Testing, testing

Arkansas, as many other parts of our country, is currently inundated with moisture. We're more fortunate than some, as there is not significant flooding.  We have, however, been affected by dense fog, both early and late in the day as the temperature has risen following a bitterly cold week.

The current conditions brought to mind the following:

The rain  is raining all around,

It falls on field and tree,

It rains on the umbrellas here,

And on the ships at sea.

                  -- Robert Louis Stevenson

Tomorrow is also a day.

Footnote: I've been away from blogging for years, and much water has passed under the bridge.  I have been unable to access my blog site on my PC for quite a long time (unresolvable issue, I fear), but just this week I (very accidentally) found that the Apple computer I use for my volunteer work at church allows access and input.  Hooray!  

I hope to be back, on a sporadic basis, using our office computer, while I investigate the possibility of acquiring an Apple of my own! 

Tomorrow is also a day.

Snow Tire and Frozen Daffodil Festival

It appears that Arkansas' periodic "Snow Tire and Frozen Daffodil Festival" has, again, come to a close.  Thank You, Lord.

I was house-bound for two days last week, waiting for the temperature to rise enough to begin to melt the approximately 5" of snow and the underlying inch or more of solidly frozen sleet, the latter having begun to fall upon us with a vengeance about 4 p.m. on Wednesday last.

When I consider other parts of the U.S. and what they have been through in the way of repeated, and seemingly unending, winter storms, I'm happy that Winter Storm Thor was all we had to contend with.

I'm quite content to deal with sleet and snow -- it usually doesn't stick on the tree limbs and power lines.  I was extremely thankful to awake the morning after the storm to find my furnace still running and the lights on.

We're currently experiencing rain, Spring Rain (YAY), and temps are in the high 50's.  While there are still patches of sleet/snow lingering around my yard in areas where the winter sun doesn't reach, it should all be gone, gone, gone in a day or two.

I hope all of you weathered the latest round of unpleasant weather without destruction or major inconvenience

Tomorrow is also a day.

Recommendation

Sometimes I just can't wait for a particular book to hit my local library shelves. Tight-wad that I am --but betting on the come -- I paid the grandiose sum of $0.99 for a certain Kindle download from Amazon.  (I have learned that was a one-time/one-day special; the cost is currently just under $11 for the  download.) I got my money's worth, and then some!

I had read the author's first novel (this is the second but I hope not the last) upon the recommendation of Arkansas Patti (The New Sixty) and enjoyed it immensely. I was happy to write to her a few weeks ago about discovering that there was a second novel, even though I had not yet started reading it. 

The story is described by one reviewer as "picaresque," and that it is; every one of its 433 pages contains some quirk that will leave you smiling, laughing out loud, or in sheer wonderment at the twists and turns of the plot.

For sensible reviews, may I refer you to Amazon, and The Girl Who Saved the King of Sweden by Jonas Jonasson, author of the very successful The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared (also recommended by yours truly) .

I do hope Mr. Jonasson is working on a third novel that will be completed and translated before I can no longer read (may that be a long time coming.)

Tomorrow is also a day.

Observation

I had errands to do today which required being out and about in my vehicle.  Our city fathers have seen fit to place traffic signals at most of the intersections on the streets I traveled. As my luck would have it, I spent quite a bit of time waiting for lights to turn green so that I could proceed.  During one of those waits, I idly observed the vehicles passing on a particularly busy cross street.  After watching dozens, if not hundreds, of cars, trucks, and buses pass by, it suddenly occurred to me that white-walled tires seem to have disappeared. I paid more careful attention at subsequent stops and can report that (at least today), on the possible thousand vehicles to which I paid attention, I did not spot a single one (white wall tires, that is. I did spot the vehicles.)

Sic transit gloria tires.

Tomorrow is also a day.

The Oxford English Dictionary

As is my wont, when there are not pressing matters that must be attended outside my home at an early hour, I start each day playing games on the computer.  Free Cell and Bookworm are my go-tos, both of which are my homemade tests for judging my present mental acuity.  I am convinced that if I can make it through Freecell and make a decent score on Bookworm, my mind is working reasonably well and I can proceed with the day.  If I have difficulties, I convince myself that another cup of coffee will sharpen my mind to the point that I can make it through the day without doing myself any major damage.

This morning, as I was playing Bookworm, I marveled again, as I have literally hundreds of time in the past, at the richness of the English language.  So many words; simple, complex, beautiful words! As I posted early in my blog, I have been in love with words since I was a teenager, inoculated with the love of words virus by my high school English teacher.

I discovered the Oxford English Dictionary when I was a freshman in college. Having been exposed to dictionaries only the the form of the latest Webster's,  I was amazed at the wealth of information on word roots and origins and the first use of words in the English language contained in the OED.  As I was not very socially inclined at that time in my life, I spent many, many hours in the college library, where the 20 volumes of the OED sat on top of one of the long tables. I spent hours perusing those books.  I'd like to be able to say that I had read the entire OED, but I fear that, even at my advanced age, I might have made it through, perhaps, a dozen volumes by now.

[Wikipedia information on the OED, may be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oxford_English_Dictionary]

A book that has managed to stay for over 30 years in my sadly diminishing personal library is the story of the creation of the Oxford English Dictionary. It is a biography of James Murray, editor of the original OED, written by his granddaughter, K. M. Elizabeth Murray, and first published by Yale University Press (1977). My well-worn paperback copy was published by Oxford University Press in 1979.  Oh... it's title?  CAUGHT IN THE WEB OF WORDS. If you love words, or simply have a curiosity about the OED, I highly recommend it to you.

OTHER STUFF:
It's bitterly cold here today.I left my taps dripping last night, and was pleased to have both cold and hot water this morning. Although the weather is not as brutal as it is in some parts of the U.S., it's more than cold enough for us southerners. If there is a good side to it, it's cold enough to kill the remaining mosquitoes and, hopefully, most of the ticks and chiggers. Fortunately, it is just cold; no precipitation.  That's due to move into our area on Saturday evening.  I expect icy roads  at church time on Sunday.  We shall see what we shall see.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Remembering .....

Laura Christine (Christie) Hollingsworth Poe

August 26, 1978 - December 19, 2007

I will love you always.

Grandma

Thanksgiving, Again

"Give us thankful hearts...

in this the season of Thy Thanksgiving.

May we be thankful for health and strength,

for sun and rain and peace.

Let us seize the day and the opportunity

and strive for that greatness of spirit

that measures life not by its disappointments

but by its possibilities,

and let us ever remember that true gratitude

and appreciation shows itself neither

in independence nor satisfaction

but passes the gift joyfully on

in larger and better form."'

W.E.B. DuBois

Crocosmia

Gardening Daughter has gifted me with a new-to-me plant -- Crocosmia.  She planted a couple of stems (sans any flowers) about a week ago  in my front garden.  It wasn't but a couple of days later that the plants had produced flower stems, and yesterday the first blossoms appeared.  I don't know exactly what variety of Crocosmia this is... could be Lucifer, or perhaps Emberglow or Masonorum... names of several of the red varieties. Whatever the variety, it's unusual and very pretty.  I can visualize large clumps of them gracing this area.

She also brought me baskets of bright red Million Bells (calibrachoa), pink/purple/yellow Lantana, and a mixed dish garden of Lamb's Ears (Stachys byzantina); Angelonia and another variety of Million Bells.  Very colorful!

All this plant-gifting was in (unnecessary) payment for babysitting my granddaughter several days during the preceding week. 

Today is sunny... and dry, for a change.  It has rained almost every day for the last week, varying between downpours and drizzle.  The ground beneath the grass is almost boggy; goodness only knows when it will be mowed again.  Where's a goat when you need one?

Tomorrow is also a day -- and heavy thunderstorms are in the forecast.  Ah, well!

Tragedy in the Bird's Nest

When I checked the bird's nest this afternoon, all I found was one dead chick; the other two were gone completely. I suspect a raccoon.  Sad, sad, sad.

Birdies

Two days old

There are three babies in the nest.  The first two were stirring around in the nest when I checked on Sunday afternoon; the third one hatched sometime before I checked on Monday mid-morning.

A few minutes ago, I managed to catch two of them awake and yawning for food before Daddy Cardinal shooed me away.

There's no noise coming from those gaping mouths. I think baby birds don't "cheep" for a few days.

Mama Cardinal is hardly ever on the nest during the day; too busy hunting food for the babies, I guess.

Bye the bye, the pot that contains the nest is only 6" across.

Tomorrow is also a day. 

Yay!

Two of the eggs have hatched, and Mama Cardinal is busy bringing them whatever it is that new baby birds eat!

Will keep you posted.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Bits and Pieces

This fuzzy photo is the best I could get in the circumstances under which I was working.  A young female Cardinal (if you look closely you can see her head/beak on the right and tail on the left) has taken up housekeeping in a small hanging basket left out in the freezing cold over the winter. In the carefully constructed nest just below the top of the container are three small eggs, the first cardinal eggs I have ever seen.

The circumstances I mentioned above are (1) that the basket is hanging within four feet of my back door, and (2) opening the door widely spooks her off the nest.  I just opened the door a crack, stuck out my cell phone/camera and snapped without really looking or trying to focus.

It makes my heart glad to see her there, and my heart needed a gladdening.  I discovered her nest this past Saturday morning, when my grandson and I went to the back yard to dig a grave for my sweet Missy cat, who went to play with her baby Sweetie Pie last Friday afternoon.

I now have four cats buried in my back yard: Bubble (the sweetest kitty I have ever had) died in July 2000; her brother Squeak died in May, 2012;  Sweetie Pie went to be with the kitty angels just over a year ago, and now, Sweetie Pie's mama, Missy.  They are all buried in their favorite sunning places.

I think that's the end of my having cats; it's just too hard to let them go, even when it's inevitable.

Tomorrow is also a day.

Lady Banks Rose

Lady Banks Rose

Family: Rosaceae

Genus: Rosa

Cultivar: R. Banksiae

A pretty little thing, isn't it? This relatively new addition to my back garden was a gift of Gardening Daughter. It's been in the ground next to a side fence for a couple of years, but bore only one small cluster of blooms last year. It's not completely covered with blooms, as I hope it will be when mature (see Internet photo below -- Glorious! -- I should live so long!) However, I didn't have to search among the leaves for color this year. It's a right cheerful sight.

Photo from Internet

R. banksiae has likely been grown in the gardens of China for hundreds of years. The species was introduced to Europe by William Kerr, who had been sent on a plant-hunting expedition by Sir Joseph Banks. He bought the first Lady Banks' Rose, subsequently named the white Lady Banks (R. banksiae var. banksiae) from the famous Fa Tee nursery in 1807. A number of other forms were subsequently discovered growing in China, including R. banksiae var. normalis, and R. banksiae 'Lutea', the yellow Lady Banks' rose (brought to Europe in 1824 by J. D. Park). This cultivar has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit^[4] - 

Wikipedia article

Tomorrow is also a day.

Dainty Bess Comes Through, Again.

Family:Rosaceae(ro-ZAY-see-ee)

Genus:Rosa(RO-zuh)

Cultivar: Dainty Bess

Hybridized by Archer; Year of Registration or Introduction: 1925

I took the above photo yesterday afternoon with my cell phone camera. Not too bad, considering.  This rose, Dainty Bess, has been a faithful bloomer in my yard for 24 years.  Its leaves look a bit worse for wear and black spot; I haven't given it the attention it deserves. 

Dainty Bess is always the first of my few roses to bloom, and it will soldier on through the heat of the summer, putting out a bloom or two from time to time until hard frost. 

I do have a new yellow rose, courtesy of Gardening Daughter, about which (the rose) I shall post later.  

Tomorrow is also a day.

Easter

Image: Internet

It's not about the bunny.

Wishing you a Blessed Resurrection Sunday and Eastertide.

Done!

Once again, I berate myself for not starting the tax form preparation process as soon as I get all the necessary information from various entities.  Thanks to TurboTax(R) software, it took me just over an hour to complete, and print, both federal and state income tax returns this afternoon. 

As anticipated, I'm getting small refunds from both Uncle Sam and Uncle Arky.  These monies will be used to pay my real estate and personal property taxes which, although not due until mid-October, will be paid as soon as these refunds are in the bank -- a financial revolving door.

Now I can start reading, again.  This time, the book is Julia Spencer-Fleming's Through the Evil Days, the most recently published book in a series which I've been following for some years.


Tomorrow is also a day.

Eaglets and Other Stuff

I have granddaughter duty today while her parents are at work. She's always a pleasure to have around and, while she's here, I tend to get involved in activities that are not usually on my schedule.  I'd like to think that keeps me young but, alas, it just tends to wear me out.  I've heard it said that whatever doesn't kill you makes you stronger.  I wish!

She and I have spent an enjoyable few minutes this morning watching the Decorah, Iowa eagle-nesting site on streaming live video.  I was first made aware of this wonderful site three years ago, and followed the hatching of that year's batch of eaglets. 

I missed that wonderful event this year. The three eaglets were hatched on April 2, 3 and 7, and are already peeking their down-covered heads out from under Mom (or Dad -- both parents tend the eggs and young).

Technology is wonderful.  Pay a visit to that site, if you have time. Just wait out (30 seconds or so) the inevitable commercial that precedes the live feed.  It's worth the wait.

*

Microsoft XP -- My desktop computer, which I've had for more than a few years, operates on XP, a system which as of April 8, Microsoft is no longer supporting.  Reading all the hoopla and security warnings about continuing to use XP made me uncomfortable about continuing an Internet connection to my desktop. To upgrade to Windows 7 is not a,  simple task and is more than I care to do.  Although I'm backed up through Carbonite, I'd still hate to have any of my files hacked, or to import some horrible virus that would corrupt my hard drive (that's happened -- not a pretty thing!) So, I disconnected it from the Internet on April 7.

Laptop to the rescue!  Two years ago, I purchased a laptop computer which operates on Windows 7, a system which will continue to be supported by Microsoft for several years -- probably until after I'm dead and gone, if the truth be told. I will continue to work on my desktop sans Internet connection, transferring information to my laptop via Flash Drive as needed, and use the laptop for my Internet activities.

That's all, for the nonce.  Tomorrow is also a day.

Remembering

Edward Wilson Griffith

April 10, 1941 - May 11, 1969

A Little Knowledge is a Dangerous Thing

Ruby Throated Hummingbird

Image: Wikipedia

Yes,  I know I shouldn't fool around with things about which I know only a little bit and not near enough to do what I need to do. However, I recently completely ignored that understanding of myself and jumped feet first into a technological problem I should have left alone.

My cell phone had been "acting up," as I mentioned in my last post.  I occurred to me to access the phone's online user guide and find out how to fix the problem.  I read through pages of (mostly) non-understandable language until I found the section which referred to the problem I was having, and proceeded to follow the slightly-fuzzy directions for correcting the same.

I clicked here and there; deleted this and that, presuming that I was making progress.  I made progress, all right.  I progressed myself into a completely non-working phone with which I could do nada, zilch, bumpkis -- a piece of junk fit only for the trash-bin.

I took said junk to the dealer from which it came. "Uh, Lady. What in the world did you do to it?" 

After a prolonged visit, I came away with a new phone, which is working beautifully, thank you, and which has many more "bells and whistles" than my old one.  Thanks to Christmas gift cards from generous relatives, I didn't even have to shell out any of my hard-earned Social Security income.

I've made myself a promise that if this one should go wonky on me,  I won't try to fix it, but head straight to the dealer for, I would hope, a more educated approach to problem solving.

OTHER STUFF

One
I've read four books this past week, all actual hold-in-your- hands, turn-the-pages books.  The first one, a referral from Arkansas Patti at her The New Sixty blog, was The 100-Year-Old Man Who Climbed Out the Window and Disappeared by Jonas Jonasson, a Swedish author.   The title is a mouthful, but the story is absolutely delightful, and highly recommended!  Thank you, Patti! 

Due to budgetary constraints, I'm really tight-fisted -- about almost everything, including e-books for my Kindle. Although Jonasson's book was available in the Kindle edition, it came at a price, so I requested the paperback edition from my library. After a wait of a couple of weeks --the book seems to be very popular at present -- it arrived and was picked up. It took me several days to read it. I didn't rush; I savored it.
  
On April 4, while I was at the library to return it,  I browsed the Mystery section (my favorite) and selected an armful of books -- four "cozy" mysteries and one not quite so cozy, and have read three of them. 

Why the reading binge?  I'm sorry to say it's my one of my favorite avoidance tactics.  I need to be working on my taxes!

I did make myself pull together some of the more detailed information I need for my tax filing; I'm not completely ignoring the task, just dragging my feet.

Two 
What has the image of a hummingbird to do with this post, you ask?  Gardening Daughter called me last evening to report that hummingbirds are at her feeders. Too soon!  Too soon!  It's not even warm, yet!


Tomorrow is also a day.

What's Going On?

SPRING? WINTER! SPRING?

The latter part of this past week brought balmy, shirt-sleeve weather to our part of the U.S.  My daffodils and forsythia bloomed, the day lilies began to send up new leaves, and all was looking well for the world. "About time!", I thought, and began to make plans for working in the flower beds.  Silly me! 

By mid-afternoon yesterday, a light rain was being pushed by a cold north wind at about 50 miles an hour (the gusts turned my umbrella completely inside out, took my breath away [so much that it scared me], and nearly blew me off my feet... really!) and then....

...it snowed last night!  

Not very much; the ground was not even completely covered, just clumps of snow here and there, when I got up this morning.  The temperature is rising, even as I type, and a quick look out the window just now shows that it's nearly all gone.  

We Arkies are wont to say "If you don't like the weather, just wait a few minutes; it will change."



BITS AND PIECES

* This past Saturday, which was a balmy day, my stamping partner and I hosted another successful Stamp Camp, our first of this year. I'm happy to report that a good time was had by all.

* I continue to enjoy my Kindle, and the free books I download from Amazon.  As I've previously commented on this blog, I am a (big) fan of mystery stories. My taste runs to the "cozy" mystery, although a well-constructed thriller also holds my attention.  One evening last week, I began to read Louisiana Longshot by Jana DeLeon.  Once I read the first page, I couldn't stop. This has to be one of the funniest stories I have ever read. If laughter is good medicine, I shouldn't be sick for quite some time! Highly recommended by yours truly, if you enjoy such things.

* My smart phone, a gift from my son-in-law in 2012, is behaving erratically. I've checked everything I know to check, and have had others more experienced than I try to resolve the problems I'm having -- to no avail. Perhaps it has a built-in self-destruct chip. :)  I fear a new phone is in my future.

I am slightly amazed at how much I have come to depend on this pocket-sized piece of technology -- being able to send and receive email when not at home on my computer; texting (never while driving, thank you); taking photos; checking the weather, etc., etc.  I've become so comfortable with it that I have been giving thought to doing away with my "land line."  Today, I'm not so sure!

* Today is St. Patrick's Day. Are you wearing green? Interesting information on the wearing of the green here.

That's it.

Tomorrow is also a day.