Hi hi. This is me and we're typing on our new
computer. YAY!!!! We are a little speculative because we've had
so much problem with bloat-ware. I think
that's the title for it … It's stuff that pops up like viruses telling you need
programs or software to correct problems they are just giving you so that you
pay for their protection. It's the most
irritating thing, but we haven't figured it out yet. We did go to the programs section and deleted
some stuff, but the main culprit, won't delete.
Hopefully, today will be better, we got the computer yesterday after we
got back from Dr. Marvin's.
We are
trying the Microsoft 365 program for free - I know that Rich and us will get a
business copy, but Rich hasn't decided to go 365 or purchase outright. We'll wait for his computer to come in and
load to that first. We will need a copy
that can get us 5 devices. Joe is
letting us use one of his copies, but I could see it going to my desk top,
Rich's laptop, his phone, my phone and my hybrid. Hehehe that's fancy words for the part of us
getting a Lenovo Yoga 2 which means it's a laptop and its tablet. Rich got the regular Lenovo laptop - the U530
model. I don't think either were in
their newest ranges, but both were affordable and had very good ratings.
I think the
keyboard on this one is a little stiff, but it's a matter of adjustment, you
just don't have to press the keys very far down. You do have to press. Maybe we just have to loosen them up or it
might be the angle we're typing.
Hmm, that
was a little adjusting. We turned the
fireplace up a little, got coffee, took our medicine, fed the dog, grabbed a
piece of chicken, AND went to the bathroom.
Then we resettled ourselves under the blanket. You might have guessed with the new computer
we're in the sitting room enjoying the comfort.
Hmm, one of
the things, I'm enjoying about this new computer too is that it has a really
nice speaker on it - so we're listening to our Rhapsody account. We have a playlist that includes about 3 days
of soft Christmas music. YAY!!! It keeps the whole thing cheery … reminding
ourselves now that this is our Christmas present - ok, 3 weeks early, but
REALLY appreciated!
Ok, moving
along - we tried to open our regular blog to see where we last left off in our
writing, but because of a long running script it wouldn't open proper. I think it's because we are installing the
Office program in the background - it's at a very slow 83%. It's ok, we have some patience. :)
Hmm, nothing
really impressive about what we're writing about so far. I think we're trying to get settled.
Ahh I think
the MS sample program finished loading and we were able to go check out our
blog. We scanned it for an idea of what
we last wrote. It's surprisingly about a
month ago. Not sure what all has
happened since then … I guess we'll have to go over to FB to check out what
breadcrumbs we left.
I think one
of the first things that happened and I don't think I wrote about it, but Fox
canceled the show Utopia. That was a
major disappointment. We've since become
FB Friends with some of the cast, but especially James. I feel like he's another friend for real - at
least as far as online friends go. But,
I've appreciated that he's let people in general become a part of his life -
that with both good and bad. He seems
very real to me.
The next
important thing was that Dakota went to the vet/groomer. They are located together so that we dropped
him off at about 7:30 am, and then they called about 12:30 pm to say I could
come pick him up. He was gorgeous and
smelled very good! I love what she did
with his fur and there were many curls on the top that she left … my favorite
part was around the collar. She seemed
to know what to do to get the ridge just right it's like smooth around the
muzzle then flips outward meeting the front to the part coming in from lower in
the neck. He's very soft and
wonderful. Yes, I think he knows it
because he sits very proudly when petted by ourselves or others.
In general
he's gotten a lot of attention - yesterday was another example. When we walked in Dr. Marvin's office area -
there were several people who happened to be up and about and about 4-5 people
all focused on Dakota when he came in … a couple petted him and people talked
about their own dogs and wishing they could bring them to work. They asked the familiar questions like what
kind of dog he was and stated how handsome he was. It was good attention, but all we wanted was to
go and sit down. We finally made it back
to our chair and then Dakota turned on his back for his "cute"
pose. Someone else came over and then
the platitudes started again.
I know we
have to be conscious of others when we're out with him. It's like people never saw a dog before. We had to stop several times on the way back from
Dr. Marvin's … before the long hall, after we got to the end and by the time we
were at the doorway of the garage. One
family was walking about the same time/path.
They had little children who wanted to pet the dog but were afraid of
him. By the last time we met up in the
garage, the family finally stopped close to us instead of the distance. The Mom and Dad petted and encouraged the
other, so we were careful not to scare or push the children (2-3 years old). It was a good encounter especially for the
young father. I'm so proud of Dakota
when he is able to meet people in his gentle way.
Hmm, we've had a very long break maybe a couple
of hours, we were doing other computer business - more on the private
level. The last thing was to be talking
to Linda - we agreed to be both headed off to our own set of tasks. I need to go into the sewing room, but we
stopped and cleaned up the kitchen first and started the dishwasher. No reason not to get that "easier"
chore out of the way. I have to remember
that it's never as bad after you start - just a matter of how long we can stay
… we prefer to be getting everything done.
We can do unloading the dishwasher and loading it and washing down the
counters, but that's pretty much our limit.
I think the idea of working while writing is good
if I can balance things. I forgot what
we were talking about before the break.
Did we mention that Dakota wen to the vet/groomer? Don't think we explained that. Hmm, turns out that was about a month
ago. New dog news would be that we had
Maury's dogs Lady and Max over during the week of Thanksgiving.
We were very happy to do this. Ok, poop like stuff is never fun, but
otherwise it was good. They seem to
enjoy being at our house, especially because their cousin Dakota is here. That's really the best thing of our house for
them. They get along soooo well. I will try to post later the pictures of one
- them eating or shall we say CRUNCHING together? The second video is of them playing three way
tug of war. Both are classics!
We didn't have too much trouble with them. Rich convinced me to let them out one at a
time, so we would let one into the sunroom and the other two would be behind
the sliding door. They seemed to
understand being called out next or being held back - neither with too much
energy. Lady is pretty excitable putting
on the leash sometimes, but most the time she's good. They seem to each know what going outside is
all about and they enjoyed having some outdoor time on their own. Lady again was the funniest … we were calling
her "LookalotLady." She would
just place herself square with the wind and stare off into the distance while
her nose was sniffing and sniffing. Good
Zen'ing. Hehehe
Everyone got their share of pets - and on this
mark as before Max and Dakota stood out.
They were like just pet me a very long time and I will be happy, then
I'll go over to the other person and when they are done we'll be right back :)
This time all three dogs played at the same
time. Max has cut some slack for
Dakota. Lady is still the obsessed one
on the need to play, but generally there is someone who will agree to play with
her. She's a very high energy dog. We eventually toward the end of the week
found a Cesar video where he is training two Goldens the exact same colors as
lady and Max to settle down … we sent it out to Maury and Cari caught it
too. We're not perfect because Dakota
will still jump up, but mostly because we haven't told him not to yet. I know he'd train - it's all on us. I wish we had the video to practice with Lady
at the beginning of the week. We'll
review it later when they come back again.
I think Rich fell in line with the dogs too - and
a couple times a day, he'd help me by taking them out. The feeding was on my own, but Rich did his
fair share of petting. One thing we can
say for sure … If we have a dog treat in our hand - all THREE dogs sit VERY
quickly without a word being said.
Hehehe - loved that part. We'll
look forward to them coming out again.
If Maury were to be back on track, I think that it would be a girls'
weekend here this coming Saturday. We
haven't talked plans yet, but should soon.
We got caught up with the holiday and the girls having other plans. We'll just have to wait it out. I would like to try inviting the Quilting
twins here once during December or January, but not sure how that will
work. I don't know if that would be
something they could do. I do know it's
been a long time since seeing them. I
know CS is tied into her recovery and Emily is with family. Maybe?
The next question is could we have them here by
themselves if they agreed to come or could we have them with our Granddaughters
here. I know that Isa would get so much
out of it and maybe Ame too. Just it
would be a lot of work trying to keep up demands of kids, sewing, food,
etc. Sleeping we could do it with the
twins in one room and the girls in the other.
But, I'm not sure I'd like to give up my alone time wit both sets. Probably cart is way in front of the
horse. I know it's a busy time of the
year for our quilting friends.
There was something that happened this week
besides getting the computers for Christmas for both Rich and us. We got for Rich a birthday present. His birthday is tomorrow. We found on Craig's List a old Mahogany desk
that also came with a chair and a file for $170. GREAT price … the desk has some dinks, but
nothing out of the ordinary for a used desk.
REALLY happy with it. We put it
in the girls room so that when they weren't here Rich could be using the room
for business. I know that a part of him
wants to put it in the sitting room, but even if we took out the piano and
treadle sewing machine - it would take up too much room. The room just isn't big enough with the two
big recliners and the desk is 63" x 28" x 31" - plus chair and
file. I can appreciate that Rich wants
the big window and fireplace, but it would be unsettling to the flow and
purposes of the room.
I keep trying to work it through my mind. I wouldn't mind taking out the other two things,
but just don't see getting the three pieces in together. I suppose we could put the desk in front of
the window, take out the sewing machine and piano, but my chair would have to
stay where it is facing the fire, and Rich would have to put his recliner on
the opposite wall where the sewing machine is now. I don't like that it would block the hall way
by being so wide. The path is clearner
now from the rest of the house to the bathroom we use most. People would be walking in-between the two
chairs.
I guess that Rich's chair is mostly down so it
wouldn't be too bad. Just have to try it
out. I will give him our okie dokie I
guess for his birthday to try reconfiguring the chairs before moving the heavy
desk again. He had to unscrew one of the
leg sets to get it through. Thing is
with the recliner you have to pull it away from the wall so it can lean
back. It's much more the cubby back by
the bar, but I can be manageable. My
chair might be pushed back to where the piano is and neither of us would share
the same stool for a table ...the worst part would be if Rich tried to leave
papers on the floor in our pathway. The
sewing machine and piano would be fine for the girls. It would give them a table space AND
something fun with the piano. I would
leave out the table we had there in front of the closets, because that really
wasn't being used and blocked access to the closets.
Ok, that's a whole new thought - cleaning out
those closets! They are so tightly
packed no one can get anything from there.
It have to be a Rich project. The
other change is that the girls now need to share a Bakers Rack - it be the same
whether there was a desk in there or not.
For space too - we put one air mattress on top of the other. We've got some space to move around - just it
gets congested really fast - the rooms aren't huge. I guess it would be a better idea to have
Rich's space more in tact out here, but then adding a office and taking out my
bakers rack (for our quilts), sewing machine, AND piano - well, can you see
where we are loosing ground here?
But it would make our boo happy AND he wouldn't
be as isolated. That's the part he's
complaining about now. Maybe the best
idea is to clean up the stuff coming out of the girls room in back of my chair
and scooting his chair across the room … have to do something with sewing
machine *sigh*
Ok, we're back and our back is already
hurting. Rich said one room, so we're
going to focus on the sitting room. I
feel bad because Dakota and the other dogs are going to lose their nice spot in
front of the big windows - it's just 9" from the ground and the space
keeps them cool, and able to look out. I
guess with Rich's desk there though, if his feet aren't sitting there, the dog
can sit under the desk and still view the window.
We did very little … just moved a couple boxes
and blankets off the floor and we moved the heavy cast iron treadle machine out
of the way in the guest room. Next would
be to continue removing things from the back of the room. There's a basket with stuff from the girls
table, some more blankets, a couple of chairs, and the piano. Piano btw is just a little electronic
one. Two trips between top and stand. We will put that in the guest room too. Maybe actually we'll put all that stuff in
the guest room - some can go on top of the bed.
It will be easier to put away when all the furniture is in place.
The next step will be to clean out the vacuum
cleaner and start vacuuming this room.
Then my chair moves back and Rich's chair goes to the east wall. I think I will pick-up all Rich's papers and
put them in the guest room too, and then Rich can put them away in the new desk
when it gets moved in. I think he's
coming home earlier this afternoon, or at least sometime in the afternoon,
because he has to go out from here then to the card club tonight.
Hmm, thinking out the arrangement of the girls
room. I kinda like the new spot for the
one baker's rack. I think we will leave
it there, and then put the sewing table in front of the front window - like
Rich's desk, and then we'll put Ame's bed by the south wall next to the door,
and then put the piano in front of the closet - that won't be so hard to
move. I like the room better. As long as the girls can share the bakers
rack. I think most often they bring
their things in their backpacks and nothing really gets taken out … Just need
to make it a little neater.
Pswhoo … got almost everything out. I left in a chair to sit next to Rich's desk
on the west wall and I left the papershedder hiding in the corner, and we left
one of my standing lamps. I think that
it will look better with Rich's desk then the table one with the broken
shade. We also have an extension cord
that we'll use from that corner for his and our electrical equipment. There's another one over on the wall his
recliner will go for when he's sitting in his chair.
In some ways, I think it's going to make the room
bigger to have my chair back a little further, just enough not to touch the
north wall when I'm laying flat back.
The inside U will be better formed so the room looks more set as a set. I think I will have to get the other
table/stool from the garage and use it for the other recliner. Rich and us share, but we'll be too far apart
now. I'll have to then take one of the
high chairs out to the garage to sit in while people are working out
there.
I haven't made a choice on the high chair in the
corner. It would be better to have a
tall plant there, but still be safe enough for the dogs and cat. It's old and scruffy and should probably go
in the sewing room, no reason for it out here.
I usually have some kind of quilting project or two on it. It's the first thing we see going into the
sewing room, but maybe we're getting closer to leaving the door open so we can
be in more of the house. Who knows?
I think I'm going to need a white plastic garbage
bag to empty the hair in the vacuum. It
had filled up last time after cleaning up after the dogs. Too much again to start without it being
emptied. Shoot, usually that is a Rich
job. Keep things in tune girls we can do
it!
During the last time up we fixed the lace curtain
the dogs had pulled down and we opened up the drapes to let some light in
here. Sweet! Can't believe how light and bright it
is. We did have on the center light, but
it didn't do the room justice. I think
we're going to have to clean the carpet with the cleaner Friday or over the
weekend - IF the girls aren't coming.
Don't want them slipping on wet carpet.
We're pretty much into the day … it's almost 1 pm
and we've barely left the sitting room.
I can't believe how happy we've been to be in here in front of the fire
again and still be able to type. With
the Kindles we could do email or FB, but it really wasn't good for typing. I also know that I can't get by with leaving
the fireplace on every day, but for now aw we're trying to center the room it's
working well. We talked a few moments
ago about making a bigger U-shaped space in the middle, but a good part of that
is opening the space in front of the fire.
It is really a nice large stone fireplace. Deserves to be seen as wholly as it can
be. Ok, girl … just take a moment and
then the vacuum right?
We figure Linda might check in in about an hour
or so. We figured she'd be pleased as us
to have the vacuuming done and the recliners in place. Hehehe.
That be a GOOD Ann! Still would
like a quilt on that back wall. AND,
we'd love to have a couple more floor lamps next to each of the chairs. That would be a nice balance. Eh, one thing at a time. VACUUM!
Pswhoo!
Got the filter cleaned out - it was up to the top in dog hair -
WOW! We were also able to vacuum half
the room. I have to rest for a few
moments and then move the recliners and a few other things, and then vacuum
again. I get to rest first though. So far so good. 1:10 pm and we've eaten lunch - way back at
the 11:30 am mark. We did move the
papers and the high chair. This desk is
turning out to be the greatest gift ever!
Just hope to be done before Rich gets here so its ready for him to take
off the leg again and then move the desk.
I don't know what else he has to do before leaving, but I can put the
rest back to order after he's gone again if necessary. Sure be nice for him to do something with
those papers though! First time we'll
look at our hearth without the papers around it … always thought that was too
close to dangerous.
Hmm, we
might have lost a paragraph or two, but basically, we’re here at the end of the
room until Rich comes home. We got the
chairs where we want them, both stool/tables, brought in Missy’s scratching
pad, and the room is entirely vacuumed.
Good girl. It’s 1:53 pm, so good
time too. Oh, yes and as may or may not
be stated, we left a floor lamp and the paper shredder here too. Fully equipped with that AND an extension
cord. The room really looks and feels
different, but I like the conversational space between Rich’s recliner and
ours. We’re a little off set to the
right of the fireplace and our view out the window has never been good looks to the outside of the sunroom, breezeway
and garage.
Rich has got
the better view – he sees, some of what we see, but a better look into our
courtyard and down the block. I think
he’s going to be very pleased, so much he might not complain about moving the
heavy desk WITH also taking off the leg.
I know I know … but we’re kind of obsessive now. We keep thinking over details over and over
again to get it straight.
I don’t like
the view by the bar. It’s got mostly dog
stuff on it like the treats, brush, extra chain. I might have to move that to outside? Not sure.
It was away from the regular counters, it’s just that it’s a really bad
view. Maybe Rich is right and we’ll have
to hide it under the counter. We have
doors on either side so, if we move the glasses down there that will at least
be convenient. I would like to keep the
walkway clear to the bar … not that much is going on over there, just it’s been
hidden ad ugly for so long with Rich keeping all of his business papers over
there. We’ve got some stem glasses
hanging from above and a picture, should be some kind of a display maybe, but
it’s not a real long counter. Maybe if
we put a short board over the counter/bar sink, we could put some white cloth
on it and then pull out the Christmas statues that Rich got for us last
year. Hmm, that would be a good deal,
right?
AHA! Done with
that! We put up the pieces there are two
big buildings, a midsize fountain and a midsize skating rink, and a truck and a
person. The first building is a general
store, and the second building is a newspaper office which is perfect for last
year because we were starting our business with Multiple News. We have to think if we had anything else we
wanted this year, or if we should ask Rich if he sees a really good deal like
last year to get a few more pieces. I
had originally thought we’d get more and it would be faster, but so many other
realities hit too.
BUT, GUESS WHAT!??
Rich just called and he’s picking up his mother’s mail and he said he’d
be home in 20 minutes (4 pm), so that is GOOD news. I’m eager for him to see this part of his
birthday gift. He gets the best – well almost
the best windows in the house. The best
double set of windows faces out front behind the couch, but I don’t see out of
them often either, though Rich’s chair in the LR faces out at that
direction. I know it’s a burden on him
to see through the lace, but it offers us some privacy too. He seems to keep track on what’s going on a
mile away where the next road is. So I
guess that’s pretty much a good deal.
I think he’s going to be so happy, I can’t seem to settle
ourselves down. ESPECIALLY because he
said that I wasn’t supposed to spend all day on the computer and I didn’t AND
he said to do one room, and we did! And,
it is going to surprise him nicely.
Happy happy. He said he stopped
by to pick up stuff for the card group tonight.
I guess it’s his turn. Good
Rich. I think we will be having chicken
leftovers from yesterday – hmm, maybe more mashed potatoes? I’m not sure if he’s
eating with me just maybe a little of something.
I turned on the little light above the village pieces – the one
over the glasses. We never turn those on
– they are fluorescent and come through the spaces that hold the bottom of the
cups. AND in the newspaper building we
put up on the stack of books there are little lights in the building. I guess the fabric has a white background,
but also little bundles of flowers. Hmm,
maybe those are bushes showing through the snow? It looks fine hehhe
I wonder if he will move the desk for us before he
goes. I think there is time, and then I
can put the other rooms back together. You
know the stuff we took a part over the last couple of days, then we might
vacuum the sunroom or set the vacuum out there at least with the old plastic
table. Then if we did all that we could
start in the sewing room.
I think the plan of attack will be to first put some blanket
stuff from the sewing room floor back to the bakers rack in the guest room, and
then start to arrange the wicker shelves to hold things on the tables and so
forth and the stuff on them better, so the space works. Then after that if there is stuff we’re going
to rearrange some of the space on the regular four shelve units. I’m so tired of things OUT not having a
place. We need to clear our head when we
go in there.
Hmm, remembering the office Rich was so proud of at JVS … it
really was just a square, but it had a window or two in it. The problem was the windows were about top of
one’s head level so although letting in light you couldn’t see out of
them. Now Rich is going to have real
windows.
I sure hope Dakota is doing ok. Should look.
We left him outside when he laid down on the sidewalk … it was a nice
day today. Hmm, just checked. He wants to be out there, but not too far
from me, but he’s at the stage where he’s looking for Rich who should be home
any moment. He’s DUE!!!!
I kinda wish the rest of the house looked nice as this room,
but then that wouldn’t give me anything to do.
AHA … hear car doors and Dakota sat up – he was resting his head on the
sill. He puts out such a calm
exterior. I love that about him. Yup yup … he’s intently staring. Sometimes it takes Rich a while to get from
his SUV to the house. Dakota has walked
around to the sliding door in greet the Rich position. When the sliding door was open he was laying
out on the couch, but the heat came on and figured I didn’t want to be caught
with not only fireplace on, but door open.
Shoot shoot false alarm.
Dakota is back to the window … still staring, but now tail is
wagging. That might be a good sign. Shoot he laid down. Maybe not.
He does like to greet Rich. I don’t
know who is more intent between us or the dog.
Hmm, he sitting up again. Looking
interested in SOMETHING out there! There
is no doubt in my mind that he’s looking for his Rich. He gets the first cuddle now when Rich comes
in – it’s like letting the kids say hello first because they are so
excited. It’s 4:08 pm, I want him home before
the sun sets so he can see his window – hopefully with the desk in front of
it. I hope he’s not going to be too
tired. Hmm, forgot to take my
medicine. Better do that.
Ahh 4:14 pm and dog ran for the sliding door. PRETTY sure this time. Shoot another false alarm, AND we got an
excited puppy!
Poor Dakota has been staring at the driveway …he seems to
know that’s where he is going to see Rich next.
I feel bad for getting him so excited.
I should have looked first. Hey,
he’s messing with my lace curtains. It
sure is hard to be patient. Must be a
lot of people in the park coming home at this time. We’re hearing a lot of cars – even with the
music on. Rich’s car is quiet
though. He’s going to miss the light and
then he won’t want to set up the desk.
Dakota is so stoic. He’s got his
head.
Pswhoo that was a lot of action … the fed ex guy came with
Rich’s computer AND when we got back Rich’s car in drive. Dakota is checking out the sliding door. He’s eager.
So why is he taking so long getting into the house now. Its 25 min after he was supposed to be
here. Hope Don didn’t find him, that
could be hours. He’s going to miss his
light … It’s getting pretty dark in here.
The light outside is fading. Want
to just go out and grab him… Ok,
maybe? Dakota went to the sliding door
again. He knows Rich comes through the
breezeway from the garage. WOW HE’S here
(74,429/18,808/191)
