Not this time?

It would be unfair to adopt a young puppy now and then go on vacation for two or three weeks in August. Wouldn't it?

I can't envision taking a young one along (or rather, I can and it is not pretty) plus I don't think it would be wise to interrupt its training/upbringing at such a young age, for three whole weeks, by boarding it with our vet. It would be costly, too.

I am talking myself out of going to visit a six weeks old terrier mix which was posted on Freecycle. I did email the owner to see a picture and, like all six week pups, it is the cutest thing. Socialized too, because her children help her take care of it, she wrote.

Doggone it . . .

Mod tech . . .

Zeta taught me something, yesterday:

Did you know that you can look up doppler radar for your area, on line, at a weather site? If you have an internet enabled cell phone or laptop with you, and you are caught in a sudden summer storm, the radar display lets you know how large the bad area of the storm is and you can see whether it is moving away. Or whether you are in for more windblown drenching.

Our local television channel 4 has doppler radar available. I discovered that if you look at the time stamp for the beginning of the radar loop and at the time stamp at the end of the loop, you can almost guestimate how long it will take for that little hole in the clouds to open up over you so you can run to your car. Our radar display is about five minutes behind real time which isn't too bad.

'Course you could always stand out in the rain looking up. But, I don't recommend it. . . .

Please not . . .

Today, we had a little preview of hurricane season. For some reason, the wind came straight out of the west, causing the hard rain to tattoo our side door like a highland drum. The folded, bare mast and spars of our neighbor's boat were lifted above our hibiscus hedge, waving and oscillating as if at sea. Capsizing was not out of the question.

Smaller items were flung into the hedges and the tall palms turned inside out like broken umbrellas. I opened the front door a crack to experience it firsthand. The wind nearly took the door from my grip even though it was only opened enough to peek out. I locked it shut although I don't know what good locking it could do. It just felt safer. Silly.

We guessed the wind gusts might be between 50-60 mph and we have been through enough 'canes to be fair judges of gust speed. These were not altogether steady, though. The wind would moderate between gusts instead of hitting a steady 75 or so and howling up from there. There was no singing of the wind through the wires and chain link fences. No listening to that howl climb in height and volume as it approached. No hearing the trees crack and groan as roots gave way or branches twisted loose to fly.

I had better stop. I'm scaring myself . . .

Happy . . .

During WW II, we received a telephone call that devastated Mommas. She threw herself across the bed in the downstairs bedroom and cried like an injured child.

Dad explained that Watson had been killed when the wing came off his flying boxcar. Watson was her sister's son and Mommas had a colored portrait-style picture of him, wearing his uniform, on her dresser. He was a better looking version of a young John Wayne.

I didn't know that a flying boxcar was a cargo plane. I didn't know why he had been flying in a boxcar. I only knew what I could see: that a telephone call like that one could distort one's reality into awful, new directions.

People are living with that knowledge, today. And today, we honor those who have given all they posessed so that we may be free to keep this holiday however we wish.

God Bless them and those who love and honor them.

It isn't a big deal, but . . .

U-verse is just a speck on our horizon, I would guess. I went to see if there were two boxes on Miller as Zeta suggested. One was standing solo like the monolith in 2001, A Space Odyssey, only not so large. No little box off to the side, behind it, or in front. We have promises only, so far. At least they're talking to us about it.

Today, I go for another shot into an eye. I have become an expert in explaining that it doesn't hurt and that the most annoying thing about it is not being able to get water in the eye for two weeks. Plus the retina specialist's office is so busy that built-in waits are expected.

However, those things are a lot less annoying than not being able to see . . .

To boldly go where noONE has gone, before . . .

Today, was a Star Trek day. I want to see it again in order to take in more of the details or, at least, I need to have my own copy as soon as it is released on disk.

Will I tell you anything about it? Oh, no. Do I recommend going to see it on the big screen?

Oh, Yes . . .

Can you hear me now? No?

We had a most welcome visit from an AT&T rep to discuss U-verse. We don't know how long it will be before the service actually reaches our area but we have signed up. Installation will be at no charge, when it finally does arrive, which was a pretty good incentive to change to that different horse, midstream or not.

The kicker was that we will double our internet speed. Now I really do need some small, inexpensive, external speakers. I have to disconnect from the docking station when I want to watch something on hulu.com (or anything else with sound) because connecting the laptop to the docking station disables the internal speakers.

There's always something . . .

it's time to . . .

It is such freedom. My battery needs a new wristwatch. Or the reverse may be true.

I don't know the accurate time unless I glance up at the bedroom clocks, dining room wall clock, three clocks in the living room, three in the kitchen including oven and microwave, or the computer screen.

I guess I'm not as time-free as I thought.

We have too darn many ways to find out what time it is . . .

Follow that car . . .

When we left to visit J's mother, our grass was brown and crunchy. We were gone for six days and it did not rain a drop while we were away. At least, it didn't on our grass.

This was one of the few trips during which not a drop of rain fell on our moving vehicle. Nor on any parked ones that we could see, either.

However, we must have towed a vortex of moisture laden air behind us as we returned home. Perhaps it was lost and needed a hint. Because, last night it rained some - just enough to make the brown grass supple and give the occasional greenish blade some hope.

This morning it is spattering rain again and the ground is loving the idea of slowly taking it in.

So now we know. It must be true. If there isn't rain down here in the southern end of our state, we have to travel up there and guide it down . . .

More plans . . .

Today, our faithful transportation feels abandoned. We haven't been near it since we got home yesterday. Tomorrow, perhaps, I will climb aboard and see if it remembers the way to the supermarket.

Don't you just love planning ahead . . .

Plans . . .

The day we arrived at J's mother's home, we went to bed early because we wanted to. Well, okay, we needed to. In fact I could have put my head down any time and been gone. Thank Heaven for Starbucks.

On Mother's Day, we took J's mother and sister to a fine restaurant which gave each of the mothers a little something. It was a gift certificate usable on the next visit.

The day after Mother's Day, we had big plans. We were going to the bank and the post office.

I couldn't wait . . .

Most of the time . . .

Tomorrow we are Rock Fish Grilling for lunch with Zeta and M.

Since we are traveling on Friday, BigEd and Mew will be keeping each other company. She is pretty easy company. She mostly does this:
She is on top of the condo that J's mother brought her. She tried the various levels once each and decided she prefers the penthouse. We don't bother her while she is up there and she visibly relaxes when she jumps up.

I know, she is visibly relaxed most of the time unless she wants something . . .

How do you get to Carnegie Hall?

01 Doc asked if there would be any pictures of what I have been doing in Origami class. I will try to put some here although I am still not used to Windows Vista. Above are some boxes that I am not too ashamed to acknowledge. The top row of boxes are the examples of reverse sides of the boxes on the bottom row. The triangular ones require three sheets of paper and the square one requires four pieces. They are docking boxes meaning that the parts have to be interlocked together. That is the most difficult part, for me. Technically, I understand that these are not pure origami. I don't mind as long as they are fun to do.

The first time I attempted a triangular box at home, the paper became so weakened from being refolded and manipulated that I finally crumpled it up and started over again. You know how practice can get some people to Carnegie Hall?

It can also get you some docking boxes . . .

Go see . . .

Zeta and M are thinking of getting back to normal after the long weekend of welcoming family and guests in conjunction with the wedding and reception. We had eclectic food choices in such quantities as to be simply amazing. The one of the best parts was seeing A's face when he discovered his brother had flown in to surprise him. M the younger flies back home tonight.

Zeta has some pictures up on her site. Go check 'em out . . .

Wedding report . . .

S-the-guru has many talents including being the official wedding photographer for today's festivities. I saw many of his shots in the camera and hope to see them on line as he posts them. Perhaps Zeta will display some, also.

It went so well, today. V was a lovely bride and A was funny and proud. His brother flew in as a surprise and when A saw that his brother had come, his face was a study in surprised delight. I knew he would be there and it was so difficult not to blurt out a teletale comment before hand.

We ate and ate at the reception. It was similar to the loaves and fishes in one way: lots left over. A had requested Mommas's broccoli casserole, especially. This time, I pounded Ritz crackers for the topping, which I seldom do and which is faithful to Mommas' version. They seemed to like it. They were surprised to hear that it was handed down from my mother. S said that it is now an old family recipe, for sure.

There was an eclectic selection of food, something for everyone. We had such a good time and so did everyone else. I may eat again tomorrow, or maybe not.

At any rate, early to bed sounds about right . . .

Tomorrow, tomorrow . . .

Tomorrow is the special day. There will be a wedding and a reception to celebrate. A and V will join their lives together. Family and friends will join their voices in celebratory toasts. Zeta and M will host the reception. They have been making preparations for weeks.

I hope the alterations to my suit will be ready this afternoon, as promised.

Nothing like doing things ahead of time . . .

A flight of . . . cranes

We have family members visiting from upstate: the capital to be exact. They arrived last night and we were so happy to have them here. We knew they had endured a long day of travel and still we kept them awake until after 1 a.m.. No one wanted to be the one to call it quits and retire. Finally, J said that they had to get some rest, so we let them do that.

Today, while they were out seeing other family members, I went to Origami class at the library. I had spent the whole week practicing three-part, triangular boxes and today we made star boxes and cranes, instead.

I have gotten fairly adept at the triangular boxes I had practiced: don't even need to consult the diagrams any more.


Today, we reverted to cranes. We need to practice the cranes, we were told. My crane's legs made him appear physically challeged. Actually handicapped to be uncorrect and explicit. The legs transform into a tail and head with some reverse folding. After I finished, he looked mentally challenged, as well.

Then we blew them up which means we inflated the little body. It didn't require the use of ordinance . . . although that might have been kinder.

This is the last time it gets its way . . .

The literature that accompanied the laptop trumpeted that it came with "Wireless N" technology. S-the-Guru explained that meant not "Wireless G." Hoot. Woot.

"What does that mean?" was our next question. Stronger, farther reaching wireless connection, explained S-the-Guru.

Since the two workstations are set up at diametrically opposite ends of the house, and since the signal has to penetrate what used to be the outside wall of the house, and mostly because the laptop wanted to try the new system, we went with Wireless N. This was a hard decision because Zeta and M offered us the use of a router they are not using. Free is as good as it gets. But the laptop had pleaded for the N and we are humoring it.

But this is the last time, no matter how hard it begs . . .

My eyes! My eyes!

It's not our electrical service or our telephone or DSL that is non-operational. It is the Comcast Cable service and our baseball team has an afternoon game, today. The outage is large which includes at least one node of circa 200 homes. Maybe more than one node is affected but the customer service reps don't really know. The really strange thing is that out of all the channels available to us on a usual day, only one has a picture at present.

This volunteer is the sole channel that shows Bambi and his relatives being brought down by sniper-scoped-appearing rifles borne by whispering trophy seekers. This is not my least favorite channel. It is a channel I would never watch.

Ironic, isn't it . . .

Terminal Cracks . . .

It is sad when something you like, something that works well, gets cracked. Our Rival Smart Crock Pot insert fits that profile exactly - including the cracks. No one knows how this happened. It just did. Sad, no? We have two crock pots and the other one is older, smaller, and also dumber.

I discovered the condition of the insert early in March. I telephoned the maker of our injured appliance after looking on line to see if there was a replacement insert and it appeared to be out of stock. After looking for himself, the customer service rep told me that the insert was unavailable at that time. (I knew this) It should be available for ordering in about 3 weeks, he said.

I put a note on the calendar to try again and forgot about it until today. I had saved the serial number of the crock pot and the serial number of the insert from the previous call. This might shorten the process, one would think. But, no. My call was placed on what appeared to be terminal hold.

When the person came back to the other end of the line, she apologized profusely. Not for the length of the hold, mind you, but for the fact that the replacement for my crock pot insert is no longer manufactured. She also apologized for my not having been told this when I called back in March. She did not know why it had happened but she had an idea how to remedy the matter.

She is having a whole new appliance sent instead of just the insert. Would I mind that the insert is a half-quart larger than the broken one? Uh, no I wouldn't mind.

It ships in 7-10 working days and a tracking number will be emailed to me.

I told the young woman that I found the whole thing a generous response to my problem. She seemed happy about that.

I know I am . . .