Feeling a little bloggy

 I am having a problem with a credit card(s) and Bank one says the problem is with bank two, and bank two says the problem is with bank one.  All I know is that if I find a bogus transaction on either account I will close both of them. Pain in the ass..  

I have finished with Xmas shopping, they only need to be wrapped.  I got two gifts for C and R each, so there is something to unwrap on Christmas morning.  Bearing in mind I can only shop in virtual stores.  Even WalMart has an online store, which would have been great if we still did Stockings.  They are hard to fill, other than using candy.  Hmmm... candy...

I ordered a fruit cake from Swiss Colony, to be delivered before Dec. 25th.  I used to make fruit cake, regularity around thanksgiving, and then dribble Rum over it every week or so.  Yummy, but with me being unable to get to the kitchen, and standing all the time to make it, it is a  no-go.  I hope the one I ordered is good, there are 5 pounds to eat so it better be yummy.

I have a book "Digital Photography complete course"  that has one exercise a week, with 20 weeks to give the reader a better understanding of the difference between OK and Wow.  I am unable to do most of the exercises because I can't get outside or use a tripod for now.  But soon.  The book is full color which helps a lot, and the diagrams of camera information is so I can stop going,"What is this button for?"  The D200 I got recently is somewhat similar for the D40, but there are some features that the simpler camera doesn't have.  I am having a good time playing with it - I can't take any actual photos because the ordered memory card hasn't come yet.  I found a box of photos while searching for something else, and they look sort of half-wow, but they are from film, so scanning them in and printing more leaves a lot to be desired.  And the photos of the kids are the most important and can't be duplicated any other way.  There are hardly any photos of me, because I am the one taking the photo.  The D200 has a simple way to get the shutter remotely fired with a cable, so I am looking forward to trying it out.  I never could get the infrared one to work more than twice.  

Carvana was supposed to send me a cash card for $50 once the whole transaction is final.  They sent the number and the code to use it, but when I tried it in WalMart, Amazon, eBay, and more, and all of them said invalid number.  I thought, oh well.  Then I got a check for $50 from Carvana, so I guess I wasn't the only customer to have this problem.  Now to get it to the bank.

joke

 While walking down the street one day a Congressman was tragically hit by a car and died.

His soul arrives in heaven and is met by St. Peter at the entrance. "Welcome to heaven," says St. Peter. "Before you settle in, it seems there is a problem. We seldom see a high official around these parts, you see, so we're not sure what to do with you."

"No problem, just let me in," says the Congressman.

"Well, I'd like to, but I have orders from the higher ups. What we'll do is have you spend one day in hell and one in heaven. Then you can choose where to spend eternity."

"Really? I've made up my mind. I want to be in heaven," says the Congressman.

"I'm sorry, but we have our rules."

And with that, St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell. The doors open and he finds himself in the middle of a green golf course. In the distance is a clubhouse and standing in front of it are all his friends and other politicians who had worked with him. Everyone is very happy and in evening dress. They run to greet him, shake his hand, and reminisce about the good times they had while getting rich at the expense of the people. They played a friendly game of golf and then dined on lobster, caviar and the finest champagne. Also present is the devil, who really is a very friendly guy who is having a good time dancing and telling jokes. They are all having such a good time that before the Congressman realizes it, it is time to go. Everyone gives him a hearty farewell and waves while the elevator rises.

The elevator goes up, up, up and the door reopens in heaven where St. Peter is waiting for him, "Now it's time to visit heaven...

So, 24 hours passed with the Congressman joining a group of contented souls moving from cloud to cloud, playing the harp and singing. They have a good time and before he realizes it, the 24 hours have gone by and St. Peter returns.

"Well, then, you've spent a day in hell and another in heaven. Now choose your eternity."

The Congressman reflects for a minute, then he answers: "Well, I would never have said it before, I mean heaven has been delightful, but I think I would be better off in hell."

So St. Peter escorts him to the elevator and he goes down, down, down to hell...

Now the doors of the elevator open and he's in the middle of a barren land covered with waste and garbage. He sees all his friends, dressed in rags, picking up the trash and putting it in black bags as more trash falls to the ground. The devil comes over to him and puts his arm around his shoulders.

"I don't understand," stammers the Congressman. "Yesterday I was here and there was a golf course and clubhouse, and we ate lobster and caviar, drank champagne, and danced and had a great time. Now there's just a wasteland full of garbage and my friends look miserable. What happened?"

The devil smiles at him and says,  

"Yesterday we were campaigning,

Today, you voted.."

(I am not the original writer of this...)

Surprise They Fit!

I recently ordered three pairs of wide leg jeans, and today the first pair arrived.  I am delighted to find that not only do they fit waist to knees, but they also fit loose enough to be able to draw them up above my knee (without making them be a tourniquet ) so I can get them where massage and the wire stimulus have room to fit comfortably.  It has been a nuisance to find a loose enough pair of pants based on how they fit Back Before The Crash.  Luckily bell bottoms are making a comeback and better yet, wide leg jeans work, since there is a fair amount of swelling above the knee.  I know I look ridiculous in them, but I don't care.

I also had C help me find the purse I want to switch, no small task given there are literally 100s of purses in my closet.  For a "walk-in" closet It is more like a "sidle-in" one, and my walker doesn't sidle at this point.  Maybe soon I will be cleared to try a few steps without.  In the rehab unit I walked a very small amount with someone pushing my wheel chair behind me, so I could stop if I got too wobbly.  Just thinking about walking makes me feel insecure now.

OK, here is a photo of me holding my hobo style purse.  You may realize that I hold it with 2 hands; too heavy to hold it aloft with one.  I will try to find a joke to go with this.  Exciting, the anticipation, isn't it?  Yeah, I know this post is cruising for a record making boredom price .  

Bye!

Discouraged

 I refuse to write that post for the third time.  I was ready to pull my hair out; the older version of blogger had a section that included regular updates on my post.  But here there is "publish" or preview, and I don't see any button for save.  If I go to :Draft; some of the post is there and some has gone to that wasteland for neglected posts, I am feeling jinxed, I shall move on to a post that is fresh.

I still haven't gotten to the barn now that the horses are gone.  C could take me to the front door in the car, but I know it will make me sad.  And nervous; when the farrier came the last time there was a shed snake skin in the aisle. brrrr.  Maybe once the temp is solidly cold.  We still have packets of rat poison that we can drop between the outside and the kick boards on the inside.  No point in helping snakes to hibernate.  C still needs to rake the stalls and get them bedded in the last few bales of wood shavings, they look better that way and eventually I will sell the house and barn together.  The barn could be used as a workshop or for horses.once again.  I would like that.

I have a copy of the owner's manual for the Nikon S4300, which is similar to the 3300, but it has a touch screen and that messes me up when I use it.  The copy is one I found on line and printed, all 200+ pages.  Now I need to take it to Office Depot and get it punched and bound with a spiral wire.  It is actually better than one that came with the camera because the pages are larger so I can make notes in the margins, and so that it lays flat once opened.  I'm sure the cost in ink to print this it seems like I need to replace the black ink every time I use it.

I bought a wooden office chair back in February from Wayfair and it is defective, as the pneumatic piece under the chair will not stay when at its highest setting; slooooly sinks until my chin is on the keyboard.  So I called Wayfair and they immediately set me up for a replacement chair.  Yehhh!  should arrive Nov. 27.  I wonder if this is a common flaw for this chair, they offered no quibble about the failure replacement, even though it is well past its refund date of February.  I am pleased that I won't have to shop for another, similar chair, and then throw this one out at the dump (wince).  I will shop there again, the easy chair and ottoman is great, bought a few months ago.  I will be back, I know, if I ever get to the point of selling this house.

I certainly am looking forward to using the D200 camera once the card comes.  It was peculiar that on Amazon the range of flash cards is 250 MB to 4 GB, but the prices ranged over from high to low, instead of low to high.  Make sense?  So I ordered the one that Nikon rated as OK, not the highest and not the lowest.  I sure hope it is OK.  They also measured from thin to thick, How Come?

I still haven't found all the bits to go with the D40, most specifically the battery charger.  Too mach stuff to keep track.  I am also missing the second camera bag (the one that says NIKON in big bold letters.  I am sure where they are, but I can't get there for now.  And the charger is probably inside the bag...

It is nice to have a TV here.  When I was in Mapleshire I had a TV but until the end there was no remote.  C had to use his TV for me here, because the one we thought was functional, wasn't.  There were several things that passed me by, like that Kenny Rogers had died.  So did Olivia de Havalin (?), the last living star of Gone with the Wind, at 103.  And several stars are living in the 'burbs having blown through their fortunes a little too soon.  Sara Michelle Geller is married and has two kids, I think of her when I watch 'Buffy' reruns.  Hope she has $$$$ tucked away to use in her old age!

I am going to pause here and Publish, it isn't done but I am leery of letting it just sit while I do something else.  So BYE for now...

OK I am back, I have a good 15 minutest wrap this up.  I ordered a sling backpack from Vera Bradley, but if it wasn't for PayPal I'd have nothing to check on the order.  I think the date on PayPal is for the shipping date; I think PayPal won't charge your  credit card until the item is shipped.  I could be wrong, it does happen once in a while.  Imagine an emoticon right here, which I am afraid to bring it here, fearing the entire post may be Jeopardized.  Anyway, it is a Christmas gift for R, and is the last gift I need to receive now.  I can't go to the mall, etc. because I have such a bad time trying to walk any distance.  I would certainly get tipped and fall, with all that entails.  When I go to the physical therapy place, it is a long walk across the parking lot, along the ramp on the side of the building, and finally to the door.  It is exhausting, and I do it twice a week.  These damned ankles, one is healed, but the other one, the fused one, is long from being healed.  The swelling alone would keep me on my walker for the foreseeable future.  I took a photo of my feet while I was in the rehab unit, and thought it showed how swollen it was; but now it is twice that swollen.  The difference is that I was laying down almost all the time there, and now I am sitting.  

Time to go, here is the entire post, I have only to hit Publish and away I will go.  Wish me luck...

Karma

 I apologize for my slow posting, I had one all written but there was a big thunderstorm and it took my post with it.  Makes it hard to rewrite, when it should have been completed.

I bought a new camera this week, well, new to me (2006).  It is a Nikon D200, and I have been waiting to take it for a test drive.  First I need a card that the camera can use to write photos.  I know there is a camera feature where  several photos can be stored in the camera even if the card is full.  I just don't know how to get to it.  Then I read that there is one accessory that will be extremely useful -- the manual.  This camera is a bridge between serious cameras (professional) and a serious amateur;  I am completely intimidated by all the buttons and dials.  It uses a different memory card, a CF card (of course), anything to complicate the supplies needed.  This camera sold in 2006 for $1500, and now it sells for $125.  I couldn't use a camera that cost that much, it would make me so cautious I would never leave the house.  But other than a card it needs ND filters to protect the lens, also lens and body caps front and rear and one for the body of the camera when there is no lens attached.  I just hope there isn't too much lint/fuzz inside the camera.  I can gently use an air can to gently blow the dust out.  I won't know until I see the test shots.  There are two lenses included, I don't remember what the zoom ranges are, it is 2:15 am and I won't go poking around right now.  

The sale of the cemetery sites has fallen through, not too much of a surprise.  Once I told them it would take 4 to 6 weeks for the grave ownership to be finalized, they bailed.  They were bringing their son back from Germany and in a hurry.  I don't think a new site will be much cheaper, or take less time.  I was hoping to have a lavish high exchange for Christmas, now it has gone pffft and we are back to the less-lavish gifts.  I now know that the choosing of a site should be done before there is any immediate need,  just what the memorial people have been saying all these years.  My parents spent about $890 back in 1951, apparently they thought my sister wouldn't live too long.  And now the money is all wasted.  I had the sites appraised back in 2000 and the verdict was $4500 each (there are 4) and I was asking $12700 for all 4. 

I am too tired to continue here, back tomorrow.(eventually)

I can't    I deleted my post.  Looking at one thing and not the other.  Crap...

Biden wins the election!

 Nightmares are something that kids have and I am not joking when I say I had an awful night.  I slept, dozed really after 4:30am and it was with the lights on until I finally gave it up around 6am. I heard my name called when I was asleep, from a female voice behind me and at an uncomfortable volume.  No one there of course.  These dreams are so realistic, but this is the first to involve a voice.  I am not timid, but these dreams (?) leave me frightened, even knowing they are only  a vivid voice in my head.  Crummy.

The election is over ! and I actually voted for the winners for a change.  If the Senate goes "blue" then it will be possible to get things done in record time.  If not, then slower with back-and-forthing between both parties.  I am still astonished that Biden carried the day.

The grave sites in VA are soon to be sold, I hope.  So much paperwork to get to that point, I had no idea.  My parents bought these plots in 1951, but as far as I know they never returned to Falls Church, and they tried to sell them several times.  I listed them at the Memorial Park as "available" and that is where these buyers found them.

I am really tired, I will end this for today.  Back later!

OK, Election Day is passing so far

 I hope this marks the end of 'please send money' emails, I know everyone is sick to death of the emails.  Now we have to listen to the rhetoric about balloting that will go on and on for days.  If not more.  I would think in this time of electronic devices everywhere the counting would go quickly, but I guess I am naive.  Did I spell that right?  I lost count of how much money I sent, $10 or $12 at a time.   I quit giving and reading their impassioned pleas.  

I ordered via Amazon a filter "wallet" to hold, what else? filters, and what I got today is the size of War and Peace, and not a wallet by any stretch.  So back it goes, me paying return postage.  Amazon does make this simple, but I am not going to try again for a filter holder.  Not unless I am holding it in my very own (sweaty) hands.  Time was, I never sent anything back, but now I am a lot more picky.  Also poorer.

I've finished (I hope) organizing my cross-stitch patterns; I thought I was done twice already, but then I found another tote bag with kits or patterns lurking in them.  Sigh.  NOW I am finished.  I have 5 pieces that are "partially" done, and no more will be started until at least 2 of these are finished.  Not framed or stitched up in a pillow, but the crosses are done.

I am not starting the Mirability project in this lifetime, even though it is kitted up. 

I was supposed to have a therapy session today (the first) but an unforeseen problem began, and I will see what is going on by Thursday, my next appointment.  Everything is going to hell in a hand basket these days.  

I am a big fan of the Dresden files books, they are by Jim Butcher.  I have book 18 and 19, I think, I get the hardback ones so I get them the day they come out.  The two came out a short time apart, and I have been trying to make them last.  I hope the series doesn't end with these two books, it is so hard to pick out a book or story line based on the jacket blurb.  I wonder sometimes if the editors penning these things have actually read the book they are praising so highly.  Selling is the name of the game, and let the buyer beware.  I read one book recently that looked fairly OK, but it was awful.  Awful!  Misspellings, characters that had nothing to do with the (assumed) plot,  chapters that didn't carry the reader from one to the next, characters that died in one chapter and reappeared in the next, no explanation done.  The main character was a woman whose sole contribution was in saying "oh!" at random places in time.  Awful.  Was it a vanity book?  I will never know, as I pitched it.  

When I was a kid (a looong time ago) I wasn't allowed by my parents to go to the movies, the one time they allowed me to go with a classmate I had nightmares for dozens of nights.  Some creature like a giant crab?  Even John Wayne pics, nothing scary there...  anyway, she never quibbled about the books I carried home from the local library.  The librarian was the mother of one of my classmates, and he was the only one that ever 'outread' me at school.  Anyway, she would let me read anything, and after I read all the science fiction books I then moved on to murder mysteries.  Perry Mason books were the best, no drippy love sub-plots, and I never picked the right character for who-done-it.  And I read Nancy Drew,  the Hardy Boys, and Cherry Ames, and so on.  They were pretty yucky but better than nothing.  Cherry was a nurse, it must have been in 1940s or 50s, and the main plot seemed to revolve around being scolded for wearing lipstick, but! she had naturally red lips.  And then she saved some injured man from certain death, all without makeup.  Mom had a few books in the top of her closet, given by a friend.  One was "lust for life" about van gogh, I think, and one about President Jackson and his wife, don't quote me on these things, it was, as I said, a looong time ago.  I removed them one by one and read them when no one was watching, that makes the best part of the pilfering.   I never did see what the naughty parts were.

I am fading now, no naps and an early rising so I am done.  Take care and don't get angry when the wrong guy wins by cheating.  I don't understand either.  Good night!

I can't believe it is November

 Last night was Halloween, but we didn't pass out candy this year.  I don't think it is a good time for going door-to-door for the kids, or me for having 10 or 12 kids coming here.  Maybe next year, we shall see if we have a police state by then.  We had all the outdoor lights and the inside lights on the door side turned off, but we still had a couple of kids at the doorbell.  Today would have been better, the wind blowing but the sun shining for several hours.  But horrors! today is Sunday, a conflict for pagan religions.  

I got the bound book of the last 4 years of my blog, 2016 to 2020, today.  It is volume 4 of my blog, and very nicely printed on smooth heavy paper with a cover of a photo of my silver show saddle.  I hope whoever bought the saddle is happy and uses it as it should have been used all along.  I put a photo of it on the blog date of Nov 06, 2019 if you want to see what it looks like now that it is clean and polished.  C did the polishing, silver lacing is the pits to work on, but it looks great.  Not much point in having this expensive saddle unused because there are no horses here, now.  And I am too old to start with a new horse, not when I can't walk without my walker.  It takes so much money to feed (hay and grain), vet (my last charge was $300 to remove a wart-like knob in the ear of Maybe), shoer (every 8 weeks, and I kept them barefoot, it would have been much much higher if they wore shoes), wood shavings for the stalls ($6 a bale, takes 4 bales to bed a stall down); and all that doesn't include the price of the barn, the fencing with cattle panels and pressure treated posts, electric fencing, the electricity to heat the water buckets, or fans to cool them in the summer, getting someone to haul away the manure, three horses make a lot of s**t, three stalls with rubber mats (all in one piece, whew!) fly spray dispenser and refills, liability insurance.  And lots and lots of work.  When I first started with horses I was 24; I am 69 now... The last time I was thrown off (a scary looking piece of plastic, don't you know) I laid there as Willie galloped away back to the front lawn and thought, damn, I'm too old for this.  Scared N and our neighbors half to death when Willie came back riderless.  The next day I couldn't raise my right arm.  Too old.

Well, that's it for this post, the nail lady just left after doing my nails, so I am going for a nap before dinner.  All of you take care and especially, VOTE.   Even if it is for that philandering, lying, stealing, made our country look like idiots,....wait a minute, if you haven't voted yet, don't.

Bye!