy sick cat. When we returned from camping, I noticed Abby Gail's third eyelids was constantly showing itself. I also noticed that she seemed lethargic. So, I dumped her at the vet early one morning (so that they could see her between appointments as they were all filled up). Much to my shock, it turned out that she had a severe ear infection. I never dreamed she had ear problems. I suspected stomach trouble or a broken tooth. But, this diagnosis was a surprise to me.

    She was not herself for about a week and then gradually returned to normal. We are still giving her ear drops (medicine) and her last dosage will be on June 24th and she will return to the vet for a checkup on the 26th.

  • {Shot on May 6, 2015 with phone camera}

  • Making pickles and relish. We had a bumper crop of pickling cucumbers. Yes, from our own garden. We first made some pickles. And then, with the second wave of pickling cucumbers, we made some relish. I am now wanting to make jams and jellies. I will use grocery produce (e.g. raspberries and peaches) as we do not have them growing on our land. Yet. I should plant a peach tree, should I not? And, try again with apple trees.
  • Since I purchased a new camera, I discovered I needed to get new software. I had to “upgrade” Photoshop Elements. I was four versions behind. I hated being forced to upgrade; but, I had no choice.

    The difference between the two versions is making it very difficult for me to navigate. As a result, I am feeling reluctant to process pictures. But, I will get there someday. Now you know why I have not been blogging of late.

    I am going to need to do a phone camera dump soon. So, this will give me an incentive to get going learning my way around the new software. By the way, the picture of Abby Gail above is my first phone picture I have processed with the new software. And, I need to get going and process the ones I took at Garner (camping) with my new camera.

  • {"The Castle" designed by Teresa Wentzler; Unfinished; About Halfway Done;
    shot with phone camera}

  • I picked up my oldest WIP (Work in Progress) and UFO (Unfinished Object) and started Cross Stitching again. I was working on this before we got married in 1994! I put this aside to make things for other people, return to and finished college, and dive into quilting.

  • Dealing with resurgence of chronic illnesses -- mainly migraines and stomach troubles -- which returned before I went camping. I seem to be on the upswing at the moment.
  • Reorganizing files and folders on my hard drives (both local and portables) as it has gotten messy throughout the years.

    What got me started on this project? A portable hard drive crashed. Thank goodness I am one of those anal people that backup to two or more portable hard drives because all that data would have been lost. Note: I do not keep ALL data on my local hard drive (personal computer). I keep them on two or more portable hard drives.

    And yes, I immediately purchased a new portable hard drive. Let me tell you, technology has come a long ways since the last one I purchased. This one can hold more data (like I need that), is smaller, and cost about the same as my old one. I was astounded; and yet, I should not have been surprised.

  • Attempting to restart scanning pictures, slides and negatives from my folk's house (and more). I discovered that since I got my new laptop, the driver for the scanner no longer works properly. Dan worked on it for over a day and could not get it to work the way it should. We suspected that the new Windows OS (Operating System) was interfering with the old driver. So, the solution was to get a new scanner. The other one was purchased in 2009 which makes it OLD by today's standards. It is my goal to get this project done by the end of this year. We shall see how that goes!

Did I ever mention how I despise technology? No? Well, I do!

You purchase a new camera? You may not be able to use old somewhat obsolete software due to newer format(s). So, you are forced to purchase upgrades or new software. You purchased a new computer? The old softwares or drivers for devices like scanners and printers may no longer work with the newer OS (Operating System). If you are lucky, you may be able to download a new driver for the old device. But, that situation did not exist for our old scanner. And, don't get me started with VHS, DVD and Blu-Ray! Yes, I think it is a conspiracy of companies to do all this to make a person part with his or her money. Yes, I'm grumbling. I am a cheapskate. Ha! :-)

Tuesday, June 9, 2015

Vacation

This is what I have been doing...

Camping, relaxing and tubing...

I am back and have been back for a little while; but, I am feeling mighty lazy. I do not desire to do much in the way online. So, I am also on a hiatus of a sort from blogging. I am also learning to use new photo editing software; so, that will take time.

Note: The above picture was stolen from my brother on facebook. But, it is me. Thus, I felt I had the right to steal it. Ha! :-)