Rebuilding The Wii

So as you know from this post, I had dismantled the Wii in hopes that the disc read error I was running into was strictly due to a retaining clip...didn't turn out to be, so I had to order a new DVD drive for the Wii.

New drive and open instructions

It came in the mail a few days ago and today, I decided to give it a shot. I pulled up the two sites I had bookmarked for accomplishing this task as well as re-assembling the Wii and got to it.

Needed to double check that the replacement drive came with the rubber grommets that my old one had, and it did. I also checked to make sure the chip numbers matched up, and they did. I then started the steps to reconnect the drive to the console. Once I got the DVD drive connected and the clamshell back on it, I decided to test it before I put anything else back together. I plugged it all in, and then inserted a game disc....and we had a WORKING Wii Console!!!

Tested with the Jeopardy disc

New drive + console with only clamshell

I then unplugged everything, and put the rest of it together, twice. First time, I had an missing screw somehow, and the OCD in me couldn't let that go....second time around, have no idea, but I ended up not having a missing screw so all is right with the world.

All back together, no extra screws!

I guess now, I will try emailing the company that I bought the drive from (it was refurbished) and see if they want my old drive to refurbish it for another user at some point in the future...would rather do that, than give the drive to the landfill.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Bathroom Project Before-After

Soup And Tea

Trying to fight off a head cold I probably picked up on the plane on the trip to the midwest I took last week. Been living on fluids, soups, vitamins and rest...

So I took this udon soup and added fresh garlic, fresh ginger, and fresh green onions for lunch...made up some genmai-cha (green tea with roasted rice) as well. Should be a nice boost to the immune system (fingers crossed).

Last night, I took some egg drop soup and added the same fresh ingredients to it for dinner and added some warmed up jasmine rice I had in the fridge for extra calories. It tasted pretty good. I have bouillon for pho bo, tom yum and tom kha, so I am covered for a while and still don't have to eat the same soup twice!

Gotta run, want to get to this beautiful bowl of soup before it cools down!
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Calendars, Etc

Sometimes Technology Is Just Not Your Friend

Dissembled Wii

If you know me, you know I am a geeky little nerd and while I don't think that going out and buying the newest thing is the smartest thing to do, I am a believer is the use of technology in many forms.

Lately, it seems like I have been inundated with technology issues. As you know from this post, I was having issues with the cable/phone/internet a few weeks ago. That has been resolved and we even got a refund for the day we were without service.

On top of that, the loader/ejector for the CD player in our truck stopped working last fall, and now it looks like the driver's side door speaker is done now too. We have had both speakers in the front doors replaced years ago because they both blew, and the truck was still under warranty. Shortly after that, Chevy issued a recall for the front door speakers but since we had new ones, I didn't think anything of it...but I am now wondering if they just put in the same type that were in there before and these two should have been recalled (might have to call the dealership about this one). So that is frustrating for me to say the least.

Then the hand blender that I have loved for several years decided it was done. I found this out while in the middle of making a smoothie for dinner which made the smoothie not all that smooth. I have found a replacement online that might be even better since there was no way to fix this one.

The other day, I got a hair up my ass about wanting to play some games on the Wii. I turned the Wii on, and after a few mins, got a disc read error. I followed the instructions on the screen to no avail, and started Googling. Looked like my problem was based in the fact that I tend to leave a DVD in the console all the time, and that there is a retaining clip that can be rubbing on the disc causing it to not get up to read speed. So I dissembled the entire console, and did all the bending recommended in many tutorials and YouTube videos but this still did not help things. The sound to me, sounded like it was coming from a different spot than just the retaining clip. So after fiddling with it for several hours, I decided to look at how much it would be to change out the DVD drive (since it is basically just like the ones in a computer and I have installed plenty of those).

I looked online and it was easy enough to find a replacement drive for much cheaper than replacing the entire console or buying an upgrade (Wii U), so I ordered it, and it is on its way. Right now, the Wii console is in parts all over our entertainment center with items taped in place so I don't forget where things go.

Keep your fingers crossed that the DVD fix works, and that at some point, I am able to get the speaker and CD player in the truck fixed. I don't want to change the CD player out myself since it is connected to the alarm system for the truck and I don't want to mess with the door speaker either since our doors are all electric and I would hate to mess something up that major (especially on the driver's door).
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Just Stuff

Cleaning Project

My SIL and BIL moved this past week, and are finally into their own home now and enjoying it immensely. In the process of the move, which took about a week due to schedules of everyone involved, we tried to get some unpacking done to make these feel a bit less overwhelming. My MIL and SIL were unpacking part of the kitchen and realized that while the entire house has new paint and new floors, no one ever bothered to check above the kitchen cabinets. We were wiping out the cabinets as we were adding dishes to them, but the above counter top area was going to take more than a "wipe out".

Sideview because of small space, before

The next day, I brought over my vacuum since it has a hose on it and we could put it on a step stool and reach up to do the initial cleanup. Once that was done, I went to town with rags and cleaning supplies to get that baby cleaned up. I just wanted my SIL to have a fresh clean start in her new home and I knew she was looking forward to being able to use that space to display some of her blue glass collection. I didn't want her to have to stop the process of unpacking to tackle a lousy job...consider it my gift to her...LOL.

Sideview again due to headspace, after

Anyhow, since I was the only one that had ventured up on to the counters to see what a mess it was, I decided I better document it...these pics are from above one of the cabinets closest to the stove so they were the worst of the bunch. The others were mostly dust and overspray from the latex paint on the walls.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Self Improvement (this would be a good thing for me to focus on right now too!)

Chk, chk, chk

Been trying to knock some things off the list lately...and it feels good, but never seems to make a dent...always so many more things on the list.

Today has been a productive phone day, made some calls and got some things scheduled. Found out that the paint on our truck canopy is covered by warranty and the original place we bought it still has the proof of purchase so will be getting that fixed as soon as the proof comes in the mail. It will be weird to drive the truck without a canopy while it is getting repainted. I am betting the paint won't match exactly because the paint on our truck and the canopy has been on the same amount of time and now the canopy will have new paint but it has to be better than the little bubbles we are seeing right now.

Scheduled doc appt, and the HVAC service appt as well. Scheduling worked out perfect. Still have trip to Google later this month on the schedule, and made airline arrangements for annual trip to see Gpa, but still need to reserve rental car.

Tried to play some Wii last night but it seems that something is wrong with the disk drive on it...have to get a special screwdriver to take it apart, so that might be a bit of a wait. I am bummed because I was geared up to get back into playing some of the games (especially the ones that make you move). Hopefully it won't be too complicated of a fix, figure if I can fix computers, I can look at this and see if there is a way to fix it.

Fall is coming rather quickly and I have a lot of stuff to get into the ground before it does, not to mention a lot of yard work to do as soon as it starts getting cold. That is one reason getting these two trips taken care of works out perfectly. It will still be warm enough when I get back to tackle some of the projects.

Been enjoying the football, soccer, golf and Nascar on TV...love this time of year for sports. Need to get some geocaches and more consistent exercise in though...no excuses.

Ordered a leaf net to cover the pool with this fall to catch all the leaves I spent hours fishing out last year...hopefully it works like it should and reduces the amount of time and effort required.

All in all, trying to do what I can do and control what I can control...the rest is out of my hands...LOL
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Six Years Ago on In My Words....Puss In Boots (I miss this little girl).

Internet And Cable Woes

We have Charter for cable, internet and voip phone at our house. Yesterday, I noticed a company person working on the box that our connection comes through. Unfortunately at the time, I was in the middle of a lot of yardwork, so I didn't realize until almost 7pm that we had no phone, internet or cable in the house. I called Charter on my cellphone and they tried to reset our cable box remotely and couldn't make a connection and realized that a tech was going to have to come out. Fortunately, they had an appt available first thing this morning.

The guy came out this morning, opened up the box at the curb, discovered that the guy from yesterday had disconnected our connection, and labeled our line with the wrong address. He reconnected the box, and then came to check the service. I didn't think, at the time that we should do a speed test, and I totally should have. Previously to this, I was getting 45 mbps download and almost 6 upload on the PC that is hardlined connected to the modem, and 30 mbps download and almost 5 upload on the laptop over the wireless connection.

Note that we pay for 30 mbps which is the fastest you can get through Charter on broadband cable. Currently we are getting 11 mbps download and 4 upload on the hardwired PC, and only 4 mbps download and 3 upload on the wireless laptop. I connected the PC directly to their modem (taking our wireless router out of the loop) and no difference. I connected the laptop directly to their modem to prove to them that it wasn't an issue with my PC (they tried to say that it was), and the speeds were not any better. They made an appt to have someone come tomorrow morning to look at it. I was hoping they would help me to release my IP address since I am pretty sure I have a new one and that can affect the speed as well but they said they couldn't do it.

Since coming home from the Grower's Market, I decided to try one more thing. I moved their modem into another room and connected it to the coax and then connected the laptop directly once again to make sure it wasn't just the line running into the office, and the speeds in the other room are not any better....so it has to be something at the street or the box on the side of the house. I have done all I can do here without a key to open the box on the street. So I am hoping that we can figure something out tomorrow...fingers crossed.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Making A Cup Of Coffee

Dilation Experience

Still somewhat dilated after 3 hours

Yesterday I went in for an annual eye exam at a new optometrist. Our insurance covers the exam itself, but the renewal of my contact prescription is always extra and it isn't covered. I had been told when making the appt that it would be between 70-110 dollars depending on how extensiive the contact portion of the exam needed to be. I have been wearing contacts for over 20 years and I have had no problems, so I am usually just going through the steps to get a new prescription so I can order contacts through the mail, and I wasn't excited about having to pay at least 70 dollars out of pocket (on top of the costs of contacts and solutions).

This new place was awesome (I'll be writing up a full review for my review blog soon), the staff was super friendly, and the exam was more thorough than any I have ever had before. I think I moved between 4 different rooms while I was there, and the entire exam was 1 hour and 45 mins. I was starting to think that I was going to be paying the $110 for sure, but I was kind of okay with it since I was getting the full meal deal treatment.

Near the end of the exam they did the pressure test (but not with the puff of air, thankfully), and then they dilated my eyes (my first time). What a weird experience that was. I could see everything okay (obviously the far away stuff was blurry, as it normally is when I don't have my contacts in) but once I put my contacts back in, all of a sudden I couldn't see anything that was within an arms length from my face. The doctor even said that it was like instantly having the vision one might have at 75 or 80, in an instant, and that was no joke...I was basically blind to anything close to my face.

They told me the effects of the dilation would last for a few hours. I went up the counter to pay, and much to my delight and surprise, I was only charged 20 bucks!! That is their renewal visit cost, and I think because neither of my prescriptions changed, they felt like that was the best way to go. I was thrilled. Of course, signing the credit card receipt was a lot of fun when I couldn't even see the line on the piece of paper....LOL.

When I got in the car, I had to hold my phone as far from my face as I could reach so I could text my sister the good news on the payment. The weird part was that my distance vision (with the exception of the sensitivity to light) was not affected at all so driving was not a problem. The effects wore off mostly after a few hours, and by this morning, it was all back to normal.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Loving The New Contacts

Red Skies At Night

We live in a region that is experiencing a lot of wildfires. Most of them have been started by dry lightening. At least one of them is growing, but because of the location and the history of the area, attempts to fight it are very limited.

None of these fires is currently threatening our home or any of our famiily's or friend's homes, but the wind is bringing the smoke from all of them into our area. For some towns, this has caused sever air quality issues, and amazingly enough, as smoking as it looks and smells out there, our particular spot (as of this moment, it is supposed to change this afternoon), is considered to still be within normal ranges.

Sunset from Gma's, those are not clouds

The other day, before the smoke had really moved into the area, you could see a huge swath of it across the horizon as it blotted out the sun at sunset and darkened the north end of the valley.

Left is basic normal day, hills can be seen. Right is yesterday after wind shift, can barely see end of block.

This pic is a comparison of our view from the front deck looking towards the nearby hills, that you can see on the left side and can't see in the right side. Right now, it doesn't look like we have any hills or mountains surrounding us when we live in the nook of two different mountain ranges. I would not want to be flying a plane or helicopter in this stuff, that is for sure.

Sunrise this morning over the neighbors yard

This last pic is of the rising sun over the top of our neighbors yard this morning, while we are still in the "green" for air quality...can't imagine what it is going to be like later today after the wind shifts start to bring more of the smoke from these fires into our valley.
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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Kiss Ass Lightening

Purple Plums Abound

This pic is of a colander full of purple plums off our tree in front of the house. This is the third one of these that I have filled in the last week, and the second in two days. For some reason, the birds and other wildlife are not picking the plums like they did last year, and we also seem to have way more plums than last year as well...this adds up to a very droopy tree as you can see.

I have been picking as fast as I can, and one thing I have noticed is that there are lots of ripe plums up there and they are still kind of hard to pick...so I am wondering if we have a mutant year going on and the ripe plums are not dropping like they should. I think I am going to pit them and try freezing them for use in smoothies later. No way I can eat all these fresh, that is for sure. Oh, and I swallow the pits usually, which apparently isn't all that good for me...luckily, I don't chew the pits so I am a bit safer.

I spent some time last night after picking for eating, cleaning up around the bottom of the tree so we don't end up with a bunch of mushrooms and fruit flies...lots of fun!
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Geocaching On The Road

Best Day Of My Life

21 years ago on this date, I married my best friend and the love of my life. It has been an amazing adventure and I wouldn't trade any of it. Love you J, always and forever!
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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Swing Of Things

Poor Plum Tree

This is what our poor Purple Plum tree in the front yard looks like. It is so droopy, because it has a gazillion plums on it (I do not exaggerate). I have been trying to pick some of them, but it is not enough to keep up. I keep hoping that the birds or racoons will start eating them like they did last year to reduce the load. They are eating off the one across the street and the one in our backyard...(in fact caught three racoons in that backyard tree a few nights ago snacking).

Soon enough, the plums will get overripe and start to drop on their own. I need to get out and pick another batch before that happens so they can be enjoyed. I am also going to have my hands full picking up the fallen ones as much as I can to keep the ground from under the tree from getting all rotty and full of fruit flies.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Bring On The Heat
We hit 104 here today so this one makes sense

Warm Again

We are heating up again, starting today. Need to put some water in the pool since the evaporation rate seems to be higher than normal with this heat, and the chlorine maintenance is a lot of fun too when it is this warm. Nice thing though is that there is a pool and it is a great way to cool off after working up a sweat trying to knock out some DIY stuff around here.

Turned the front sprinklers to run every morning super early to just keep the front yard from turning to crisp...the backyard is still a struggle to deal with but trying to take things one day at a time...LOL.

Wildfires seem to be the big news items right now...if we could get a few days of rain thrown in with this sunshine, it would definitely calm things down a bit.
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One Year Ago on In My Words...Bad Blogger, I Know...funny, same thing this year too...must just be this time of year for it...LOL

Smart Tube Technology

Image from Clorox.com

Oh my gosh...this has been something we have needed for ages. I never could figure out why all the spray bottle companies had not figured this out a long time ago. I would get lucky sometimes and be able to turn the tube to lean towards the front of a bottle but it was always hit or miss if that was an option or not.

I know it probably seems silly to be excited about this...but it really is such an awesome thing. I have to wonder if someone didn't come up with this idea and then sold it to spray bottle manufacturers. Regardless, good news for those of us trying to save money and not wanting to waste!
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Mouse In The House

Heat Wave

Love this image from Accuweather.com...they make it sound like we need to buy water and batteries. The big red thermometer icon is hilarious too! Supposed to be over 100 starting Sunday until at least Tuesday...

Good thing I got the pool vacuumed and the filter fixed today...should be swimming in it soon!
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Fabric For Quilt (one of my girlfriends finished hers up recently and it has inspired me to get working on mine again)

Driving Some Balls

I finally did it. I put the seats down in the back of the truck and put my golf clubs in there, so I would be motivated to go to the driving range. We live in a neighborhood connected to a small public 9 hole course so there is no reason why I have not hit balls since playing with Gpa in Nebraska last year. I even got a punchcard so I could save some money on buckets of balls.

This last year, I got a new driver from Gpa for my birthday and this was my first time hitting it. I hit one just like it when I was in Nebraska, but I hadn't had a chance to hit the actual one he made for me. No excuse for this except I have had a hard time lately making time for myself that doesn't involve home improvement or computer work. My time management skills need some polishing up, for sure.

I was amazed at how well I hit considering the time off. I just tried to focus on letting the club do the work, keeping my eye on the ball, and keeping my legs bent. I did at least 2 practice swings before each ball was hit, which make the whole process last longer and seems to make my shots better, especially when I haven't hit in a while.

I didn't hit any of the recovery clubs, just the even irons and my two drivers. The new driver has a bit more loft than my old one so that helps get the ball up a bit more. I really cracked it a few times and it was definitely a satisifying feeling to see it really fly.

One side note: there are no bathroom facilities near the range so they have a big port-a-potty set up. I had to use it before I started to hit balls, and I noticed that it had a few spiderwebs in the toilet itself...I opted to do the squat and run version. Good thing too, because when I brought up the fact that the "john" needed servicing, the clubhouse assistant manager said they were aware and that it should be locked because the spiderwebs belong to black widows....nice!
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Eighteen Months Ago on In My Words...My Birthday

Chicken Soup

Some of the ingredients

Realized this afternoon that I probably had all the ingredients I needed to make a decent pot of chicken soup...maybe not a traditional pot of chicken soup but a mosh posh of what was in the fridge, cupboards and herb garden. I had canned chicken soup last night, and I know with this cold, a pot of fresh soup would be awesome.

Of course my version with have a bit of an asian twist. I am adding ginger, lemongrass, and daikon to this soup. That is my twist. I know that ginger is good for you when you are sick so that is what started it.

So without measurements, this is what I have going...

Chicken breast
Water
Garlic
Black pepper
Rosemary, chives and basil from the herb garden
Organic chicken broth
Zucchini
Broccoli
Baby carrots
Green onion
Yellow onion
Bellpepper
Daikon
Lemongrass, and ginger from the freezer
Whole wheat spiral noodles

I put the rosemary, ginger and lemongrass into a tea strainer so it wouldn't be all over the soup. I haven't added the soft veggies yet since they will overcook, but will add them near the end.

It has been cooking for 1/2 an hour and it smells wonderful. I might not be able to taste it since my tongue got scalded on tea earlier but I am sure my congested sinuses and chest, as well as the rest of my body will enjoy the heat and all the nutrients.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Thai Noodle Soup

Kleenex Tells All

Okay, when you have blown your nose through an entire box of Kleenex Ultra, you have to admit to yourself that you actually do have the head cold you were trying to fight and the battle has been lost.

Today has been productive to a point, even with the cold but it would be a lot more productive without the cold, that is for sure. Add to this Shark Week, a pool full of algae, and a sprinkler system that is not functioning and you have a glimpse into the craziness I am facing. I would prefer to just hang on the couch catching up on past seasons of Dexter, but that is not to be...

Resorted to using some real Sudafed that I had left over from a precription last year because the clogged ears and sinuses were causing my brain to not function and somehow I thought driving a 3000lb vehicle while my brain wasn't functioning was probably a bad idea...LOL.

First stop was to the post office since I hadn't checked our mail since returning from the wedding trip. Next was the pool supply company to see if they could help me figure out what was going on with the system. Left there to fill up the tank, and then to Home Depot to pick up some Weed and Feed for the front lawn as well as some hostas for select spots in the yard. Stopped at the auto parts store for the glue the pool people told me I needed for the gasket fix I did last week, (which of course I can't use until I get the algae issue under control), and then to the store for another box of Kleenex. Finally loaded up, decided to stop at Taco Hell for a fast lunch.

Now I need to get a move on a few tasks outside and inside that I will post about later on the house blog, and some allocated rest so I can get over this crap and move on to tasks that require more exertion.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Caught Up To Me (apparently I am never in a good position for catching a head cold).

Cool Clouds

Took this pic after my MIL noticed them while we were driving back from our family get together last week. They looked super cool, but my experience with photographing some things in their natural state, is that they never look as cool as they did when you saw them with the naked eye.

In this case, these ones are pretty darn close. We didn't get any rain from them but they were definitely interesting to see.
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 Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Soccer

Final Product

Still had to weave in ends

Finished the blanket up last week and sent it in the mail to my niece this week. It came out better than expected and I am sure she is going to love it. I have a lot of yarn left over since I purchased yarn before I completely knew what I was going to do design-wise, so I am thinking I might make the extra yarn into squares and then just store them until a new projects rears its head.

I have started working on the stitching for my quilt from Japan again...would love to get the face of it done so that when the fabric for the rest of it gets here, I will be ready to go. I try to have a little creative something to do while watching TV or a movie. Makes me feel like I am being productive.

Don't know if I have another blanket in me right away but we'll see. I am sure I will see a pattern somewhere that I want to do and then creativity will take over. In the meantime, I have my photos and the Japanese quilt to work on, and of course my A+ certification I should be studying for...LOL
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Finished The Blanket (this is a blanket I made for one of my other nieces)

Peace, Or At Least The Illusion Of It

This is the view looking towards some of the beautiful hills near us while sitting on our front deck. The tinkling of the windchimes, the flapping of the flag (which is actually not flying in this image), the plants, the breeze...all of it, just lovely. I took this pic right before a great thunderstorm came our way. The air was full of the ions, the wind was still in anticipation of the storm. It was amazing. I sat and watched the weather, and read a magazine (something I rarely find time for) and just enjoyed the atmosphere. It is a perfect spot.

And I should get out on the front deck and enjoy it more...but I don't, because I get bogged down in the To Do list and the Make More Stuff For Me To Do list, and the Things You Should Be Doing list.

All Connected

So this is the blanket all put together. I haven't bordered it yet so it isn't DONE done, but it is getting close. Right now, I don't have enough of the off-white to border it so I might try using the dark grey, which is the same color of squares that border the blanket so it might look pretty good.

I am really thrilled how it looks, and while it is really soft, it also has a nice weight to it. It is absolutely my favorite blanket creation so far...might make something like it for myself some day in the future...LOL.

I will mail it to my niece as soon as I am done with it. I asked her if she wanted me to hold on to it for her since it is probably already getting warm where she is, but she insists that she wants it as soon as possible and I am happy to oblige her. I hope she loves it.

It will be weird to be done with it and not have a large project like this to work on...it gives me something to multitask with, and I am sure I will have to find something new to work on. Things like this don't take away from the many, many other projects I am working on for the house so no guilt there.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Just Me?

Ordered New Photo Cards

I realized while writing up my Mother's Day and May birthday cards, that I was getting low on my photo cards I use. I create the images on my computer from photos I have taken and then I upload them to York Photo where I design the card and order them. I try to do a few cards from my macros and then a couple that are scenes. This batch is 3 flower macros and 2 texture macros that look pretty cool.

This is a way for me to be creative when most of my other card making tools are not here, and it is  less expensive way for me to send all the cards I like to send out. If you haven't looked at the price of American Greetings or Hallmark cards lately...it has really gone up.

Anyhow, I should be able to get these cards delivered in time to be ready for the Father's Day and June birthdays that are coming up!
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Getting Creative

Stormy Skies

One of the many things I missed about this valley was the amazing storms we have here. I have always been a storm hound because of growing up here with our beautiful storms. When I was a kid, my parents would encourage us to enjoy the storms (rather than be afraid of them). I am thankful for this because it has meant that I never had a fear of them.

We would sit under a picnic table in the backyard and watch the lightening and listen for the thunder. We would also watch the meteor showers in the summer from under that same table. We were taught to look out far and wide and to enjoy all that nature offered us.

So when I was doing yard work today and saw that the sky was getting that inky black look to it that means a good storm is brewing, I just had to snap this shot with the sun still shining where we were. I loved the contrast and the feeling in the air that the storm was on its way and the charge that it provides.
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Seven Years Ago on In My Words...Technical Difficulties

Finished Rows

Rows Connected

Progress is being made on my niece's blanket...all the rows have been connected and I can start in the second direction now. I love this connection method, is way less tedious and much faster that any that I used in the past when I have made granny square blankets.

I highly recommend this method...super easy, and fast once you get the gist of it. I am hoping to have enough of the off-white yard to do a border as well, but since I have lots of the dark grey, that might end up being the border instead, we'll have to see how it looks when I get the rest of it connected together.
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Six Years Ago on In My Words...Back In The Land Of The Living

Storm Rising

This amazing sky up the street from our house was just too good to pass up. I am not used to having these kinds of storms this early in the year but we have had some pretty warm days this spring and I am sure that has contributed to it.

I have always been a storm watcher...I thank my parents for never making storms a "scary" thing for us. I love all the ion changes in the air around a storm...it feels great. That still air that happens right before the wind starts to blow and lightening and rain make their appearance. Love it!!

I love how dark the sky gets, especially when the sun is still out in other areas...the contrast is just terrific. I took a couple of really cool pics (one of which is being made into a card) before this storm.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Tropical Storm Halong

Blanket Update

Pattern laid out on floor

I have been working on a blanket for one of my nieces. This is the biggest blanket I have made in a long time and I really want it to be something she will enjoy. As you can see from the linked post above, I figured out the colors and style of it pretty early on, but it took a while to figure out the pattern and ultimately how many squares I needed for it.

It is going to be 8 squares by 11 squares and quite soft. Today I finished the 88th square and decided to lay it all out on the floor according to the pattern I had picked to get an idea of the look of it. I spaced the squares out a bit because I am planning to connect the squares using the same white that 6 of the squares are made of so the light colored carpet was a good way for me to get a feel for the complete look.

First two squares connected

Once I got all the squares laid out, I was able to stack them according to their rows, so I can start connecting them together. I am using this method to connect them. It is the same method I used to connect the squares in the baby blanket I made 18 months ago for one of my other nieces. I liked how it came out even if it doesn't lay completely flat and the squares look a bit staggered. I like the feel of it (more like one complete piece) and it is definitely less stiff at the junctions. I am hoping to go around the entire outside with a row once it is done in the same white color to finish it off evenly. It should be beautiful when completed.

At this point, I have started the tedious task of connecting all the squares in a particular row together in the order for the pattern...two at a time. Once I am done with all 11 rows, then I will connect the rows together in the right order. Lastly, comes the finishing outside edge.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...Trying New Things

Fishy Woes

Dexter before the move

I don't know if I have talked much about Dexter the Fish, but he was the sole survivor of all my fish purchases in 2011, and we theorized that he was killing off any of the other fish I put in the bowl with him. This earned him the serial killer nickname, and he then completed a five hour car ride when we moved confirming his toughness. He was a Zebra Danio, which turns out to be a very sturdy little fish. Normally they like to be with at least two others but he seemed content to be on his own.

Anyhow, as a fish owner, over the years, I have come to know that fish do not live very long and it is best to not get too attached. So when I found him in his bowl curled upside down, I was not surprised. I had him for 1 1/2 years and that is pretty good for a small schooling fish, especially when you don't know how long he might have been at the petstore before purchasing.

The koi looking feeder fish

I went a month or so, with no fish in the bowl, but then I decided to pick up some new fish while shopping at a store near the petstore. I wanted to try something a bit different and decided to go with two small goldfish. They were both colored like koi and I liked the idea of having my own small koi...little did I know that I had purchased feeder fish (the price should have told me this). The first one died a couple days after getting home and the second one lasted a couple of months. This is a pic of the one that lasted longer before she started to show signs of dying. Turns out that feeder fish aren't supposed to live very long...they are bred for feeding to other fish, not for being pets.

So when I was back at the store near the petstore again, I decided to check out my fish options. This time I decided to avoid the feeders, even though they are pretty, and thought that I might give the Danios a try again. After talking to an employee who reaffirmed that they are sturdy little fish, I got three of the smallest ones in the tank, figuring one would turn out to be a new Dexter.

I haven't taken pics of any of them because I am waiting to see if any of them perish first, but they are all doing well. The larger of the three was being a bit of a bully at first and I had to pull him out and put him in a separate bowl but I have added him back in and they seem to be doing okay now. We'll see how it goes. I hope to get pics of these three friends soon.
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Naha Harii
Perfect timing since Children's Day is today (May 5th) in Japan

So Glad To Have Found Maru

I swear, this kitty makes me smile...this one is a collection of Maru and some of his favorite boxes...he seems content to just have his head in one if he can pulll it off.

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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

MS Walk 2013

It has only been a week since my last run, but this walk is for a great cause and there was no way I was going to miss it.

My BIL, SIL, friend from highschool, and family friend while growing up all have MS with my BIL being the most recently diagnosed.

Mostly this event is for awareness and fundraising and our group did our fair share. It was a lot of fun to get out with family and friends in honor of those fighting this battle.

There was no timing it (other than your own watch) but I still tracked my 5K walking time and we all enjoyed ourselves.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Races

Pop Spring Visit

Pop and P playing on the last night

Pop made a surprise visit this week. I knew he was coming down a few days before he and P got here. It is a bit of a drive to get here from their house but my sister lives about halfway so they stayed a couple of days at her house before heading down.

They stayed at their friend's house while in town, which worked out for me since we really don't have guest quarters at this time. Pop came over to hang out on Monday and we had lunch and just chilled. After P came to pick him up, they called to see if I wanted to have dinner with them over at their friends. Their friend is actually my former 6th grade teacher so it is really hard for me to not call him by his teacher name but I am getting better about it...LOL. We had a great meal and spent some time after dinner singing and playing instruments (I am limited to the singing part).

Then a couple of days later, we met up at another friends for some jamming. Spent the afternoon singing and playing instruments. Their friends live in the house next door to a house we lived in when I was in middle school. We used to hang out with the elderly couple that owned the house before G and G bought it. So it was a bit of a walk down memory lane for me. After a bit, we walked downtown and had some great pizza and beer before calling it a night.

Finally, on the last night, we met up at a local drinking hole where their friend G was playing and singing with her music partner and was planning to let Pop and P step in for a few songs. It was great fun, and fantastic people watching. Pop and P were a bit nervous, but they did a great job and had a good time. Around 11, we called it a night. I said goodbye that night since they were leaving for my sister's the next day to finish up their trek home.

Overall, it was a great visit and I am hoping to see them later this summer when they make their annual warm weather trek down from WA.
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Four Years Ago on In My Words...We Have New Fish

IRL Run

First in real life 5K of the year. It was cold and cloudy, but still a lot of fun. I didn't get my best time, but I also didn't train for it so I am just glad I didn't get my worst time either...LOL.

I picked up my packet yesterday and narrowly avoided ending up on the local news. The director was giving me a hint about where to park when the news crew showed up and wanted him to talk about the race and festival...he asked me to be on camera too, but I was able to beg off (thankfully).

We had to be at the site pretty early so I didn't get a ton of sleep, but that is no surprise on race day anyhow. I parked a bit away from the start/finish line, so I opted to leave my warm up pants at the car. There were about 1800 runners in the 5K portion and then another 1800 did the 10 miler. The course was flat for the most part and that made it even harder for me....I just tried to run as long as I could and then would walk for a bit.

Once I got into the groove, there were a few people that I just tried to stay with for the remainder of the race, and that helped me to push myself a bit. Last curve and the finish line was right there so I ran it in.

This is the first race I have done recently that didn't offer food, or drinks to the finishers. So no new pint glass for me...LOL. I did get a banana and a gatorade from one of the sponsors. I stuck around until the 10 milers started. By that time, my body temp had dropped and the weather also started getting colder. I was chilled to the bone. I stopped for a big coffee on my way home. I got into a nice hot bath that night and soaked with the knowledge that I pushed myself and accomplished a goal.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Racing Again

OSF: Taming Of The Shrew

This Shakespeare play was done in the old language, but had some modern twists. It took a few minutes for my "babel fish" to kick in but that was all it took to fall into the story.

Loved the tattood arms of the characters, and the fantastic band. The set was really well done and went well with the modernized storyline. Loved the boardwalk and the clothes.

I really had to consider the story and who tamed who...once again, this matinee was in the Angus Bowmer theater and had an after talk that was interesting and informative.

I saw this one with my SIL on the weekend and we both greatly enjoyed it.
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Next Year on In My Words...Smile 83/100 OSF: Verona

OSF: My Fair Lady

This was the first play of the season for me. I saw it in preview on my own in the Angus Bowmer theatre during a matinee showing.

The actors were on stage when we came in, warming up and getting into their last minute costume details. They included the audience in the show right from the start and it was pretty cool.

The actors were all great singers and actors and I felt like I was part of the movie (since I never saw the play before). It was very hard to not sing along.

The sets were really cool in a minimalist way...not overly done but they had all the elements there so you knew when they were in the study and when they were at the track.

Freddie was a entity of his own...he was comedic in a completely unexpected way. I think, since we were in preview, that he was adlibing quite a bit of it, but I hope that some of it stayed in play as it was great to see.

There was an after the show talk with Liza Doolittle and it was pretty informative and cool.
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Another post on In My Words...The Arts

The Arts

This area has a lot to offer. We have a major arts attraction, a ski resort, many lakes, mountains and rivers and several colleges. This means that the population is diverse and active on many different levels. While I did go to college here for my first year, I was rarely able to take advantage of the arts or the ski resort while growing up. We just didn't have the money for those kinds of things when I was a kid. I think I saw one play the entire time I was growing up and it was a field trip from the high school.

Fast forward to today. My uncle works for the major arts attraction. He has always offered to get anyone of us in the family comp'd tickets to plays when they are available. I was able to see a play a few years ago when visiting here with my sister and it was great fun. I had forgotten how much I really like plays and musicals.

Anyhow, a few weeks ago, I had seen a review of a current play and decided to let my uncle know I was interested in seeing it and anything else he could get me tickets for this season. I didn't know if it would work out or not, but I figured I better just put it out there.

He called me within the week with tickets for two plays that same weekend (both of the ones I really wanted to see) and then the following week, he had four preview tickets for another play. So after living in this area for my entire childhood and only seeing one play, I have now seen 4 plays in the last two years, and hope to see even more.

I will write up my experiences for the individual plays in separate posts.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Strange Gym People

Making Progress

I am working on a lap blanket for my niece who is currently deployed to Afghanistan. I decided to do a granny square version and I don't have the exact layout of the four colors yet but at least have decided on the colors.

I am working on them a skein at a time, so I have more of the charcoal done at this point. I have about 50 squares done total so far. I only picked up the red this week, but have managed to knock out a few squares of it already. I think I will only being doing a few of the off-white squares as an accent, because I want to use the off-white as the one to connect all the squares when I am done, and maybe as the border as well.

I hope it comes out nice. I picked a soft yarn that I just love! I want to connect the squares like I did in the post I have linked below. I think it makes for a more flexible and finished looking blanket.
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Eighteen Months Ago on In My Words...Finished The Blanket

Geocaching Luck

Signing the log

Today, I went to the Grower's Market with one of our cousins and two of her boys. After we had checked things out for a bit we walked over to a nearby park to let the boys play. I remembered that a geocache had recently been hidden in that park, so I turned on the GPS on my phone and my geocaching app to see if we could maybe find it (even though the phone is not even close to being as accurate as the GPSr is).

With the clues and my basic memory of where it might be, I sent my little cousin off to find it, and he did. He was so excited, even though it was a micro and we could only sign the log. We haven't been able to geocache since last summer so this was a real treat and he definitely has the bug again. I told him, that now since the weather was getting better, we would go more often, and I know of a few parks we can explore that have some in them.

This is one of my favorite hobbies even if I don't get to do it as much as I would like. It gives you the chance for exercise, fresh air and seeing a new place each time (assuming you aren't just doing it for numbers and like finding stupid micros hidden on guardrails).
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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Geocaching Peeve

Virtual 5K And Overall Catch-up

Tomorrow marks the beginning of the period that I can complete my virtual 5K for this race. I did not officially sign up for this one, but I am participating anyhow and will post a race recap with photos when I am done. I have, once again, not had time to really train for this one....so hopefully, I will get it done a couple of times over the next 11 days and then do one for the books. We'll see how my time pans out.

I have a cousin coming into town this weekend that I haven't seen in at least 15 years if not longer. I am excited to see him and see how life has been treating him.

I am a little bit sore all over from spending about 40 hours over the last week or so working in our yard trying to get it looking okay before the weather gets dry and hot and the ground super hard. The dandylions and I are NOT friends.

I have been able to stay up on my picture taking (even if most of it is of DIY projects) but I am not currently doing any photo projects this year so I haven't been posting much other than to the house blog and some to my FB.

The time has changed and the weather has been terrific which means most inside projects have stalled out, but we are expecting some wind and rain in the next few days I might be able to finish up a few things.

I need to be studying for my computer test, and writing more than I have...thankfully my reading hasn't been too hindered since I still do that most nights before bed. I have another 5K in April (IRL one) and then an MS walk the following week that I am looking forward to, so that helps me to stay in shape, not to mention the hours of yardwork...haha.

Oh and last but not least, I am still on the job hunt....frustrating as it is, it has to be done. I know that at some point, I will get something but in the meantime, frugal is my middle name.
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Three Years Ago on In My Words...Car Crash

Google Is Dropping Reader

This is horrible news. I use Google Reader every day for keeping up on the things that I am subscribed to (blogs, news, etc) and as a diagnostic tool when volunteering on the Blogger Help Forum...what a great loss this will be.

I seriously don't know what they are thinking...why would you push customers to another service even if there is a decline in users...there is still a huge following. I truly think they are making a mistake with this one.

It is funny that for as much as I like Google, I only use about 5 of their products religiously and Reader was one of them...sad to see it go...
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Five Years Ago on In My Words...Perspective

Working Hard Sometimes Hurts

My booboo

I scrapped the crap out of the inside of my finger the other day working on the electrical at our house. Such is the cost of getting things done. I can't do electrical with gloves on, it just doesn't work for me so once in a while, I get a ding or two. This is definitely not the worst of my injuries in the name of DIY but definitely the most recent. It truly stings when stuff touches it...especially soap.



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Last Year on In My Words...12 Year Old Booboos

T-Mobile Outage Reporting

This is the report I filed today with T-Mobile because I really think that some improvements could be had...my phone battery is draining so fast because it is searching for the network.
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This morning, I had perfectly normal coverage for voice, messaging and data on my phone using the Monthly 4G plan on T-Mobile. At 8:30am PDT, my signal completely disappeared. I rebooted my phone several times thinking that perhaps it was a hiccup on my end, but this did nothing.

So I called the Contact Us number listed on T-Mobile's site after searching all the pages for a place to report an outage. I wanted someone to confirm for me that there was an issue in my area so I didn't have to keep worrying that something was wrong with my phone. The first machine that answered hung up on me because I didn't give it an account number. The second time I called back, I just said Customer Service over and over and finally got a human being.

The VERY FIRST THING I asked was if they could check to see if there was an outage in my area. I had to give them my phone number and go through a ton of troubleshooting of my phone before they said there wasn't a problem in my area. At some point they realized, even though they were looking at my account the entire time, that I was on the Monthly 4G plan and transferred me. The second person made me go through all the same loops to include taking out my sim chip, always assuming that there was something wrong with my phone rather than with the network. I explained to them that I had perfectly normal coverage, and then I just didn't, and I hadn't changed anything on my phone...but they still did not seem to believe that it could be a network issue on their end. I was then transferred to technical support and went through the same troubleshooting all over again, to included repeating the removal of my SIM chip. While talking to this last individual, he decided to file a report with engineering and this is when it was FINALLY discovered that there was a trouble ticket already submitted for my area and that there was an outage that was affecting all TMobile customers in my area. I do not know why, when I asked all three individuals repeatedly if this was a network outage, none of them saw this ticket but I spent 44 minutes on the phone, rebooting, removing sim cards and batteries and checking settings on my own phone that I could have been doing other things if someone had just been able to check the trouble tickets from the start.

I do not know how the ins and outs of your system work, and what would have kept any of them from seeing this trouble ticket from the beginning, but there has got to be a better way to let customers report an outage in the area (or even just look up that there is an outage). If I had been able to check the website to see a notice or even had a form to report the outage with a possible message coming back saying that they were already aware of this problem, I would have saved not only 44 minutes of my own time but also that of three of your own customer service reps.

It really shouldn't be this hard. I did request the number of this particular trouble ticket so that if I do call back (if it isn't restored in 72 hours), I will have a reference point to start with. I also was transferred back to the Monthy 4G people so that if I do end up without service for three days or more, I can get my account credited since I am paying for 30 days of service at a time.

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 Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Customer Service Miracle

New Hike

View from the trail

Today I was determined to find a geocache and the one I was looking for was supposed to be on this little trail near the irrigation ditch, however I didn't have exact coordinates. As I was driving towards where I thought the trail was, I came to the trailhead of another popular trail system in this area. There is no parking at the trailhead itself, so I decided to turn down a side street and check it out. I hadn't see the other trail, so I figured that the geocache would have to wait for another day (actually, I saw the trail on my way out of the area so I will be easily attempting that geocache soon).

I walked up to the trailhead and decided to give it a go...put my headphones on and started moving out. Little did I know that the trail was going to be very steep, so quickly, I was heading uphill quite steeply and decided to take of my headphones and just enjoy the hike. I felt so out of shape as I could hear my heart pounding in my ears and I was stopping at the top of the little hills to catch my breath and take pics. There were a lot of other hikers, many with their dogs and it was a lot of fun. Due to time constraints, I only went a little over a mile out (had to find a turnaround that I would be able to see on the map later) and about 500 ft in elevation change but it was a good first hike for that area. I also discovered that there are a few geocaches on the trail (although poison oak might be an issue for me in that regard too). My muscles were pretty smoked from the climb and the descent (sometimes coming down is harder than going up), and I am sure I will feel the new muscles I have built over the next few days.

I am looking forward to getting up there a few times a week if I can, until the poison oak becomes an issue, and know that it will be a great addition to my workout regimen. I saw a lot of people that were doing the same trail with no heavy breathing and some were even running up the trail so I know it is just a matter of determination and practice.
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Eight Years Ago on In My Words...Walking Lunges Kiss Ass (Literally) 

Another Virtual 5K

Unofficially doing this virtual 5K in March...unofficially, because I am not going to sign up with the site that is tracking it and giving away the prizes but I am going to do the run and do a race recap.

I signed up for a real 5K in April as well...figure that this will give me some motivation in the exercise department.

Kind of funny...unofficially signed up for a virtual race...how more vague can things get...haha. Anyhow, I am excited to get racing again, it is definite motivation, and I need motivation.
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Two Years Ago on In My Words...Racing Again