General Stuff

I have some assorted items to catch up mentioning...

First, I have given up of the existing camera.  The color is shot.  It makes Lori and Ayla look a bit orange, it blotches the color of even a solid wall, and it starts at 0001 every day (even though I have it set to continuous).   

I have a smartphone, but I haven't learned how to navigate around in it , and I'm not likely to learn how soon).  So I bought a new camera.  Very simple inexpensive camera ("for kids and seniors").  Well I don't need much.  In fact, half my photo-processing effort is reducing the quality of the pictures...  The current one takes 3-5MB pics and I keep the processed ones to 200-300 KB for the blogs and forums.

Second, I have been having problems getting at my Feedly reading list for a month.  I keep getting a message that it can't load.  I tried to find the problem several times with no luck.  So please forgive my not visiting and leaving comments lately.

Today, I "fixed" it.  Which actually means I discovered I was the problem!  About a month ago, I eliminated cookies (on advice from my AV app) and added some extensions (on Safari's advice).  It caused problems and I don't know how to undo the extensions.

For whatever reason, cat blogoshere shows up like a Word page, but I discovered that if I click outside of the "page" I get the normal view.  I need to dig into the settings...  But it occurred to me yesterday that the Feedly "can't load" message looked a lot the same.  So I clicked outside the message and WOW, there was the normal Feedly view with the list of cat blogs!

Made me feel pretty stupid, but I'm glad I can get at Feedly again.  So I'll be visiting and commenting again soon.

Third, I got some confirmation that my regular Twisted Wine Cellars winery has closed.  They are offering (I saw on Go-Daddy) to sell their URL for $400,000!  That pretty much settles my question of whether they are closed.  

Which is a real shame.  I really liked it and it was inexpensive ($9.99 for a 1.5L bottle).  One site said "This Old Vine Zinfandel is medium-bodied with aromas of black cherry, red currant, blackberry bramble and a hint of spice. Concentrated ripe fruit, dark berry flavors and black pepper carry through to the palate while nicely balanced acidity and plush tannins lead to a lingering finish".  Not bad for an inexpensive wine, LOL.  

I'll be going to my local wine/deli/meat place to buy a dozen bottles of different zinfandels to see which I like best for the future.  Might try a few pinot grigios and merlots, too.  They were listed as "similar to zinfandel" at a site I found comparing varieties of wine.

I emailed a wine-blogger who invited questions (and didn't seem like a wine-snob) but I haven't gotten a reply yet.

I usually only have 2 small glasses with dinner, but I do look forward to it and I don't like most wines.  On occasions when I stay up all night, I do have more.  😃

Fourth, TV could get annoying soon.  Not so much because of the writers' strike, but because the future of 3 of my favorite shows's future is "iffy".  'Archer' is an animated spy-spoof and the next season has not yet been renewed.  'La Brea' is expected to return, but no season premier is scheduled.  'Ark' seem planned for a 2nd season, but no date is set.  I worry about 'La Brea' and 'Ark' because they seem to have an irregular and short season, so you never know what might happen.

My other favorite show (other than MSNBC and CNN news) is 'Real Time With Bill Maher'.  It is not news, but it is "topical" and he has some very unusual guests.  I have a fondness for intellectual sarcasm, and he is a master at that.  The writers' strike will affect his show.

The other channels I watch won't be affected (Science, History, National Geographic, Smithsonian).

Fifth, Superglue is dangerous stuff.  The adjustment buckles of 2 of my suspenders (braces to some of you) won't stay tight and the clips to the pant waist come loose sometimes.  I could buy new ones, but I have a repair-it mindset ("Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without").  Well, OK, I don't do the "do without" part, but my first instinct is "make it do".

So I decided to set the adjustment buckles in a correct place and then superglue them there.  If the elastic weakens and stretches after that, I'll give up on them (or more likely, find some other use for them) and get new ones.  So I set about supergluing the adjustment buckles.

That's when superglue becomes evil!  The first time you open one of those tiny tubes, it works fine.  Afterwards, it is always a problem to get more out.  Sure, there is a tiny pin that is supposed to keep the outlet open.  It doesn't.  

So I was squeezing the tube to apply the superglue to the buckles and nothing came out.  I cut the tip shorter, and it came out in a blob.  Which was OK because I spread the blob on the suspenders with a toothpick.

I didn't realize I had gotten some on a fingertip and then touched my thumb to the finger.  Don't worry, I acted quickly and apply some mineral oil to the spot.  They separated with a bit of pulling.  A slight shell remains but it will flake off in a day or 2.  This isn't my 1st experience with superglue on skin, LOL! 

The next part of the suspender renovation is to add thin rubber pads to the past clasps.  Some of my pants have a belt holder strip (that gives thickness) at the right place; some don't.  So I plan to use rubber cement to attach thin patches of that rubbery shelving mesh inside both sides of the clasps.  It will grip better.

That's enough for one day...  Thank you for reading this far!

Various Stuff

 Yeah, just "stuff".

1.  Brought my electric mower to the designated repair store last week.  Bought it from Home Depot last year.  One day, the blade stopped turning.  At least it is still under warrantee.  But I didn't know that Home Depot owned Ryobi.  So actually, there was not really anywhere else I could have brought it too.  They will contact me in about a week to tell me if the repair is warranteed.  I bet 50% no.  But I will still have it repaired if half the cost of a new one.

2.  I was late planting my heirloom tomatoes.  In 2016, I had a bowlful by this time...

3.  Have to show you this...

I had 2 others (with different faces) 40 years ago, but a clumsy housemate broke 2.  I got my own house shortly after that to escape such people.  Been happy on my own ever since.

4.  Have a list of house improvements/maintenance, but tree work comes first as one dead tree can reach the house and the storms blow in that direction.  So safety first, improvements second.  The 3rd tree service bid will come after a visit Monday.  It will be good to have the dead trees safely removed.  Then I can focus on the house.

5.  I grow a lot of small leafy crops in planters on the deck.  On a good time they look like this...

You can cut them back several times and they re-grow.  but eventually, they don't grow back.  And I had new Boy Choy growing, but some critter came up on the deck the other day and ate them all.  Have to replant inside under lights.

6.  Have corn, beans, and cukes growing.  There is still time til harvest.  And some crops like broccoli, carrots, and spinach can be planted in 2 weeks here for harvesting in the cool weather of October/November.

A New Riding Lawn Mower

It was time!  The old 'White Outdoor" riding mower was nearly 25 years old.  I limped it along the past several years.  It needs annual professional repair (about $400 a shot).  The charging system stopped working last year, so every start or stall needs a jump-start and it complains "NNOOO" even then.  And it cuts unevenly these days.

The tires go flat in a few weeks and, they are sneaky about it.  The tires are stiff enough so that air-pressure loss isn't immediately visible.  Until, I make a sharp turn and the bead breaks (tire separates from rim).  If any of you have ever tried to re-bead a small stiff tire, you know how difficult that is.   I should have put inner tubes in them years ago.

The local outdoor yard equipment shop is awful.  High prices, and it takes a month.  When it opened, there were good owners, but they sold it to people who are sullen and greedy.  Most mechanaics understand "make it go good", but with these new guys, you practically have to write a detailed repair ticket yourself.

So this year, when the engine started clunking and clanking when I jumped it making grinding noises as it s l o w l y started, I decided I had had enough.

I research Consumer Reports (CR) magazine, of course.  They got me my last 3 cars (all really good) and with pricing information that made the salesmen complain bitterly at first and try to deny the data.

This year, all the top models of riding lawn mowers were John Deere.  But I made the "mistake" of looking for negative reviews of them "just in case".  Naturally, I found some.  "The transmission is weak",  "you can't tow anything uphill", the dealer doesn't honor the warranty".  But other people loved them.  Well they sell snowplow attachments, back soil plow attachments and give a full 2 year warranty, so how weak can they be>  And CR tests equipment very thoroughly.

After carefully comparing the suitable riding mowers in the most recent CR  article and ratings several times, and considering my modest requirements (not trying to tow anything heavy around, gentle upslope, high rating for even cutting, good mulching rating, etc), I settled on an e-130 John Deere.


Naturally the local Big Box store didn't carry it, but going to the John Deere website, I found a local dealer (who actually had the CR price).  I called.  First, they answered a long list of questions I had about the E-130 that weren't in the specifications.  Like, do the tire valves face outwards or inwards (inwards ones are REALLY awkward).  I said we had a sale.

They told me they could give me the best price if I went back to the John Deere website and my Zipcode would actually direct the sale back to them (manufacturer incentives are really high right now).

When I expressed some doubt about that, the local guy stayed on the phone and directed me through the website, getting me to both the appropriate mulching kit and inner tubes.  I purchased.  Sure enough, in 15 seconds, they got confirmation of the sale!


I picked it up today.  Cant use it yet, it has been raining.  Well, it should dry out By Sunday morning (slight chance of rain in the late afternoon, so say 1PM mowing. 

But here is a separate nice part!  I got help!  I am saving more for a post tomorrow, but if you have read this far, tune in tomorrow!  I pay myself by the word (joke).

New Mac Mini

I recieved a new Mac Mini today.  It has about 8x memory.  Setting it up will actually be easy.  Mac has something called a Time Machine that saves everything on the disk to an external one.  But sometimes you want to clean things up first.  It a good time to do that.  One of the things was to delete all those notifications I had about blog comments.  I had 15,000+!

I deleted those.  The comments are on the blog, so I mean just email notifications of them.  I have tendencies of a hoarder, so I have to clear things sometimes. 

I'm organizing my files a bit.  I have picture files organized into Cat, Home, Family, Yard, and Other.  Set up by year and month. There are a lot of loose files around those.  Sometimes when you want to save attachments and pics etc, the program doesn't let you get them to exactly the detailed folders I have.  That will take a day.  Or I can just save that "as is" and hope to do it later.  Won't take up any extra space. 

I'm going from 16 GB RAM to 128 RAM, so it not like a few files will be a problem.  The speed is faster, and that's good.  I was starting to get the "slows".  And it isn't the internet connection. 

Speed is relative...  When I remember that 9600kbs dial up seemed fast, I smile.  I used to think that several minutes to refresh a screen was great.   LOL!

I'm also going through the apps list to de-install many unused ones.  And ordered a new keyboard.  I can't touch-type, but I know where most of the keys are.  But so many are pounded to invisibility (is that the E or the R?).  I wanted a keyboard with the letters depressed (sunken) rather than decals but couldn't find one.  OH well.  I read about painting them with clear fingernail polish, so I will try that.  I also saw an overlay, but I don't think I would like THAT!

So, I may be off-and on for a few days, while everything gets set up again.  The world won't end at my end or yours. 

It also means that I have to upgrade to the latest Mac OS.  I tried that a few months ago, and it ruined a few old programs I liked.  But I tried it 2 days ago and they worked.  I hope that continues. 

Anyway, if I come and go until 2020 a bit, that's why.  Just wanted to let everyone know...

Mac Mini Upgrade

AFTER I figured out just WHAT I was trying to upgrade, it took about 3 days and separately 13 hours.  Well, I did have old programs...  And I thought it was a good idea to allow everything the MacKeeper software suggested in the full scan.

Everything went bad for several days,  but I think we are back in business.  The last struggle was to get the Firefox bookmarks back.  Bizarrely, Firefox-On-Mac now seems to "promise" that everytime you upgrade, they wipe your bookmarks.  As if that is a good thing.  I don't know how it works on Windows. 

But I found guidance about restoring an "old profile" and that seems to be the key to keeping bookmarks.

The new "look" is  white text on a black background.  It was a real surprise, and it doesn't look all that bad, but I found a way on "display" to restore that!  Jut getting things working again is good enough for now.

And, so far as I can tell, I got all my other programs updates to work with Mac OS Catalina 10.15.2, not that I see the benefits yet.  I'll play around on the puter to see if everything works. 

If anyone else is having similar problems, I may be able to help for a few days before the info fades away in memory.

BUT, I looked up the newer mac mini...

I went for a full new one.

So I just ordered the new mac mini.  It seems impressive.  The current one lasted 5 years.  The new one will probably last longer (seems about 5x the memory) AND it is a lot faster (and the current one still has the "slows" after all my work).

Cheers!

Odds and Ends

1.  I had to dispatch another groundhog a few days ago.  I've gotten in the habit of finding their burrows, stuffing the carcass into the opening, and covering the opening with the dirt from around the burrow.  Well, this last one made a weird entrance that was just under soil level.  I covered the carass and tamped down the soil.  I do that because I figure new varmints MUST sometimes intersect old burrows and the existence of a dead groundhog ought to discourage the new ones.

I noticed some movement around the burrow the next day, and realized there were 3 vultures standing on my toolshed!  I went out (and they flew away) and discovered just a slight exposure of the groundhog from pecking at the soil. 

I've seen nature shows that state that vultures find dead food only by sight.  They are wrong.  The burrow was not visible at all due to thick overhanging overgrowth.  They can smell as well as see.  After I covered the carcass with 4" more dirt, they came back the next day.  So then I covered it with heavy boards.  They haven't been back.

2.  I lost power today.  No storm, no lightning, it just went off for an hour.  That was a surprise.  The bigger surprise was that my computer went off.  I have a backup battery for it, but it didn't activate.  I did some chores by dim daylight (cleaned litterboxes, collected trash, prepared veggies and chicken for dinner, and listened to a battery backed-up radio.  I have buried electrical cables here, so outages are rare.  Which means I forget how much I depend on electricity.

I had to laugh at myself when I tried to open the garage door (electric opener), walked into rooms and flipped light switches, etc.  I've read that leaving too many electrical things on after a power failure can throw circuit breakers when the power returns from sudden demand, so I went around and turned off everything I could expect for a couple lights to let me know when the power returned.

3.  It has been raining for so long that my tomatoes and beans are dying.  I picked all the ripe tomatoes and most are cracked open from all the water and fungal diseases are rampant.  Fortunately, I have 3 tomato plants that are under the rainshadow of the overhanging roof.  I means that in dry times, I have to water them more, but in rain, they do better.  And they are all looking healthy and loaded with fruits.

4.  The mosquitos are breeding like crazy.  The ground is so wet, the larvae are surviving in places one would never expect.  Even when I drain planting pot saucers carefully each day, there is enough moisture left (and new rain) to keep them alive.  I even found some growing in a slight depression in a tree branch (I drilled a hole through the depression on advice from a garden site).

5.  The constant rain is depressing.  I stepped out on the deck yesterday just as the sun broke through briefly (must have been the one hole in the clouds for hundreds of square miles) and got a bit silly.  I pretended I was burned by the strange light in the sky.  As if I was Gollum tied with an Elven rope).  But seriously, everytime it isn't actually raining, I let the Mews out so they don't go stir-crazy.  They have been stuck inside so much for weeks, I'm cleaning the litterboxes 2 and even 3 times a day.  Which tells me how much of their "business" they do outside...

6.  I may have gotten the mower running again, but it isn't a happy engine.  I mentioned fishing some debris out of the gas tank.  It makes funny noises when it does start, so I suspect some debris has been sucked into the fuel tube.  I've looked, but the fuel line is cleverly hidden from DIYers like me.  I can't even figure out how to get at it.  I've lived here 30 years.  The first mower lasted 10 years.  This one is 20 years old.  It might be a good time to just buy a new one.  New ones cut better and more levelly and use less gas.  I might buy a "zero-turn mower".  And maybe I just want a new one.

7.  Speaking of "new ones", my Toyota Highlander is 13 years old.  Things are starting to go wrong.  It only has 28,500 miles on it (I don't drive much).  But age matters too.  Last year, I brought it in for regular maintenance.  They did the work, but suggested I replace the timing belt, all engine belts, and the waterpump.  IIRC, they suggested a cost of about $1,000.

I declined at the time, but they planted a seed of concern in my mind.  Now I worry about the timing belt breaking.  That means the car just STOPS and there isn't anything you can do about it.  You can only have it towed somewhere to have a lot of work done.

Well, I've been thinking it was time to replace the car.  I've been hoping to wait for a decent electric vehicle that could tow a small utility trailer (or even a fuel cell vehicle), but I don't think I can wait much longer.  

Because I called the dealer and asked about the cost of the timing belt and the other work.  Over $2,300!  I'll call a non-dealer repair shop and get an estimate, but it probably won't be much different.

Which leaves me in a slight dilemma.  I don't want a new car with all sorts of internet connections built in (privacy concerns plus I just wouldn't use them - but tell me why I might want them) and I don't like to buy used cars (someone traded it in for a reason). 

I am considering a new Toyota Highlander (for familiarity) or a Subaru Forester.  Both have top Consumer Reports ratings and I am used to SUVs.  Since I drive so little, gas mileage isn't a concern.  I also have some idea of buying a renovated car from my younger days plus a small electric-only vehicle for local errands. 

Oddly enough, a renovated Pontiac Bonneville Convertible or Eagle Vision (my 2 favorite cars I've owned) and a small electric wouldn't cost much more than a new Highlander (and there is a shop in town that specializes in services old cars). 

8.  I mentioned the house is 30 years old.  It needs work.  I redid the roof and siding a few years ago, but the inside is OLD.  30 year old cheap carpeting is literally something to sneeze at.  I'm almost afraid to vacuum it lest it just falls apart.  I'm fine with most of the house.  I don't need any walls removed, kitchen renovations, etc.  But my furniture is like that of a college grad in his first apartment with old hand-me-down mismatched stuff from the parents and leftovers from previous roommates.  I have windows that can't be opened, and plaster-patches left over from electric work 3 years ago.  It is bwyond DIY work for me.  I need to change all that and get a general contractor in here. 

9.  Time for a new Will, too.  What I arranged in the 90s doesn't match what I need today.  Different family needs, different charities, and my assets have changed too (the stock market I poured savings into in 2009 has been very very good to me). 

10.  The house is a mess.  I used to clean weekly before Dad moved here in 2012, I cleaned more often when he was here (to avoid listening to his beloved Fox News), but I've been lax since he left.  There may be some cobwebs in the tall corner of the staircase from his time here.  I need to spend some time catching up. 

11.  I have 2 toolsheds.  I built one 25 years ago.  The other was built by a professional 10 years ago.  Mine leaks.  If it ever stops raining before Winter, I will replace it.  Properly, this time.

Enough for now.

More In The Life

1.  Sometimes the silliness never ends.  I previously mentioned that the new lawn mower arrived without 2 simple bolts and 2 simple knobs (fancy screw-on nuts).  I called the company and gave them the model number and serial number they needed to send me the missing parts.  They arrived.  Well, "some" parts arrived.

They sent me one knob and a "camshaft adjuster".   So I called the company again yesterday.  20 minutes on hold with music that alternated between barely detectable and silent.  I got an agent.  I explained I had received the wrong "missing parts" and gave her the ticket number.  She got that right up on her computer and confirmed my name.

So she checked the details of the ticket and found the original person I had spoken to had mis-entered the model number.  She was very apologetic.  After checking with the technical support office, she confirmed the error and the correct parts.

As part of "customer service", they are sending me a 2nd mower blade along with correct parts (and we discussed exactly what those parts were).  I doubt the additional mower blade will be of much value.  I'm using this small electric mower for trim work, so I doubt the blade will ever need to be replaced or sharpened.  I did appreciate the offer. 

So in a week, I will have the correct bolts and screw on knobs.  I already have the handles secured with blots and nuts I bought yesterday at Home Depot.  Works fine.  But it leaves the bolt ends sticking outward where I am sure to catch myself on someday.  The knobs would cover that.

But the deal is that the bolts were missing to begin with, I had to spend 30 minutes on hold to get the initial request (with was a failure), had to call a 2nd time (20 minutes). 

2.  I have sometimes gotten leg cramps laying in bed at night.  I started eating a banana each day a month ago and taking magnesium supplements (both suggested in a vitamin book I have) and hadn't had any cramps at night since then. 

Until 4 days ago.  My right calf muscle suddenly cramped and it was worse than before.  I remembered that the muscle cream (Aspercreme - contains aspirin) said something about relieving muscle cramps and smeared some all over the area.  The cramp went away almost immediately, but the next morning the muscle was tender and painful when I walked for about an hour.  It actually felt that the muscle was ripped.

Then 2 nights ago, the left calf muscle cramped and it was worse.  The Aspercreme helped but not as well.  Walking around (which usually solves the problem) was only partially helpful.  I had to carefully sleep with that leg fully extended.  The next morning I was limping around an hour.

I feel fine again now, but that stuff is painful.  And it makes it a bit worrisome about what positions I sleep in.

3.  I had some kitchen stuff I wanted, so I went to Bed,Bath&Beyond with discount coupons in hand.  My pepper grinder had broken, a timer had failed, my corn-butterer broke, my wine bottle foil cutter wasn't cutting anymore, I wanted a small slotted spoon to get olives out of the jar, and I wanted a good wine-puller (one on those neat things that you just push on and the cork "magically" comes out).

Oh the hardships of life... 

But I discovered the BB&B prices were idiotic even with the coupons.  $25 for a good salt grinder? Or matching pepper grinder.  And even funnier, buying the 2 together as a set was MORE expensive than the 2 individual.  Those people are NUTS! 

They wanted $8 for a corn-butterer. 

So I went to Amazon and found the same stuff at half the price (but oddly, the corn-butterer at almost 2x the price.  The stuff I want doesn't meet the Amazon threshhold for free shipping, so they sit in my cart waiting for something else to add.

4.  My riding lawn mower collects grass clippings around the exposed belt drives.  Cleaning them all out is a pain.  But I have an electric blower.  I bought it to blow fallen leaves off the screened garden enclosure because last year snow collected on the fallen leaves and actually bent the metal poles supporting the top.  And then I blew all the fallen tree debris off my deck.  Sure beats sweeping.  So It occurred to me to try it on the grass clippings in the mower belts.  Worked great!

5.  I mowed my spring bulb bed.  Mowed the butterfly bed bed too.  The electric mower is impressive.  I plan to cover both to supress weeds.  This year, the weeds took over.

6.  Dug into the trailer half-full of compost.  Filled up 8 kitty litter tubs full in a yard cart.  But they were all soaked with rain in spite of a tarp covering the trailer.  So they will have to sit inside a week to dry out.  I need the compost dry so I can sift it through a 1/4" screen to mix it with peat and sand and vermiculite for seed starting soil next Spring.  The rest will go onto the butterfly bed to improve the soil.

7.  Cooked a lot yesterday.  10 chicken thighs marinated in leftover olive juice.  Baked in a roaster pan with 2 sliced lemons, 4 shallots.  Added a cup of olives and some cornstarch slurry the last 10 minutes.  Came out great!

8.  While walking off the leg cramp, I noticed my motion-activated floodlights were on.  I looked out a window and saw a deer frozen in place.  It was looking at my remaining hostas.  I finally snuck out the side door and ran at it yelling and screaming.  THAT got it moving away fast.  I should get my crossbow set up (stringing it is a pain).  Deer don't fear us these days; time to give them a reason.

9.  Need to replace the roof on the old toolshed.  25 years old, and shingles are missing, leading to rain dripping into it.  I originally just put 4'x8' sheets of interior plywood on top with shingles thinking that was good enough.  I didn't know about roofing felt then.  I can't lift whole 4x8 sheets anymore, but I can cut them in half and match the cuts on the roof.  THEN I'll add roofing felt and new shingles.  I have to remove the existing roof first though, and I'm not looking forward to that.

10.  I saved a few Sweet Flag plants from my pond renovation this Spring.  I put them in tubs of water.  One tub just died off for some unknown reason but I noticed there were tadpoles in the water.  OK, I'm a curious person so I netted as many as I could into a bowl of water and brought them inside.  It took a while the shift them from bowl to bowl until the mosquito larvae were gone.  But they are inside and I'm going to watch them develop to frogs.  I added some aquarium plants to the bowl for them to nibble on and put a pan splatter screen on the top (in case I missed a mosquito larva).

The Car

Well, the dealership got the metal spout of the gas can pulled out.  The ticket manager I spoke to didn't have all the details, but she said they used some hydraulic "puller" to get it out.  The mechanic who did the work wasn't available at the timer.  Probably laughing his ass off to hard...

I suppose it doesn't matter what they used.  *I* sure didn't have one and never will.  What are the chances that would ever happen again?  I know for sure I will never make that mistake again. 

She WAS pretty sure they had never had to make that exact repair before. 

They also said I should replace a timing belt.  A mere $1,050.  I asked why and they said "age".  Well, yeah, the car is a 2005 and I bought it new, but it only has 27,975 miles on it.  I don't drive much.  They seem to have just seen the years and saw "timing belt" on their list.

But great, now I have to worry about that every time I drive...

I've been trying to make this car last until I can get a functional hydrogen fuel vehicle.  I probably can't make it last that long.  Low mileage or not, age DOES matter.  I don't really need an SUV.  I could go for a hybrid mostly, but I do have to haul a trailer sometimes.  I may be stuck with at least a wagon. 

I'm not sure I can sit in a car that low anymore.  So I may be stuck with an SUV.  I had to rent a sedan for a week a few years ago, and the visual perspective was SO WEIRD!  Habits form...

I had a timing belt fail once.  By great luck, I was right next to a service station.  It took 3 hours of sitting around.  They had other cars they were already working on.  But it was only a few hundred dollars.  I think I  will take my chances on the timing belt lasting a while. 

And the new vehicles are coming out in the next couple months...

I don't like all the fancy stuff on the new cars.  I'm not a heavy internet person.  This desktop does about all I need.  So having internet access in a car is not a deal for me, and I'm not sure I'm ready for a car that decides on it's own to stop suddenly.

I usded to laugh at people who bothered with manual transmissions because they liked the "control" it gave them.  I may be doing the same, but I don't think so.   The new stuff is more proactive. 

I've kept cars a reasonably long time.  Oh I don't men like some guy who loved his 20 year old car and kept it running 200,000 miles.  But my last cars have lasted 10 years, 8 years, and 12 years.  Maybe it IS time for a change.  Mileage isn't "everything".  I don't like a car I can't trust.

Maybe I'm talking myself into a new car...

Bet I'm looking at Consumer Reports magazine about SUVs tomorrow!
 

Decision Point

Well, I've gone and done it now.  I ordered a PC computer to replace my Mac Mini.  And I mean not only the one I was having trouble with recently, but also the one I bought as backup when I started having problems 6 months ago and couldn't get that one to work either (rip-off used computer, bad power cord, no operating system installed, who knows?

But I am leaving the Mac universe.  There are parts of it I will miss.  "Finder" is great, iPhoto is great.  I became accustomed to some of the Mac features.  But Apple has just become too darn restrictive.  I can't get one repaired without an hour drive each way twice.  There and back to deliver it; there and back to pick it up days later. 

There are 3 PC repair shops in town here.  You walk in, they are happy to see you, and they sometimes fix the problem on the spot!  That matters too.

And quite frankly, every thing I read says they are about the same these days. Well, that's how technology works.  Everyone figures out what the good ideas are and uses them.    I was just reading an old article in Scientific American mentioning how automobile manufactureres had focussed in on all the best ideas and the cars were becoming pretty much all the same (from the 50s).

So the new PC will arrive from Amazon Tuesday.  Not TOP of the line, but what I judge to be best for me a touch below.  Slightly slower gaming speed than the best at that, but more storage for photos and such, which matters more to me. 

But I may be offline for some days next week getting it set up, arranging email, copying sites and passwords, copying bookmarks and the like.

If I'm lucky, it might take only a day (yeah right, LOL) or it might take 3 (hoping not that long).  You never know. 

I'll keep the old Mac Mini plugged in but not on internet until it is done.  Email will be the first thing I set up.  Blogs 2nd.  If you don't see us after Tuesday or a while, don't worry.  We aren't gone or ignoring our friends.  We are just busy arranging for a GREAT return!

New Camera

My current camera has been acting oddly.  There seems to be a waterspot "sometimes" near the center of photos, but mostly, it has been showing strange wavy shadows around the edges of pictures.  I can usually do some "straightening" (which in this case means "unstraightening") and/or cropping to eliminate most of them.  But it was obvious I needed a new camera.

So I went to Consumer Reports website to check the recommended point and click cameras.  The cameras are getting expensive $400 and over-featured.  I don't need an 83X zoom lens or 16MB pictures (I resize them all down to 100-250 KB for the blog or emails anyway).  And when I went to Amazon, people didn't like them!  The 1 star ratings were up around 12% and that's getting pretty high.

So it occurred to me that I had liked my previous camera pretty well.  It took fine pictures, the menu was easily to navigate and I liked the non-pop-up flash.  Its just that I left it outside one night and it rained.  So I looked for it refurbished.  Those got REALLY bad ratings!  But I found a dealer (through Amazon) who had new unopened ones.

It arrived yesterday, the battery was charged this morning, and I took a few pictures.  Just got done processing them and they look fine.   Its a Canon Powershot ELPH  130 IS.

Hurray!

Yardwork Again

I wasn't sure I was gong to be doing much yardwork the rest of the year.  I usually try to do at least one useful thing each day.  Sometimes I don't, but that is the goal anyway. 

So when I twisted my right knee in early April, and it was difficult to walk the first couple of weeks, I grudgingly waited for it to heal.  I do these sorts of injuries every so often but generally heal quickly enough.  I'm used to it.  You live on your own, you push yourself to do more than you should sometimes, and there is the occasional time your body says hey ease off on me a bit. 

It has happened before.  10 years ago, I casually tossed a rock at a squirrel and strained my rotator cuff and I could barely raise my arm over my shoulder for 4 months!  But it healed fine and I kind of expect that.

But this time, April rolled into May, and May into June and eventually September and it was better but not normal.  Some projects got delayed.  I had planned to repaint the bathrooms and kitchen, but crawling all around washing the walls, putting tape along all the edges and then doing the actual painting seemed too awkward.  But it could wait.

I had also planned to use my gas-powered weed-whacker with the steel cutters to eliminate the backyard brush and brambles that sprung up after I had a few trees removed  several years ago.  That didn't happen.

A few weeks ago, my right knee suddenly felt much better.  Not perfect, but good enough, and I started some minor yard projects and felt ready to do more.  I got some work done.   Mostly de-clutterring the basement the computer room, and the cat room.

And then I went and did something to the left knee.  No idea what I did.  It felt like I had banged it against a door frame, but for 2 weeks, I had 2 bad knees.  I was worried I was sufferring some serious problem (like Lyme Disease affects your joints, or longer term problems like arthritis). 

But I woke up 2 days ago and the left knee was back to normal and the right knee wasn't bad.  I could walk around pretty much normal.

So I had found a sealed bag of grass seed in the basement left over from last year .  I mowed the front yard grass very short.  Today I raked all the loose grass and dumped it where I plan to put a flowerbed island around a large rock and tree in order to smother the grass and weeds and leave some improved soil.  Then I spread the grass weeds all around.  And then I spent 90 minutes carefully spraying straight down onto the grass to beat the grass seeds onto the soil surface and give them enough water to germinate.

It is a bit late to do that.  But I had the seeds and they won't last another year.  And we are having a warm spell, so the seeds should germinate if they are still viable.  There are 2 bare spots, so I will know if they germinate.  At least that is SOMETHING done.

And both knees felt just fine after all that.  So that's good.

The next things to do are planting Daffodils in mid November, tilling some dead areas of the flowerbeds, and eliminating weeds in the paths between the framed veggie beds.  

Are you familiar with those long strips of brown paper used as packing material?  I've been saving the longest strips for several years.  The stuff comes all twisted and crinkled, but I untwist it and lay in on the basement floor and use a push broom to flatten it out.  That works very well.  Then I fold it up in 4' lengths and put a piece of plywood on it to flatten it further and keep it out of the way.  I have several hundred linear feet of it now.

It seems like great stuff to put between the framed beds, on top of weedy dead sections of the flowerbeds, and on top of all the Spring bulbs to smother weeds (with shredded bark on top).  It will probably decompose by Spring, and in not, it will certainly be easy to pull up at planting time.

It may not kill all the weeds, but it sure won't do them any good.  I am reminded of a W C Fields vaudeville joke where he says he swallowed a few moths and said he swallowed a couple of mothballs to get rid of them.  The sidekick asks if it did any good.  Fields says "well it sure couldn't have helped them any".  (Do not do this at home, mothballs are toxic).

My point is that the brown paper cover is worth trying.  If it works, GREAT!  If not, it is easy to remove and will make good compostable material after 5 months exposure to rain and melting snow all Winter and early Spring. 

Gardeners might object that  covers the soil gives voles safe space to run around under.  I did cover part of my flowerbeds with black plastic 10 years ago, and they did love it.  They ate every tulip bulb, safe from predators.  But this time, there won't be anything for them to eat.  Well, the weeds, and if they want to eat the roots of those, they are not welcome, I encourage them.  Otherwise, they don't touch Daffodils or Daylilies (toxic to mammals), the Tulips and Hyacinths are in wire cages they can't get into, and the seeds from the birdfeeder will be on top of the paper where they waill actually have trouble getting to the spilled seeds. EVIL LOL!

So I am getting into the yardwork late, but not impossibly late.  The last project, which is to plant specimen trees that won't grow tall enough to shade my garden and flowerbeds is still in reach.  By "specimen trees", I mean Korean Dogwoods, Sourwoods, Wisteria shrubs, and Star Magnolias.  Those will shade out the brush and brambles like the taller trees used to do, but not cause shade problems across the yard.

I will surround the new trees with used carpeting.  That has really worked well for me over the years.  Rain soaks right through, but weeds won't grow up through it.  And it it is usually free.  Just look for some place being renovated and ask for the old carpet.  They will usually just give it away. 

OK, I'm off to buy some specimen tree saplings...

Back, I ordered 3 Sourwood trees and 2 Korean Dogwoods.  Sourwood trees are great in Fall.  They have small grapelike clusters of yellow berries and burgundy leaves and grow to about 25'.  The Korean Dogwoods are great in Springs, don't have the same disease problems as American Dogwoods, and spread sideways.  I have one on the shady side of the house that has been happily existing for 25 years at 20 feet, and I will take some tip cuttings next June.  It has pink flowers. The dogwoods I ordered have white flowers, so that will make a nice change.



I also filled in all the screw and nail holes in the main bathroom a week ago

New Deck, Part 4

First, A recognition of Independence Day.  I go out on the deck and read The Declaration Of Independence out loud each year on this day.  It is a stirring document.  Last night, I saw someone on a political talk show who said the claim is at the end and the justification is before, so read it backwards that way. I get the idea, statement at the end and justification before.

So I did.  I have to admit, I thought about it a little differently.

And to my/our British friends, I hope there are no hard feelings.  We got off to a rocky start, but I think it has worked out pretty well over the past couple centuries.  My revolutionist ancestors would not have tipped their hats to you, but I can and do.

But we DO have our holiday and I will support it with a steak on the Japanese hibachi grill, a cold Canadian beer (or 3), a few Southeast Asian shrimp, and a German sausage.  What could be more "American" than that?  LOL!

  ----------------
Now to the deck.  Finally, the end!  Well, sort of.  On Monday, some guys will be coming back to take away all the debris, fill the patio holes with more cement and apply a professionally smooth surface to match the existing patio as close as possible,  and smooth out all the remaining dug-up soil.  But the deck is essentially done.

First thing yesterday morning, they finished putting the composite board on the deck.  Then started putting on the rail support posts.   It looks great.  Now there is a real deck!

Then the tedious part, putting the rail tops on, then all the ballisters.  Of course, they had a sensible way of doing those.  They tacked the all tops with a nail gun and them let them hang freely, then they tacked the bottoms using a level to get them aligned properly.

THEN they put a screw in the top and bottom.  I would have done it the hard way, of course.  Each ballister one top screw and one bottom, one at a time. 

The ballister work progresses...  They did gripe about my "screws" contract requirements though.   They said nails were just fine and would have saved them almost 2 hours work.  But nails always come loose and I can't think of any screws that ever have!  They accepted that (and I might have gotten a couple minor construction points for it).

They did get them all done eventually.

I seem to have missed taking pictures of them building the stairway rails and attaching the ballisters on those.  That was a right piece of hard work by itself.  And took 2 hours worth.  Lots of angle cuts and awkward positions for screwing them in.

They got done just before the rain hit and I helped hual stuff to their trucks.

But here is the final deck!  From the deck door straight out...

A shot across the corner...

The landing leading to the stairs...

A look down the stairs...

And finally, a shot from the stair-landing to the opposite corner. 

I am thrilled!  There is SO much more usable space.  I can actually put a table out there, for example.

And to remind you of the difference, here is the "before" picture (admittedly after 25 years)...

And the "After".

 Quite a difference!

New Deck, Part 3

The deck is complete!  This is actually from yesterday, because there are too many pictures for a single post and I was just TOO DAMN TIRED to post yesterday.  So today's work will be in tomorrow's post.

The construction team was just 2 guys - JR and JT.   First order of work was to remove the old ledger board (holds the deck to the house foundation), cut away vinyl siding, and attach "flashing" to the house (keeps rain out).

Then a new bigger ledger board was attached.  I was surprised.  They used bolts closer than I did on the original deck and all my friends accuse me of "over-engineering"  everything I build.  Seriously, I always figure "if 2 screws are good, 3 are better".

What they did next, though, REALLY astonished me.  I build from the ground up.  Who doesn't?  Well, these guys don't, that's who!  They built the basic shape of the deck floor up in the air, supported at the corners of the ledger board and just 2 temporary boards.

I asked why (that's why I stayed outside for 2 whole days - to learn things).  They do it because it is easy to slightly adjust the deck floor box square when it is still flexible.  After the support posts are in cemtny, there's no changing things!

Forehead slap!  Of course.  And because we had talked a little carpentry, they asked if I knew how to make sure the box was square.  I said "sure, measure the diagonals".  I got a "high-five" (and a little casual respect) for that one!

But not even the professionals are perfect!  When they started to put the joists between the ledger board and the end cap, they were too tight.  I pointed out that the end cap was bowing out so their measurements were wrong.  They scratched their heads for a moment and had an "OOPS" moment.

See, the outside measurements of the deck box have to be 16' exactly.  So the senior guy (JR) had of course deducted the thickness of the end cap when he cut the joists to fit inside the box.  But forgot to deduct the thickness of the ledger board!  LOL!  Oh did he catch flak for THAT from JT.  And I got in a couple of friendly-kidding remarks later about that, which he took in good humour.

So after recutting all the joists anther 1.5" shorter, they were back in business.  Then I saaw a new surprise!  There are metal hangers to hold the joists to the ledger board and endcap.  Naturally, I would think you would attach the hangers to those and then set the joists down onto the hangers.  OF COURSE NOT!   They used a nail gun to hold the joists in place and then put the hangers under those tightly.  This is all contrary to my basic understanding of construction (and gravity, for that matter), but that's why THEY are building the deck and not me.  Me - 2 decks, Them - 200+, they weren't sure.

So here are most of the joists in place (I had to keep reminding myself; take pictures, take pictures).

THEN they put in the support posts.   I was getting the logic of it by then.  You only know where the posts and beams go when you REALLY know where the interior corners of the deck box are so you can push the posts up from below, put carriage bolts into the posts and beams, and THEN pour the cement into the holes to support!

The corner of my brain where my "Learned From Dad" experiences reside are all screaming "this is all bass-ackwards", but what I'm observing says "outside your box, watch and learn"!  So I shushed the Dad Corner and learned...

So here is a "support" post hung from the deck box, with cement poured into the hole.  Then when the cement hardens, it all flips around and the posts supprt the beams, which support the deck box, etc.  I'm still stunned.

This is the COOLEST gadget I don't own!  It clamps across a deck board, spaces the boards apart evenly 1/4".  Then you set a screw in the front and back holes (which are at angles), and drive them in!  The spacing is perfect every time and the screws are invisible.  Oh MAN, I love well-designed tools.

I also loved the screws.  In the old days, there were just straight-slot screw-heads.  Then there were   Phillip-Heads (an X).  Then there were square heads (which I use myself), then star-shaped and even "tork" which has 7 or 8 sides.  All the harder to slip the driver of the screw.  The guys use star heads.  But it this gaget that makes things so much easier.

Finally (yesterday), they attached the stair tread supports.  I am vaguely bothered by the deep cutouts on these pre-made stair hangers.  They just seem like they could break where the board is narrow.  When I built my steps on the old deck, I used solid 2"x12" boards and supported the treads on cleats attached with 1'2" bolts.  But I have to admit that 4 of those pre-made forms adds a lot of strength.

Still, I may add "sisters" (additional boards screwed to the sides of the preforms) the later. But 4 of those only a foot apart does look pretty sturdy.

Tomorrow, the completion!

New Deck, Part 1

I finally decided to have the 24 year old 2-level deck replaced.  Even pressure-treated wood doesn't last forever.  I had gotten estimates last Fall, but put off doing anything while I decided whether or not to rebuild it myself.  After all, I built the original, 200' of 6' tall fence, a toolshed, and framed raised beds.  But on my birthday in May, I concluded that:
1 - I'm not 40 any more
2 - I can do rough carpentry but not nice design work
3 - After treating the house to new siding and shingles, why build another ugly (but functional) deck
4 - I could afford to have it done by professionals

So  yesterday, I removed everything from the decks, and closed the container plants (lillies and caladiums -bad for cats) in the catroom.  This morning, I closed the cats in the bedroom,  and the people arrived to tear down the old and put up the new.

Well almost.  I knew they would do the demolition today and build the new deck Monday.  Except I didn't quite ask the right questions about the schedule.  They will START building the new deck Monday.  Monday is for digging holes and laying in footers for the posts to rest on (the old upper deck was 12'x12', the new one will be 16'x16' and there will be no lower deck).  Tuesday will be for the County to approve the footers.  Then on Wednesday and Thursday and possibly Friday they will actually build the new deck.

The cats are horrified and I'm not thrilled either.  I thought they would simply build the entire new deck.  It only took ME a week to build the existing one by myself!  Oh well, "this too shall pass"...

While I'll put together a whole demolition-to-completion post at the end of the project, here are a few demolition pictures:

The original, with all the furniture and stuff removed.

The demolition begins.

Down to the joists.

Nearly gone.

It all fit into 1 trailer.

And the demolition is complete!  And BTW, for some reason, the new green siding always looks blue in my photos.  The old ledger board is left in place for now to keep hot air and wasps from getting into the basement through the bolt holes.

I sure hope it doesn't rain next week to delay things further!

First Seeds Of The New Gardening Season

I am glad to say the new gardening season is underway.  Well, I suppose you could say it started when I ordered new seeds, but it doesn't really count until a seed meets dirt!  I started on Sunday.

Does it seem a bit early?  Yes.  But many annual flowers can be planted indoors 10-12 weeks before the average last frost because they are slow to germinate (7-21 days) and grow slowly at first.  And in fact, Sunday was 9 weeks before average last frost, so I am late.  So I planted impatiens, salvia, dusty miller, butterfly weed, forget-me-not, and wave petunia.  I also planted a dozen leeks, so the veggies are started too.

I love the lighting stand I made from a storage shelf.  It originally had five 2'x4' thin plastic-coated wood shelves on a steel frame.  I added 1/2" plywood under the top 4 shelves and attached 4' fluorescent fixtures under each plywood shelf (4 tubes per shelf).  I can fit four 11"x22" planting trays on each shelf if I want, but I start the trays 2 to a shelf lengthwise to get the maximum light at the start.

It felt SO GOOD to get into the potting soil and fill the cell-packs, read the planting requirements for each seed, and PLANT THEM!  The earliest seeds to plant are usually the trickiest.  Those are the ones that are tiny, need light to germinate, and are fussy about moisture.  

Things will  be more traditional this next weekend.  -8 weeks before last average frost is the time to start the major veggies.  Tomatoes, bell peppers, broccoli, lettuces, will get planted.  The tomatoes are always my favorites.

I'm trying something new with the tomatoes this year.  In past years, I've grown mostly heirlooms (Brandywine, Cherokee Purple, Prudens Purple, Aunt Gertie's Gold, and Tennessee Britches) with a couple hybrids like Big Beef for backup if the heirlooms do poorly.  Over the Winter, I read about tomato-grafting.  It's just like grafting grapevines; you put a good fruiting top on a healthier rootstock.

With the tomatoes, you put an heirloom top on a hybrid root. 


The plants are more productive because the hybrid rootstock is larger, and the plants avoid many soilborne diseases because the hybrid rootstocks are resistant to them.  I've seen comparison pictures of heirlooms alone grown along side of grafted heirlooms and the apparent production differences are impressive.  And I mean pictures from agricultural sites, not scammy commercial advertisements.

You can buy the grafted plants from catalogs at high prices, but I am going to try doing the grafting myself.  I bought some small soft clips designed for attaching the heirloom tops to the hybrid roots.  I just hope I'm adept enough for the effort.  I don't have the steadiest of hands (DDT exposure in my youth), so my efforts may not work out.

That's why I will have 2 full sets of tomato seedlings!  One set will be let to develop naturally, as if there was no grafting intended.  The other set will be for the grafting experiment.  I usually plant 2-3 of each type of tomato outside but start 6 seedlings inside of each type anyway, so I don't even have to plant more than usual.

If this works I may be the happiest gardener in the county (just guessing I'm the only person trying to graft tomato seedlings in the county the first time this year). 

A VERY Unusual Day

It was a dark and winter-stormy morning.  In spite of that, I pulled on my "viscious-winter coat", and went into the garage, where the sled awaited.  Then, I pulled off the "viscious-winter-coat", tossed it in the front seat, and luxuriated in the medium-green Elven(ish) cloak cleverly colored to blend in with medium-green grass, medium-green rocks, and medium-green rivers.

Leaving the animals of the house to fend for themselves, off I went on an ADVENTURE.  And none like I had ever done before.  THIS adventure was to meet with a tribe of CATWOMEN, partake of their strange rituals, talking ceremonies, and eat unaccustomed foods.  I myself chose a strange meal of burned bread, tomato, and crisped bacon.  It was so thick, I could barely open me mouth widely enow to bite on it.  But it WAS raucously fare vittle!

The first part of the adventure was getting to the ship.  Amazingly, there was snow, sleet, and freezing rain.  It was a hard slog, mateys!  Snow beat hard on the mainsails and the nearly came to brittle freezing...  Lost a few good men there on the upper sails I did.

Fortunately, there was some underground traveling through tunnels.  Dark they were and we met some strange travellers along the way.  Eventually, we surfaced through the dark.  The longest staircase I ever saw in me life appeared before me.  To my relief, the STAIRCASE itself moved me upwards (the crew stayed behind and ya will hear no more of them as they was all eaten by dinosaurs or somethin else happened ta them, but don't worry about them).  The staircase called "The Bethesda Escalator" took hours.  Verily, a "stairway to heaven".  Or so I thought.  It landed me in "a parking garage"...

In discussion with some natives, I found an entranceway ta the HUGE building above the cavernous passageway, and entered cautiously.  The room was FILLED with obsequious servents.  I inquired of one where there might be the designated "lobby" wherein I might meet the fabled Catwomen, but all the poor wretch could do was point around the very room I be standing on...

So I explored around a bit and noticed a room with the name Daily Grill.  That WAS the place we would be to eating in later, so I inquired about the foodstuffs offered therein.  Fine stuff; serious meats variously cooked for the men-types, and daintier foods fer the wenches (er Catwomen).

I happened ta mention I was there fer a meetin with the Catwomen, and the servent there said my name out loud.  I was shocked!  Apperently, the Sisterhood of the Catwomen was already gathered inside!  And I had arrived EARLY to scout out the place first.  A sad day when a scouter arrives last...

I immediately made my acquiantance to them all and I tell you, it was such a fine greeting from all.  I knew them all by reputation, of course, and they me.  It was a grand round of hugs all.  I haven't been hugged like that much if a decade!  It did me good.  I immediately cast off the "viscious winter coat" and sat meself down at the table, happier than a lost kitten finding his littermates.

OK, enough of that, LOL!

I found the ladies and was glad it wasn't difficult.  I had had visions of walking around the hotel carrying the Flat Mews overhead hoping that someone somewhere would recognize what they were. 

We had a wonderful lunch, sparkling conversation, discussions about cat-blogging, some sharing of personal thoughts about "the universe and everything",  memories of "cats-who-came-before",  and (as the King of Siam said in Anna And The King of Siam), "etc, etc, etc.

I was astonished at the Flat Cats in attendance.  I had made a quick version of The Mews (best picture I could find that I printed on cardstock glued to cardboard) the night before (thinking it was pretty good), but you wouldn't believe THEM!  Three times as big, and not a bad cut edge in the bunch.  I gotta work on that, and I learned a lot just by seeing the Good ones (ALL the others).  But they all admired the poorly done Mews annyway.  Talk about "kind"...

We had a GREAT waitress!  Maybe it was a "tiny" bit because it was a really slow day (bad weather and the local Pro football team having a home game), but she really liked us!  We found out at the end of the meal that she had supported feral cats at her previous house and really liked that we were all "cat-people".  She even used all our cameras to take group pictures!

Memo to self, check Bethesda Hyatt Regency Daily Grill site and see if there is an "I love This Server" option...

 And we gave her a 33% tip... 

Now, I have to say that I am really inexperienced at meeting new people in groups after so many years living by myself.  There were Gifts.  I didn't bring any... Dang, and I "considered" at least bringing fresh Nip leafs for the kitties and Truffles for the ladies.  I decided "it was just lunch".  And Ayla even told me to bring some things.  I SHOULD have listened to her...

Well, you live and learn.

But all good things must come to an end.  We had to part eventually, after a great lunch and great conversation.  I had a WONDERFUL time, more than well-worth the trip in the bad weather.  I got on the MetroRail, had an easy trip from Bethesda to Branch Avenue (about 10 miles straight under Washington DC), had a few fun minutes scraping frozen rain off the car windows, and driving home.

There WAS a slight scare.  My "low tire inflation" light came on 7 miles from home.  Thankfully, I had no problems, but I sure with bring the air pump into the garage later today to make sure all the tires are inflated properly.  Could be a problem though.  I had the car at the dealership for regular maintenence last Thursday, and I thought tire pressure was one of the things they checked.  Not that I don't know how the check it myself, but since I thought THEY just had, I didn't bother before going out on (what was to ME) a major trip.

Now for some pictures (and you thought there wouldn't be any LOL after all these words)...

I take a picture...

Teri takes a picture with my camera...

 Group picture by the Wonderful Waitress...

All the Flat Cats (see The Mews tiny in the front?).

Cat swag...

Me swag...

I haven't had a BETTER day in years.  Glad I braved the weather...

Those Darn Ants!

For 2 weeks, I have had very small ants wandering around the TV room and adjacent kitchen.  They show up just inside the deck door, the kitchen windowsill, and on the backsplash board on the counters.

OK, ants seek food and sometimes they find their way into the house, but they aren't acting normal!  There is no trail of ants going anywhere.  There is no sign of them outside the house.  There is no paricular entry point I can detect.  There are never more than a few at a time, but there are ALWAYS a few any time I look.

They aren't in the pantry at some loose food box (I moved everything around and looked with a flashlight), they aren't at the cat food bowls, they aren't in the cabinets (flashlight again), they aren't even at the compost bin which is the main thing I would think would attract ants. 

They aren't in the ceiling of the basement below the kitchen or the TV room. 

Hey, this is vaguely sounding like a Dr Seuss poem...  I'll have to work on that idea!

I sprayed only once right under the base of the deck door inside and out (and then cleaned the exposed floor because the cats found the smell interesting).  I'm not too worried about the effect of the (organic) ant spray on cats because the stuff won't even annoy wasps and wasps evolved FROM ants (or vice versa) so they are very closely related, but why take chances.  But the limited spraying had no effect on the few ants visible at all times.

The point is that I can't figure out WHERE they are coming from, WHY they are in here, WHAT is keeping them searching around, or WHEN they are most commonly seen.  It seems completely constant, yet completely random.

I've probably killed over a thousand by finger and shoe.  It doesn't seem to make any difference if I kill them or not.  When I crush all the visible ones, there about as many in 10 minutes.  Yet after not bothering them all night, there are still ONLY as many in the morning.

ON THE OTHER HAND, I haven't yet had a fruit fly (aka fungal gnats) yet this year, and I usually have problems with them by now.  I'm pretty sure the ants aren't catching the fruit flies, but bigger theories have been proposed on such coincidental observations, LOL!

I expect the ants will simply stop appearing in a few days and I will never know why they where here or why they left.  It will be one of those mysteries of nature; those "Ants In My Midst".

Replacement To Google Reader

Well, I finally did some research on a replacement to Google Reader, since it it planned to be shut off July 1st.  I figured it would be a good idea to try out a few for the last month.

I considered functionality, simplicity, familiarity, and ease of transition most important.  My needs are simple.  I only use RSS feeders for blogs on a single desktop computer.  Anything else, I have a bookmark for.

I went to a few discussion sites that compared the features of cloud RSSs versus web-based RSSs, and I'm not comfortable with The Cloud.  I like applications ON my computer.  OK, I'm OLD...  LOL!

But seriously, if its on my computer, it can't disappear overnight since I have daily external backup right here.

The one I found most interesting was The Old Reader <http://theoldreader.com/>  It seems to be very similar to Google Reader, and is relatively easy to import the Google Reader list.

You can sign in with various accounts, but I chose to create a new one separate from Google (just in case).  I like to distribute my services around to frustrate the aggregators. 

You export the Google Reader file in Google Reader to a zip file.  Then you just create an account with The Old Reader (love the name) and it offers you to browse a file to open.  On my Mac, opening a zip file automatically unzips it, I don't remember on a PC.  You might have to unzip it first.

But with the Google file unzipped in Import, The Old Reader just loads it.  It does take a few minutes.  I got an email message saying the import was complete, so look for that.

When the Google Reader subscriptions are all imported, they will all show 10 or 20 unread per subscription.  I suggest visiting all your subscriptions down to zero so that you can just mark ALL read after the import.  I didn't think of that and I regret it.

And this point, your Old Reader should look generally like Google Reader, but there are some differences.

1.  You don't click on the blog title to access it.  Below the blog title, there are "site" and "feed" buttons.  "Site" brings you to the home page of the blog; "feed" brings you to only the newest post.

2.  To show only the updated blogs, you have to go to your name in the upper right corner.  There is a drop down menu.

At "feed display mode", choose "show unread only, and at "Post Order" check "Show only those folders/feeds that have unread items".

And you are good to go!  It sounds more complicated than it is.  It only took me 15 minutes, and I'm a bit slow and cautious at this stuff.

Anyone have a RSS they like better?  My ears are open...

Lawn Mowers

OK, the regular rotary mower I use for tight spots hasn't started this year, so I tried to fix what little I know about.  I took out the spark plug.  It was clean.  I gapped it (checked the gap between the little folded-over part where the electricity comes in and where the arcing occurs to the gas, for those of you unfamilair with that) and sanded the surfaces.  No go.  I checked the oil.  OK.  I removed the old gasoline with cloth to absorb it and put in just enough new gas to let it start.  No go.  I tried a trick a mechanic taught me about spraying carburetor cleaner in the primer hole.  That didn't work!  I left the air filter off to see if that was the problem.  No go.

I should mention that the deadman lever stopped having any affect a few years ago, AND last year I had to stop the engine by shorting the spark plug wire against the engine block.  So there are obvious problems and I haven't been able to do any trim work this year.  There is an area in the corner of the yard where I can't mow without it.  I was embarassed (but thankful) that my neighbor did that part last week.

So I went to Angie's List to find a good repair shop.  I found a 100% A rated place only 2 miles from here.

But yesterday, I was mowing the rest of the yard with the riding mower.  Just as I was about done, a rattling sound started from under the mower deck.  And I had just noticed that the mowing strips were looking uneven.  My guess is that something is loose in the drive shaft to the blades, and I'm SURE not going to use it if that's the problem.  Of course I checked all the simple stuff (loose deck, low oil), but it runs fine WHEN the blades are not engaged.  I bet THAT repair is expensive.  I'm almost hoping the repair is expensive enough to justify buying a new one.  My current one was highly rated by Consumer Reports but I've never really liked it.  It would almost be nice to be FORCED to buy one of those zero turning radius ones, LOL!  The current one IS 15 years old and they DO wear out.

So I suddenly need to bring BOTH mowers in for repair.  I will call that local repair shop in the morning (naturally, I found them 5 minutes after they closed yesterday) about repairs and estimates.  All the reviews say they are great on speed, cost, and quality.

The grass grows SO fast this time of year.  The yard needs mowing every 5 days.  I hope they can repair either one fast.  If not, I may have to beg a neighbor to lend me a mower in exchange for filling up the tank when I return it.

I sure hope there are SIMPLE CHEAP repairs for both, LOL!

One problem is delivering the 2 mowers to the repair shop.  I have a hauling trailer, but it was filled with Leaf-Gro compost (a wonderful local product).  So I spent 2 hours today using my mulch-fork to unload it into a wheelbarrow and from there onto the framed bed gardens.  Temps in the upper 80s and humidity at about 100% .  It was brutal. I sweated buckets.  I soaked 3 kitchen towels with sweat but I got it all done.  I hosed down the trailer to remove all the last bits of compost.

When I was done, I stood on the deck for an hour drinking 2 beers.  And then I drank a quart of Gatorade.  At least I sure get good exercise!!!

The trailer has a pin that, when removed, allows the trailer back to tilt backwards to sit on the ground.  I can drive the riding mower up on it (causing the front to tilt level again).  And I can lift the regular rotary mower onto the trailer.  Well, at least I know I can get the mowers to the repair shop and save the cost of them coming here to get them.

Some Improvements

I had a "Noon to 4" appointment for the new oven to be delivered.  Would you believe they called at 10:30 am and said they would arrive in 30 minutes?  No?  Well they did!  They came in, measured the space (better to know if there was an error before they brought the new one in, I suppose), took the old one out, and brought in the new one.

They set it in place, but it was an inch below the countertop, so I insisted they pull it back out and raise the levelers at the bottom.  I understand that their only desire is to get in and out as fast as possible, but I'll be living with the thing another 15 years, LOL!  So they did that.  Then I slapped a spirit level on the top and it was a bit high in the back.  So they raised the front a bit more.  Then, I pulled on the back and it seemed to wobble just a little.  They pulled on the bottom and it didn't.  We realized it the the hinged stovetop that was moving slightly so they tightened it a bit.

It's worth being a bit fussy sometimes!

So now I have a working oven again.

Wow, when they said it was "black" I didn't realize HOW black!  My old one was "black" too, but it had a white top.

Isn't it nice to have an oven looking so clean?

BTW, you notice that the bottom rack looks a bit thick and complicated?  It pulls out on rollers!  Is that neat or what?  Tomorrow, I'll see how accurate the temperature setting is using my good oven thermometers.  The old one was 20F off and I always had to keep that in mind.  I hope one is really accurate.

The other nice change is the new integrated stereo amplifier (from my POV, it means it controls whether you are listening to CDs or radio).  The old one had a volume control problem.  You had to really fuss with it to get both speakers working, it would suddenly change on its own, and the speakers sounded fuzzy.  So I searched on Amazon.com for a replacement and couldn't figure out what to replace it with.

Do you remember that old commercial where a guy sits back in his recliner and turns on his fancy superstereo and his hair blows back from the volume?  I'm not that guy.  I bought a modest bundled system in a cabinet 35 years ago.  I did add a CD player a decade ago, but I really don't understand the components.  I want to just press a CD or tuner button and hear something clearly.

So I took a trip to Best Buy so I could actually talk to someone.  And yes, if I go to a store and get good advice, that's where I purchase.  So I explained that the volume control was broken, that the speakers might be bad AND I wanted to combine the stereo system with the cable TV.  The guy there recommended that I get a new amp that could process the cable TV, and see if the speakers were good through that.  Good honest person!

There were 2 Pioneer amps he showed me.  One at $349 and one at $499.  When I asked him what the difference was, he said the expensive one was the newer year model and the difference was "entirely cosmetic".  Wow...  I'm surprised he can keep his job.  I'll have to go back and fill out one of those "good employee cards".

So I got the amp and spent an hour installing it.  Not the amp's fault, I had to rearrange the holding racks in the cabinet (and I pulled out that useless cassette deck).  One thing I DON'T like about it is that the component control is a dial that offers everything from the usual stereo choices to DVD to internet radio settings (and I don't even KNOW what "BD" means, except I'm pretty sure it is NOT that guy in Doonesbury).  I'd rather have dedicated buttons like on the old one.  But since this thing does a dozen things, that would start to be a lot of buttons.

Still, this new component may pull me (not exactly kicking and screaming) into the 21st century.  I have the HDTV,  the amp is internet-ready, etc.  If I connect the TV to the stereo and put a wireless connection on it with a wireless keyboard, I could do a lot of surfing right there at the TV.  I might even look into streaming TV.

But mainly, it was nice to discover that my old DCM speakers are just fine.  I put on Pictures at an Exhibition (Mussorgsky).  It sounded great!  My hair even blew back just a little... ;)

I think I'll try Inna-Gadda-Da-Vida later, followed by Jesus Christ:  Superstar.  It's been a year since I could listen to stuff like that.

UPDATE:  It occurs to me I should mention brands and model numbers, just in case anyone wants to know.  The oven is a GE JBS35 30" electric coil model, the top rated one by Consumer Reports and sure not the priciest one listed. (wow look at those smoothtop and induction ones!)  And since I have not the remotest connection to GE, I hope Consumer Reports won't mind me mentioning that.  If they do, I'll edit it to say that "a highly regarding CONSUMER magazine REPORTS that it was top rated in its category", LOL!  I am very dedicated to Consumer Reports ratings.  They and Angie's List have never failed me yet.

The integrated stereo amplifier is a Pioneer VSX-42, for whatever that is worth.  Evidently, stereo systems are so antiquated that Consumer Reports doesn't even rate them anymore.  I couldn't even find any in the last 3 years of their buying guide.  But it seems to be a good one even though the newer 2013 one is the old one with a fancier digital display.  

And I couldn't get my old tuner to work with the new amp.  It seems to have a tuner built in, but I LOVE the old one with its dedicated preset buttons.  Well, I unplugged the old tuner and plugged in the FM antenna that came with the new amp.  Voila!  Music!  I still want to figure out how to use the old tuner though.