One Week Later

I've actually continued knitting.  Many times I've started projects in a whirl of dedication, only to drop them when the demands of working full time press in.  This past week was very busy at work and I ended up having to work six hours on Saturday, something I NEVER do, and won't be doing again for a long time, if I can help it.  Weekends are sacred.  I still managed to sit in the backyard today, take some cute bird pictures and continue knitting so that the back on my sweather is now 7" long.  It has to be 16 1/2" before I change the knitting pattern and begin to get ready for the upper back and sleeves.

We have a couple of Common Yellowthroats in our back yard this year.  A male and female.  These are warblers found all year round in Florida, especially in the Everglades.  Not so much in back yards, but I'm so pleased to host these two.  They are usually bug eaters and shun feeders.  They are not interested in seeds, like the Painted Buntings, the Grackles, Bluejays, Redwings, Sparrows, Doves, Parrots, etc. etc. (in other words, everybody else but warblers).  They strictly like their protein.  Since I don't use insecticides, and I'm getting ready, once birding season is over (and they go back home) to fight an infestation of white fly here, there is plenty for them to eat.

The mockingbirds are different.  They like seeds, bugs, peanut butter, and, I'm proud to say, leftover cooked yams.  I witnessed a fight over the yams.  Mr. or Mrs. Mockingbird were NOT going to let anyone else have any of the orangey, yammy goodness.  We saw the mockingbird in the yard today, and they usually begin to like protein towards the end of winter, when they begin mating and building nests.  For this reason, I put out a big spoonful of crunchy peanut butter on some branches for Mr./Mrs. Mockingbird.  

Imagine my surprise when the little male Common Yellowthroat flitted over to the branches with peanut butter and began sampling.  Not only did he sample, he came back for seconds and thirds.  Below are some pictures of him eating the peanut butter:

The male has an adorable black mask as you can see in the pictures.  They are beautiful little birds.  The female has a bright yellow belly, but no mask.  

Earlier in the day we had a visit from some parrots that rarely come to our yard.  We get the VERY common Monk Parakeets, which are not only in Florida, but, due to the way they build a communal nest, they live all over the country, even in cold places.  Since they all sleep together in a bunch inside their big nest at night, they stay warm.  There are other parrot species in Florida, however, that have established themselves.  It always starts with an escapee that survives, finds a mate and - voila - you have the beginning of a new species settlement of parrot.  There are wild Macaws here, Blue Fronted Parakeets, Red Cheeked Parakeets, and many more.  One of the escapee species here is the Nanday Conure or Black Headed Parakeet.  A small group of them came to the seed feeder in our yard this morning.  We can tell the difference when they are flying in, because their screech is lower and more gutteral than the Monk Parakeet's.  They also sound a lot like the Blue Fronted Parrots and we came out once thinking we would see the Nandays, and there were some Blue Fronteds on the wire over our backyard.  Here is a not too good picture of the Nanday Conures at our feeder this morning.  The second picture was taken by my husband.  They are pretty big parrots - not as big as Macaws, but bigger than Monks.  I love to see and hear them.  They have red legs and all parrot's colors are just beautiful. 

I hope everyone has a blessed week, taking one day at a time and not worrying about tomorrow....

Creativity

I have been fighting a low level depression for a long time now.  Many days are wonderful, but the thoughts in the back of my head - the sad ones, the hopeless ones - are always ready to pop out and ruin things. 

I've done two things to combat this.  The most important is the application of this verse - 2 Corinthians 10:5 "We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,"

Christ does not want us to concentrate on the tragedies of this fallen world, and since I am a child of the 60's, it's very hard sometimes to NOT give credence to the negative thoughts and feelings I have.  The philosophy "if you feel it, it's real", or "just let it all hang out" is what was ingrained into me in school (of all places - a private Catholic school.....who would have thunk it?) and in the society of my growing up years.  So all these years since then if I have a thought I don't try to cordon it off or control it - I just let it go, and take the consequences.  Well, this year is going to be the year of thought monitoring in my own head.  I forget that The Adversary is always trying to help keep us off balance and to take away our joy in Christ in whatever way is most effective for each individual.  Keeping that in mind, I'm "taking every thought captive", looking it over and then, if it passes muster, letting it go, or, if it doesn't pass muster - out it goes.

The second thing I've done is to stop talking myself out of doing creative things.  Believe it or not, the voice in my head says, "oh why bother - you're the only one who'll appreciate it", or "there are more important things to do" (which I usually end up not doing either....).  With friends like my thoughts, who needs enemies???  Anyway - I have now begun to knit a sweater for myself.  Even in South Florida, it gets cool outside and some work places keep the A/C at insanely cold temperatures, so we actually do use sweaters here.

I searched online and found free patterns at "Lion Brand Yarns".  Below is a picture of the sweater I am making:

The type of yarn recommended is Lion Brand Homespun yarn, which just happened to be on sale at Joanne's Fabrics yesterday.

Here is the beginning of my sweater in the colors I love the most:

The colors that make my eyes drool are indigo blues, some greens and purples.  If those colors are all together somewhere in the right hues, my eyes are so happy they can't tear themselves away from whatever object or objects comprise that combination.

Just touching the wool, handling it and working with it are sensory experiences and I'm letting myself enjoy every single aspect of creating.  Some of my knitting is a bit rusty, so there are a few stitches that look a little "off" because I forgot what I was doing and began to knit on a row I'd already almost completed in perl.  I had to tear out those stitches and redo them - and I don't pick up the stitch with the needle in just the proper way for perfection and no detection of "accidents".  That's ok - I'm not a perfectionist.  I'm happy with "almost perfect", actually, as long as it isn't really noticeable. 

I also treated myself to some beads with which to make necklaces and matching earrings for myself.  This is so incredibly easy to do and the colors and textures can be magnificent.  Here are 2 sets of necklace/earrings that I made yesterday afternoon:

I have to practice my object photography, since - unless you click on the picture to enlarge it - these are hard to really see well.  Since it is such a beautiful and cool day, I thought I'd photograph my things outside.

Such an inexpensive and simple pleasure.  I can't wait to wear these.  Just knowing that I made them will make wearing them more special.  I do have to confess that, just as in the knitting, the clasps on the necklaces aren't professional looking - I need to refresh myself on connecting the clasps to the wire for maximum protection as well as professional appearance.

I used the money my mother gave me for Christmas to buy the wool and the beads above.  I purchased other colors of wool as well as beads, so I have a lot of projects I can work on when I am ready.  

I'm also thinking of getting the indigo dye out again and finding some old castoff white button shirts of my husband to dye and then wear.  My husband also wants me to dye a large piece of muslin for him to use as a photography backdrop.  

Speaking of photography, I offer a few shots of the lovely Spot Breasted Oriole that practically lives in our back yard, as well as a cute little bee that flies sort of like a hummingbird.....quickly from one spot to another, where he then hovers and slowly moves into the flower he is pollinating.

Hope your Sunday is either bright and warm inside or outside, depending on where you live.

Reading Lately

Since I had 2 weeks off at Christmas time as well as an extra week when I was sick with bronchitis, I did a lot of reading.

My all time favorite of this holiday season was, "Nothing Daunted, The Unexpected Education of Two Society Girls in the West " by Dorothy Wickenden.   The picture below is copied from Amazon.com - don't try to "Click to look inside" - nothing will happen.

This turn of the century (19th to 20th) true life story is interesting historically in it's presentation of the still-isolated sections of the Great West at that time.  While much of the West and the Great Plains had been sadly cleared of it's aboriginal inhabitants and parceled out to white settlers, there were still portions off the beaten track that reflected an earlier, more pioneering time.  Such is the small town of Elkhead, reached at that time only by the famous Moffatt railroad in Northwest Colorado and then by horse.  While many other parts of America were passing beyond the "one room schoolhouse", Elkhead had a brand new school that needed teachers for it's single class of all ages.  Also, while many schools were beginning to require some sort of teaching training and "Normal" schools were educating primarily women to become accomplished instructors, the Elkhead school was happy with 2 young girls from the privileged class that may not have had a background in teaching, but were well enough educated themselves to impart the necessary knowledge to the country students.

One of the young women was the grandmother of the author, while the other was the grandmother's lifelong best friend.  I loved reading about their central New York State upbringing and then their boredom with post-school life.  They didn't want to do the typical thing, which was to get married and have children right away.  They wanted to make a difference somewhere while at the same time having an adventure.  I highly recommend this book for readers that enjoy the history of the American West.

Next, I consulted the blog of one of my favorite people - Coffee, Tea, Books & Me - for "cozy book and film recommendations".

I purchased "My Side of the Mountain" by Jean Craighead George.  This was a "cozy" book recommendation and I love mountains, so it was a no brainer.  The story was a surprise to me.  Not only does it take place in my birth place stomping grounds - the Catskill Mountains - the time period covered is during my childhood.  A much more exciting childhood than I experienced, and one which I would have LOVED to try - at least for a day or two before getting scared.  The hero is a teenaged boy whose New York City parents let him "run away" to his grandfather's land in the Catskills.  Although the house is long gone and so is the grandfather, the land is still in the family.  The boy makes his way to the land with lots of wilderness training and knowledge under his belt and makes a successful stay for one whole year - 4 seasons worth - in the mountains.  What is "cozy" about this?  His house.  He finds some old growth fir trees and finds a way to partially hollow out a section of the the huge base of one, essentially carving himself out a small home inside the tree.  Using only what he can find in nature he fashions a stove (he finds clay that will harden) with a pipe that carries the smoke out a small hole in the tree.  He makes a bed from strips of bark on a wood platform and finds deer that have been killed by hunters but never retrieved for the bed coverings, as well as clothes and a door to his tree house. (Lest you think he takes the entire dead deer and drapes it over things, he skins it, of course, and uses every part of the carcass he can.) He finds all kinds of plants to eat and catches a baby hawk whom he trains to hunt for him.  The details are fascinating and the coziest part is the first major snowstorm.  Our hero has prepared all summer long for winter with lots of smoked meats and stashes of nuts and roots.  He has a working stove that provides warmth and uses birch bark to write on.  He uses a turtle shell with oil in it for light.  That first blizzard is a whopper of heavy snow, wind and ice cold temperatures, but our hero is warm and very pleased with himself inside his comfy tree house.  Needless to say I loved this story.

Next, I downloaded a free book onto my iPad, which I use like a Kindle (it was my husband's and he has moved on to greater things, so I have inherited the original iPad).  It is called, "Adventures in Contentment, Adventures in Friendship, The Friendly Road" by David Grayson.  This is about a farmer in the early part of the 1900's in New England who leaves his farm and goes wandering incognito.  This farmer is married and his wife tries to talk him out of going on his trip.  My only problem in reading this is imagining his wife trying to hold everything down, doing all the farm chores as well as her own while he galavants.  I'm sorry to say as much as I sympathize with Mr. Grayson wanting to "get away" in this very different way, I feel for his poor wife left behind and in charge.  If Mrs. Grayson had wanted to do something like this, I can imagine the disapproval of everyone at the thought of a woman taking off on her own and wandering the countryside.  Even so, I'm enjoying his side of the story and pushing visions of a very annoyed and put upon Mrs. Grayson out of my mind, probably in much the same way Mr. Grayson does in the story.  Each day he finds someone who invites him to stay to dinner and then to overnight, and these lovely new friends are all assisted by Mr. Grayson in some way, either physically or mentally.  I didn't finish this yet, but the first 6 chapters I have read are delightful.  They recall a time in America when one could do as he did and not only not be afraid of harm, but know that a welcome is just a house away when one is "on the hoof".  I read things like this to escape from the present which is rather awful to me socially.  While I sure do appreciate modern conveniences, I'd give anything to be able to go back in time to a more civilized time.  It's really not all that long ago, actually.....

Happy 2012

I like one of the headlines on "The Drudge Report" web site - "Hope the Mayans were wrong."  In any case, I'll just take one day at a time.  Somewhere between Christmas Eve and this past Wednesday I picked up a full blown head cold with chest cough, etc.  My ribs hurt from coughing, but there is only a low fever, so I'm just taking over the counter meds.  I can't sleep at night because as soon as I lie down, I cough.  So I have to sleep sitting up, which hasn't worked well.  

Tomorrow I'm supposed to go back to work after 2 weeks off, so this cold has lousy timing.  I can't smell anything, I'm continually gacking something up or down (phlegm-wise) and the only thing that tastes good is hot hot tea.  I feel like I've been hit by a bus......(although never having REALLY been hit by a bus, thank God, so not ABSOLUTELY sure what that feels like).

All the Christmas things are just as they were on Christmas day and I won't be putting them away probably until next weekend.  That's ok since I love to buck convention and enjoy the beauty of the colored lights long after their prescribed time is over.

Not too many thoughts are squeezing their way through my cold, so it's off to find a comfortable chair and maybe a chance to catch up on sleep for a little while.

Merry Christmas!!

For the last 15  years (except last year) my husband and I have gone to the Rusty Pelican on Biscayne Bay for Christmas Eve dinner.  This year we made the usual plans and invited some friends to come with us, never imagining that the place had been ruined "renovated".  7 million dollars later, gone were the lovely white linen-covered tables, the courtly waiters, the fishnets hanging from the ceiling with beautiful colored balls in them.  Gone was the piano, the little wooden cubbies for two against the wall facing the bay.  We knew something was wrong when we approached the entrance.  No more the wooden deck like ramp with a beautiful goldfish pond next to it, covered by a wooden roof.  None of the magic and romantic touches that spoke of Miami's past on the seacoast.  We used to arrive just before dark and watch the sun go down.  Then the lights of Miami's city skyline across the bay would come on with the addition of Christmas themed decorations on the sky scrapers - and it would all be reflected in the bay..  The food was always delicious and more than we could finish - a totally delightful and special experience every year.  Until this year.

When we entered the parking area, there were 3 loose dogs - Rottweilers - just roaming around.  Perhaps that should have been out first clue.  Next, the whole entrance way was concrete and steps....all the cozy wooden ambiance was gone.  We walked in - at least they didn't cover over the wooden floors - those are the only thing that remains of what was a wonderful place to dine.  

Now, before we went, my husband called to make reservations and THAT should have been our first clue, actually.  The phone was answered by what my hubby thinks was a service who assured us that there were absolutely no available reservations, which had never happened before.  So hubby went on line and found their web site, never imagining that all was changed.  He was able to make reservations for 4 with absolutely no trouble - we decided to eat early since we assumed there were no reservations for later, so we set the time for 4 pm, figuring there would be plenty of time to watch the sun go down and enjoy the meal.  

As we entered the dining area, there was a giant wine refrigerator on either side of the walkway that went from floor to ceiling - a lovely warm blinding aluminum silver color (yes, that's sarcasm).  As we entered the dining room, I noticed all the fishnets and colored lights were gone.  It was slowly dawning on me that things had changed mightily.  The walls were bland and painted white with kitschy fifties type designs in place of pictures.  Where there had been aquariums full of brightly colored fish and low lighting, now there was a blank bright white wall.  All the dark wood interior had been stripped away - no more cozy for-two cubbies.  Even the tables were different - no crisp white linen tablecloths - and the style was reminiscent once again of bad 50's kitchen furniture.  

The hovering professional waiters were gone, replaced by teenage girls whose service was slow and haphazard (they didn't even tell us that dinner wasn't available until 5PM and handed us lunch menus).  By now I was thoroughly disillusioned.   I saw a TV hanging from a wall down at the other end of the dining area and thought, "This is nothing but a fancy schmancy sports bar now."  The last thing I want to see in a romantic restaurant is a TV hanging from the ceiling.

Now for the food.  What a disaster.  The Rusty Pelican has now become one of those poshy places that puts tiny tiny amounts of highly embellished food on your plate and charges you an arm, a leg and a couple of feet for the pleasure (I use the word loosely).  Not only does the place look like every other place in the world with no distinctive Miami feel, but the food is lousy on top of it - and very expensive.  

As we sat around the table and looked with dismay at the menus, we could not pick anything that sounded even remotely good.  First of all, it was sandwiches and salads and appetizers, mostly .  No basket of hot fresh rolls and butter covered by a heavy white napkin.  I ordered the Crab Cake(s) - the menu used the plural, but there was only one cake.  I also ordered the Calamari.  My husband found the steaks listed on the bottom right of the menu in small print.  The cheapest steak was $32.00.  We used to come to the Rusty Pelican and expect to spend about $100.00 with tip for the two of us - and leave satiated with delicious wine, food and dessert.    My friends ordered the Seafood Scallops as an appetizer and both husband and wife ordered a steak.  

When the waiter brought the Seafood Scallops, we just about burst out laughing.  We could almost find nothing on the plate but some colorful sauce.  The "scallops" were shaved pieces of sea scallop - 3 of them, covered with some decorative herbs and sauce.  When I say shaved, I mean LESS than 1/4" thick - 3 pieces.  The calamari was rubbery and the sauce was hot, as in peppery.  I cannot eat peppery food, and was not aware that the dipping sauce for the calamari would be hot, so I ate them plain.  There were about 12 breaded pieces of calamari - not bad for a small appetizer.  The crab cake tasted pretty good, but when I finished sharing my crab cake and calamari - I was far from full and I was not going to order an  expensive steak on top of the appetizers that I thought would fill me up.  Surely 2 appetizers should be enough.  The steaks came for our friends and for my husband and I had a bite.  It was overdone and not a mile within the deliciousness of the steaks at Longhorn's.  With the steak a small scoop of mashed potatoes and a small scoop of some sauteed vegetables was served - and that was it.

We all agreed that the restaurant wasn't just disappointing, it was awful.  The waitress brought us some cards advertising their desserts, but we decided to forego that ripoff and head out.  We didn't even bother with coffee.  3 steaks, 3 appetizers and 4 glasses of wine - the house wine - the bill was $207.00 - and that was WITHOUT a tip..  Imagine if I'd actually had something measurable to eat!!

I hope people look up "Rusty Pelican" and find this post.  I dislike ostentatious and overblown show with no substance and that is what this "new", "modern" Rusty Pelican is - we all think it's more like the Shaved Pelican.

On the way out to our car we passed another couple going in.  He stopped us and asked how we liked the "new" Rusty Pelican since they hadn't been there since it re-opened.  We told them if they liked the old Rusty Pelican they would not like it now and let it go at that.

OH - and Merry Christmas everyone!!  We went to the lovely evening service at our church after dinner, so that made all the difference.

Tomorrow it's up to Lake Placid, FL to see my mother, father and sister and her Significant Other, to share a delicious dinner and gifts, and to enjoy the peace and quiet and the Old Florida feel of the place.  Last time we visited, we got up extra early and went to our favorite wildlife viewing spot.  We saw deer grazing and all kinds of songbirds and warblers, and just being out in nature was soul healing.  

Hey - It's Almost Christmas

Boy, life sure passes fast when you don't write from October to December.  I just took a short hiatus into reality, which wasn't much fun....but I'm back for today, at least. 

I'd love to write regularly, but since I work full time and feel as if it sucks all the energy out of me, by the time I get home, there's nothing left to blog with.

I'm now off for 2 weeks for Christmas Break - YAY!!!  I've got the Christmas Tree up (it's smaller this year - about 4 feet high and much easier to decorate, not to mention much cheaper), presents are wrapped (I've got to do more tomorrow).....and I'm ready to make Chex Mix and bake fudge and cookies next week. 

Meanwhile, it's Saturday night and I'm on vacation.  Hubby and I watched one of the cutest movies I've ever seen - Mr. Popper's Penguins.  I'm a penguin lover;  well, I'm an animal lover and penguins are amongst the most adorable animals ever created, to me.

I have as natural as possible a back yard in a suburban area for the critters that may drop by, and I have a soft spot for all birds (even rock doves, a.k.a. pigeons), squirrels, possums - whatever stops by.  To me, the ultimate creature as far as cuteness - I hate to use that word, but it's the only one that fits - is penguins.

A few years ago, my husband treated me to a visit to SeaWorld in Orlando, with a special behind the scenes look at the penguins.  I got to pet one - I could have stayed there all day.  They are just......adorable - I don't know how else to put it. 

Anyway - the movie, "Mr. Popper's Penguins" is totally unrealistic and is a lovely story with great real and animated penguin segments - it wins my award for "Best Nice Story/Comforting/Sweet/Funny Movie". 

Have I mentioned I love penguins?  I saw a video once of a real penguin somewhere whose owner would put a backpack on him every morning and he would walk to the local fish mongers.  The fish store owner would give him some raw fish snacks and also pack up a nice big fish in the backpack for the penguin to take home.  He lived in his own little shack full of ice.....

To be honest - in reality, I don't think any animals should be kept in captivity.  I have a Cockatoo that I wish I could bring to Australia, his native country, so he could fly free and be what he is supposed to be.....

But for total escapism, an unrealistic (at least as far as the penguins - the family story is altogether possible), heart warming story - Mr. Popper's Penguins is absolutely wonderful.

Annoying Obsession

If you've read my previous post, you know about my color/shopping issues.  My next problem is kind of hard to describe. 

For years I've wanted to be a REGULAR Bible reader.  That means a "quiet time" every morning with Bible, notebook and various (colored) writing utensils.

But every morning during the work week I get up at 6AM and I can't keep my eyes open.  On the BEST days, I actually pull out the Bible and get set up.  And then my cat jumps in my lap and knocks things down and my head is lolling backwards as my eyes close inadvertently.  And that was before I had to be at work at 7AM.  I used to doze from 6AM to 7AM in the good old days and then wake up, get dressed and be at work by 8AM.

Those days of missed opportunity are gone.  Forget it now.  As soon as I get up at 6AM I have to GO GO GO to be at work on time.  Unless I suddenly begin to have tons more energy at a much earlier hour, this is not going to work....in the morning anyway.  I'm 55 and I don't think I'm going to suddenly have more energy any time soon.    Also - I can go to bed early and STILL be sleepy in the morning.  It doesn't appear to be a lack of sleep issue.

In the afternoon - I get home at about 3:45 - I'm beat.  I used to have energy when I got home, and sometimes I still do - but if I sit in my chair it is GUARANTEED that I will fall asleep, even while reading a scintillating book.  I sometimes come home and work in the yard or do laundry or cook a great meal (few and far between) and those are the days with lots of energy.  On those same days, if I sat down to read, I'd be asleep in no time. 

So here I am.......not a regular Bible reader and it's about TIME for me to make a change!!  Afternoons are going to have to be the time for now - and I have to make it happen. 

Oh - one more thing.  If the house is a mess, I cannot sit down long or concentrate on what I'm doing (like Bible study) because a voice in my head keeps making me look up and I can barely restrain myself from picking up or straightening this and that - and why bother just doing two small things when the whole house needs to be done.  I think, "I'll just do the dishes." Then I think - "I can sit down and enjoy my reading, study, etc. when I'm finished cleaning."  And then, of course, I give in and clean. Of course, the older I get, when I'm finished cleaning, I'm in physical pain and very tired, with Biofreeze on my achy parts and a heating pad.  Ain't no solid mental work going to be accomplished after physical labor.

This, I think, is the Martha syndrome.  If I could only KEEP it clean - but with 4 cats, 2 birds and a husband, including my own bad habits, it's not been possible so far.

I think maybe I have to tone down my expectations.  I want to do an in depth study, not just read.  I have a tendency to do nothing if I can't do it "right" (by my definition), and that is why I don't just read one chapter.  If I don't prepare and have a plan, I just skim the page and I'm not concentrating.  I'm thinking about the day ahead and I've finished reading and don't remember a thing I read.  Sometimes I'm aware this is happening and I start reading the chapter over, but after 2 sentences, my brain has gone down a rabbit trail again.  Maybe I have a bit of ADD?  Maybe I'm just nuts, but this inability to stick to my resolution to read every day and KNOW what I'm reading is driving me even more nuts. 

Impulse Shopping

I have what I think to be a unique "problem".   This problem has to do with color, specifically several colors in "color order" like a color wheel.

I was the child who, when receiving a box of 64 Crayola crayons, rearranged them in "color order" before using them.  And then, I would just look at them because the array of tints made my eyes happy.

I have not changed.  If I am in the Office Supply store and some clever salesperson has arranged printer paper in waves of ascending color against one large wall, I am transfixed and just want to BUY.  Worse, if there are reams of paper that have several shades available in that one package.....I cannot resist.  I have to remind myself that I have more paper than I will ever use, thanks to years of this same issue.  Next, there is the pen and pencil aisle, filled with even more danger. There is always a new company coming out with the ultimate gel pen or felt tip pen or artist's pen, and the packages are arrayed in blankets of surging color that literally call out to me, "Buy Me."  I also have to restrain myself because I have a collection of colored gel, ballpoint and felt tip pens that fills my desk, having given into this urge many times in the past. I've taken to storing them by color, no matter what type or brand they are.  All the greens together, all the blues together - and it makes my eyes dance with joy to look at them.  Write with them?  I'll probably never use them all. 

That's only one store and only one genre of purchase.  As you can imagine, every year at "back to school" time I can't resist buying some of the notebooks with beautiful colored covers when I see them displayed like this:

Then there are clothing stores.....

And stores that sell bath and bedroom supplies:

And sewing and craft stores:

I'm doomed.  So....I also have a bin with all different colors of yarn to make a granny afghan in the old fashioned style, with black edging.  I've gotten maybe 12 squares done in the past 2 years.

And finally, the piece de resistance.....multi colored lights.  Things of bright color that light up too?  It's almost too much.  A few years ago, my mother got me several light up pens for Christmas - their barrels, when a button was pressed, were clear and went through several light color changes.  The decorative solar balls in our back yard glow different colors.  So you can imagine that Christmas is a dangerous time.  There are always some colored lights in our home somewhere, and I don't mean packed up.  For the past 5 years, we have a set of tiny colored lights hung around the top of our living room walls and we put them on every night. 

I'm sure everyone thinks Christmas lights are beautiful, but I think I have some sort of disorder.  Whatever it is, color, especially in "color order" like a rainbow, makes my eyes delerious.  If I'm in any kind of store that displays colors as shown in this blog entry, I'm instantly distracted and I have to stare.  I have a light up keyboard on my computer that glows in 7 different colors - I usually pick purple.  I'm just curious if there is anyone out there with the same level of color insanity???

Decision Headaches and The Rule of Electronics

I logged in today to upload pictures that have been sitting on my desktop cluttering it up for weeks now.  Now I can put those photos in their regular storage place and get them off the desktop.  

However, when I logged in, I discovered that Blogger had lots of updated features, which is great if you have tons of time.  I work in an IT department and am constantly faced with updates both soft and hard.  When using Microsoft Word, for example, I have to remember not to click in the place I used to for a specific command - no, Microsoft has moved it around, changed the look, redistributed pretty much the same features in an "updated" package which must be repurchased.   We duly repurchase and prepare to retrain our poor employees on the changes to the software they just got used to using.  Hey - I guess it's job security, but when I come home and want to have a little leisure time on my own home computer, I find the same thing.  

Blogger changed the look of the "dashboard" - it was fine before, but someone wanted to change the look.  Ad Sense has been updated - the old one won't work as well.  Then there's Google Analytics, which instructions, for the life of me, I can't figure out.  I need software that is intuitive, i.e., it can be figured out by "playing around" for a little while.  So I said to heck with Google Analytics until I can devote the brain power to understanding their directions - which will probably be never, and by then, it will be called something else and work differently, anyway.

It's getting to the point where I have to prioritize my online choices.  Do I want to spend 2 hours trying to get some add on to work on my blog.....or do I just want to blog?

I'm a sucker for bells and whistles, that's the problem.  The bigger, faster, better, brighter, more colorful, more choices available, the more I usually like it.  But this growth phenomenon has morphed into a monster that I don't have the energy to combat.  If I had my druthers, I'd have every feature available on my blog and I'd become rich, of course, from the ad revenue.  But I need a secretary to do that and I haven't got one.  I also don't have a maid to clean my house or care for my four cats and two birds and one husband.  Time is at a premium and it flies even if you're not having fun.

I think I'll just blog.  If someone reads me, great.  If they don't, great too.  I'm going to forget about ads and linking to ads and BlogHer and other fancy dan things - and just Keep It Simple Stupid.

I've gotten to the point with a lot of many-choice items where I can eliminate the extraneous quickly.  A selection of 22 styles of drinking glasses in 14 designer colors?  Within about 30 seconds I can narrow it down to what I like and if there is more than one, another 30 seconds will decide the final winner.  But the world of computers is just too varied, changing and complicated for me to make really educated choices.

The hardware is changing all the time.  What was a fabulous processor two years ago is now totally passe.  Computers usually have a practical and useful life of about five years before it's "too slow", "too outdated", etc. 

There are new hardware inventions constantly.  Every year there is a new iteration of IPhone, then there are competitors who up the ante.  Then there is the IPad and all it's siblings fighting for first place.

How about the social sites?  There is Facebook, Twitter and a whole host of other similar sites for people to report their latest activity, like burping.

Has anyone figured out Google +???  It is an only-by-invitation Facebook competitor which makes heady claims.  Limiting access to only those "invited" is a come-on for those computer users who want to be first on the bandwagon.  I finally was able to get an "invite" and signed up.  I haven't been back.  I find it off putting that this is "invitation only", and it's no better than Facebook, which I (mostly) know how to use.  I watch younger people than myself whip through all the possibilities like posting pictures, "tagging" someone, accessing Facebook and all it's features through their phones, etc. and I just want to scream!!  There's too much to learn and I'll never have the proficiency that so many users have.

My mother always bragged about how smart I was, what a high IQ I had, etc. and now I often feel dumb as a stump, outshone by computer users who have a very shaky command of correct grammar or historical facts, but can whip through HTML and scripts and setup options like Einstein on speed.

END RANT

Some Pictures from October in the Backyard

I'm going to throw a bunch of pictures up taken from my backyard during the month of October.  I've been so crazy busy at work that when I come home, my brain is fried and all I want to do is shut my eyes.  Blogging is the last thing I feel capable of doing, although I'd love to devote much more time to it.  This business of having to go outside the home to make money to survive is just not my dream, but it's a necessity.  I have SO many projects I'll never get to because all the hours of the day when I'm at my best are spent for someone else's benefit, not my own.  Crab crab crab - that's what I feel like......a big, fat CRAB.  So enjoy the pictures - they were from quiet moments when I was resting from the incredibly exhausting stimuli of this insane world.