I haz cable!

I wanted to send a friend, J1, some photos, and the woman who took them with her digital camera said she'd email them to me. I've been waiting and waiting. I talked to another friend, J2, lamenting that i don't have a USB cable for my camera, and it took me an inordinately long time to realize that's what it was i needed to be able to move photos from the camera to the computer. She said she has a camera like mine, maybe the USB cable she has would fit?

And, behold, it did. So, i was able to upload my photos into my computer. I didn't bother tagging because i wanted to get at the latest ones of course, to share with J1 who has been waiting along with me for pictures from the other camera.

J2 said i could keep the cable for awhile, but i'd rather give it back to her as soon as possible lest i lose it.

You've been warned. I'll try not to be annoying with gobs of pictures every post, but i shall share some from here on out.

Peepers! I hear peepers!

A sure sign of spring when I hear the peepers.


I wanted to find a sound file so others who don't have these small frogs in their neck of the woods know what it is we're hearing in the back yard just now. So far, i've been unable to add a sound file. I'm sure it's a user fault.

I wanted to do a careful search, as i don't want the porn peepers.

Anyhow, on the wikipedia page where i found the sound file i can't seem to load here, they also mention in the article that on Martha's Vinyard, peepers are called "pinkletinks." Made me laugh as i read it, and i also thought of John Gray's post of funny names.

Spring has sprung! The peepers are here!

Sunday Night Chit-Chat 8 April 2012

Carla says this can be a photo or saying.

Reading
Today I finished the third book of the Arundle Chronicles, The Lively Lady, by Kenneth Roberts. A good read, and the last book in this series. I preferred the first two books to this one, although they are all excellent. This one is very heavy on the nautical things, which would make it hard going for some readers, and a few of the characters in this story speak with such an accent that i sometimes had to read what they said a few times to get the meaning. I'm still drooling over Treasure Chests The Legacy of Extraordinary Boxes by Lon Schleining.

Watching
Rented the movie The Ten Commandments. I marvelled once again at the costumes and pagentry of this Cecil B. DeMille film. Even though i know what's going to happen, i still get caught up in this movie. Every. single. time. The DVD had some bonus features, including a six-part documentary on various aspects of the film, the original "making of" trailer as well as the 1966 and 1989 trailers advertising re-releases of the movie to the big screen, and a newsreel showing the streets of New York on opening night, and zeroing in on the stars in the movie as they attended the premiere as well as other notables like John Wayne with his wife, and William Holden with his wife. There was a sense of glamour that i find decidedly lacking today.

Listening to
Nothing noteworthy this week.

Cooking/Baking
It was hard to top last week's roasted chicken, so i didn't try. LOL I've had a hankering for grilled cheese sandwiches, and made some with harvarti dill cheese and rye bread.

Happy you accomplished this week
I got the taxes done! I spent part of this afternoon and evening doing the last two forms. They aren't due until the 17th this year, but i always like to get them done in time to review for accuracy before sending along.

I got The Lively Lady read before its due date of tomorrow. I have the option of renewing the book and did that for the earlier two books but they were rather long (600-700 pages) so i didn't feel quite so bad needing an extra few days. This one was 274 pages, so i paced myself. When i get a book i really enjoy reading, i want to savour reading it and not feel that i must rush through.

A friend and i had dinner at a lovely Thai restaurant this week after she washed her theatrical hamper chez moi. It was a nice midweek treat, and we both admired our clean hampers. She came by today to pick it up; she had wanted to get a few things sorted at her house and make room for it before she took it home.

Looking forward to next week
I don't have anything special planned. Besides the small piece of fig cake i mentioned in my earlier post today, i had a small glass of Diet Pepsi. I haven't had any of the chocolate covered apricots yet. Not sure when i'm going to cross the sugar threshold. Now that i can, i find myself really wanting to think about it before i do so. I'm glad i have the option and neither the restriction nor the compulsion.

My paycheck on Friday the 13th should show a bit more than previous ones for this year, since i got a small raise. I also got a small bonus, and am unsure whether that check will arrive midmonth or at month's end.

Thankful for today
The cats let me sleep in this morning :-)

The taxes are done!!!!!!!!!!

Although we had snow flurries for a bit today, nothing stuck and did indeed switch over to rain showers. April showers mean rain to me rather than snow.

My leg continues to heal. Only occasional twinges now. We had no hockey today as the rink was closed for Easter, so i ought to be ready to go this coming Sunday for both games.

It's Easter. I gave thanks and have a happy heart.

Easter

Even as a child, i couldn't understand the disconnect between Christ's rising from the dead and chocolate bunny rabbits. Oh, yes, there was the whole death and rebirth angle and how spring has sprung and all that. But it didn't seem to make sense to me that we were talking about faith in the resurrection on one hand and celebrating it with eggs and chocolates and personifying the Easter Bunny on the other.

Christmas with Santa Claus or Father Christmas seemed to make more sense. We were celebrating Jesus's birthday, only everyone got presents. And feasts to celebrate.

When i finally heard that someone somewhere thought it was a good idea to take Pagan festivals and add some Christianity so that non-Christians might be more interested, then the light went on for me. I look forward to spring, after a long winter, and rejoice when i see the grass greening up and crocus and daffodills bursting forth. I can see the reason to celebrate that. As a Christian believer, i can see the reason for celebrating at some point each year not only when Jesus was born but when he rose from the dead.

But i don't think they have to be celebrated on the same day, the arrival of spring or the day of resurrection. The weather for the equinox this year was most pleasant; today on Easter, we had some snow showers earlier in the day and now rain showers.

And i celebrated both without fanfare, chocolate bunnies, or dyed eggs. The cats are happy that i celebrated with cooking up a rasher of bacon and giving them a taste.

I must now spend some more time rendering unto Caesar the things that Caesar's, as i came online to download a tax form i didn't realize we needed. And while online, i had to take a look around Blogland, just to see what's what.

Good Friday

wasn't good for me. I felt very unsettled and crabby when everything i had planned for the day went wrong. It was very much a poor me sort of day, and i couldn't snap out of my funk.

Today went much better; a one-line note from a friend who was thinking of me and another who called out of the blue just to say hi really perked me up today.

Funny how a kind small gesture can have such a large effect. I'm glad of it and am thankful for my friends and loved ones.

paying it forward

Over the weekend at the place where i got the free dark chocolate dipped apricots, they were hosting a "Meet Your Local Beekeepers," and i went and met a very nice couple from the next town over who are professional beekeepers.

They had three offerings: regular raw honey, raw honey with a bit of the comb, and stuff they call the "Bees Knees," which is a combination of raw honey and cinnamon. The wife explained that there was a clinical study in Copenhagen where elderly patients were given a therapeutic dose of honey mixed with cinnamon (1 tbsp or 15 mL a day), and 70% reported an efficacious effect regarding arthritis pain: some had 100% reduction in pain, others varying decreases. I said i was sure that it would take several weeks or a few months to notice any effect; she said some patients noticed a change in a week. I was fascinated by that, and when i said i don't have arthritis, she said she thought it was also good for those stresses and strains of when we work too long or hard in the garden. Good for the muscles.

I like to support local businesses as much as possible. This couple's operation is not large by any stretch; they don't migrate their bees, as they think it's too stressful for the bees, and i'm inclined to agree. They collect enough honey to supply the local store, but that's it.

I thought of my recovering MCL and bought a jar. Then i had to argue with myself. To take now or wait until Easter? Honey is, after all, a sweetener. The wife had cautioned this wasn't struedel topping, that the cinnamon was the real thing, and i'd feel the heat. I had purchased it Sunday afternoon, and the instructions were to take a tablespoonful first thing in the morning before eating. I figured i'd pray about it, sleep on it, and i'd have my answer in the morning.

I have often said i'm not a morning person, and i'm not. I'm much better now than i've ever been, but i don't do a lot of thinking in the morning. I just perform on autopilot, and around ten o'clock or so, my brain becomes fully engaged. So, early Monday morning, i opened the honey-cinnamon jar, stirred it up to mix well, and took a scant tablespoonful. I noticed the sweetness of the honey much more than the heat of the cinnamon. I really enjoyed it. And, as i was licking the spoon to make sure i'd gotten the full, therapeutic dose, i recalled a colleague of mine who has arthritis. She mentioned giving up red meat recently to see if that will help. I hadn't asked if the arthritis in the study was rheumatoid arthritis only or all different kinds.

I called my colleague today, and she was very interested. She had heard of cinnamon's anti-inflammatory properties and wondered herself about it. I offered to send her a jar, and she was thrilled. I popped round to the store to pick up a jar for her, and it's now in the post on its way to her house. She's a doctor, so it'll be interesting to get the medical viewpoint. We're hoping she's in the 70% that get at least some if not total relief; if she's not, then it's a tasty way to find out. She thinks that my taking the honey is a therapeutic thing, and doesn't think it voids any Lenten agreement i had about the no sugar/sweetener rule. In study terms, i'd be in the control group, since i don't have arthritis. LOL

One of the women in my knitting group is slated for knee surgery. She's known she's needed it for awhile. She lives alone, and is calling in favours for when she's recovering. One of her grown sons lives nearby, so shall help Mum as he can. We were discussing things she needs to do now to get ready, and i asked if she had a pair of crutches. She does, from when she had another knee surgery, and i suggested she crutch around the house to see where she can navigate easily, and where she can't. The places she can't, we can help her move the furniture or set something up now as a workaround. She thought that a fabulous idea. And i found myself offering many things i discovered with my time on crutches, and one of the most wonderful things i saw only after i was in my walking boot. At the physiotherapist's, a man on crutches had duct taped a large plastic glass below the handle of one crutch, and used that as a carry all. It was so handy for keys, a small flashlight (torch for UK readers), a small bottle of hand sanitizer. I had used my fanny pack (bum bag) exclusively, which made it handy, but not as handy as his duct-taped plastic glass. I complimented him on his ingenuity and said i was remembering that if ever i had to crutch around again. Thankfully, i've not had to do that to date, but i could pass along his fabulous idea to my knitting friend. She said she has just the glass in mind for that, and all of us have duct tape. Himself has a backpack that he used for the boat last summer that is sitting empty at the moment, so that can be loaned for her to use. Well i remember making my tea in the morning or Himself making it for me in the evening and filling a thermos full, so it was easier for me to help myself to a cuppa. I could put it in my backpack and crutch over to the couch, topping off my cup at will.

My mind's been busily thinking up a hundred little things that she can do to make things easier for herself after surgery. Take up all scatter rugs now. Make sure the toilet paper rolls are full ones. Bring up anything you might need over the next three weeks from down cellar now. Other knitters in our group want to help with visits, taking food, and other things.

I find myself being glad to help as i can. Buying a local product keeps a couple employed in their livelihood, and their product may in turn help a dear colleague. Lending an unused backpack before boating season to a friend to make recovery a bit easier. Being a conduit can be fun.

Sunday night chit-chat 01 April 2012

Carla says this can be a photo or saying.

May all that is unlived in you
Blossom into a future
Graced with love
~John O'Donohue

I'm sure others have already seen this, as it makes its way around Cyberia, but i'd like to give a shout out to Charlotte and Jonathon. WOW! It's not often that someone's singing makes me cry because it's so beautiful.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZsNlcr4frs4

Reading
I am on the third book of the Arundle chronicles, The Lively Lady by Kenneth Roberts. I'm still drooling over Treasure Chests The Legacy of Extraordinary Boxes by Lon Schleining.

Watching
Rented the movie Dancing at Lughnasa. I thought the ending was too abrupt, as if the director realised the film was approaching the one hour, thirty minute mark, so just summed up in a voiceover what happened to the characters to keep within the ninety-minute timeframe. Then again, perhaps it was done to show just how quickly things change. I can be a very dense moviegoer.

Listening to
Besides Charlotte and Jonathon, I listened to a bit of Earl Scruggs this week, in homage to him and to mark his passing. I take bluegrass in small doses, and am not fond of that sort of singing, although i found my toe tapping along, and i sang bits and pieces.

Cooking/Baking
Emboldened by the success of the scones i recently made, i did make some this week with bacon, cheese, and onions. They were the best ones yet. The friend who showed me the recipe she had found didn't want some just now, as she's trying to eat fewer carbohydrates. I volunteered to freeze a few, if she wanted some for later. She nodded, so she'll be my guinea pig to see how well they freeze.

In honour of Phoebe's 12th birthday yesterday, i roasted a chicken. Everyone in the household loves roasted chicken. :)

Happy you accomplished this week
The oil company sent a repairman bright and early Monday morning to fix the water heater. Actually, the water heater was fine, but the oil-fired boiler was the problem. There are four main components to the boiler, the whoseit, the whatsit, that other gizmo, and the thingamjig. On a holiday, gizmo stopped working so was replaced. And, on two weekends several months apart, the thingamajig an whatsit stopped, and needed to be replaced. Last weekend, it was the whoseit's turn. sigh. At least it got fixed very quickly and we didn't have freezing temperatures, so no worries about frozen pipes.

The hockey game with friends was quite fun. One had never been to a hockey game, and i waved for one of the throwers to throw a tee-shirt to us. She did, and it landed between me and the newbie. I gave it to the newbie, in honour of her first game. Our other two friends have attended games, and one of them plays hockey with me on Sunday afternoons. Their adopted son turned 1 in the beginning of March, and was a wonderfully behaved baby. We ate at a restaurant before the game. K was sitting on his mother's lap eating bits of food from both her plate and his dad's plate. He placidly munched on a bit of pita bread and we all watched with anticipation as he munched on a bit of dill pickle. His expression never changed, which surprised all of us. Mother had falafel, and K picked up a piece of the falafel and popped it in his mouth. Within a second, he screwed his face up as tightly as possible and cried. He next tried jamming his whole hand in his mouth and scratched at his tongue to try and remove the offending bits. We all laughed, and even though his mother tried to get him to drink from his sippy cup to remove the taste, he gave her a look that plainly said, "Betrayal!" He took nothing else from Mother's plate and also looked circumspect at the bit of pasta Father gave him from his.

Looking forward to next week
I don't have anything special planned. I'd like to get the taxes all done so that by this time next week, i can saw Phew! That's behind me for another year.

Thankful for today
Cleaned one of the theatrical hampers to see how it would go. I'm sure the Antiques Roadshow folks would get all "stabby" as a friend says, knowing that i washed off grime from perhaps the 19th and 20th as well as the 21st centuries. Yes, the "patina" went down the drain, but the hamper is more useable now for me, and that's why i got it. I had it drying outside, although the clouds blocked the sun in the late afternoon, so i brought it back inside before leaving for my hockey game. I'll set it out tomorrow if the weather co-operates.

My leg feels nearly 100% so i played hockey this afternoon. Only one game rather than the usual two. I didn't have a lot of jump, and i couldn't pivot as normal, but otherwise, all was fine. Even towards the end of the game when i fell. It was one of those moments of truth; i paused a minute, breathed in, and everything was okay. :) It's still amazing to me how our bodies can heal, especially if we try to encourage it or create a situation where healing is unimpeded.