I Hope for You all...

What a gorgeous day. Too bad the rest of the summer can't be this perfect. The sun is shining, the birds are singing. It's not too hot or too cold, just perfect.

I hope your day is just as gorgeous. Have a great day.

A Disaster Avoided by Some Smart Thinking

I bought a couple of those mirror screen protectors for my phone last week only to find out that I couldn't operate the tabs on the bottom of it. I also, don't ask me why I thought it would, but I thought that it would cut down on the glare from the sun. It didn't.

The worse part is that I couldn't use the tab buttons on the bottom, you know the ones that let you go back to your home screen, go back one screen, or search, oh yeah, and the one that lets you do other things, like changing your wallpaper or other options. I guess we can call that one the options tab. But to get around it, I would have to turn off my phone and start all over again, which couldn't be good for the phone.

I luckily had some left over screen protectors from my old phone, you know the one that got drowned at Kennywood. So, to solve the problem at least temporarily, the one for my old phone was slightly larger, so I cut it down a little to fit this phone as best I could. I did find out that they were also a great substitute for the one that fit my IPod. They almost fit it perfectly. I forget why I had to change that one. Oh yeah, I thought the mirrored ones were for the IPod, so I took the old one off of it to replace it only to find out that it was a dumb move. I have since ordered new ones for my phone, but not for the IPod, I think I still have one or two left of the others to use if I need to. I ordered a couple for the phone that are supposed to be non-glare and some regular ones in case I have the same problem with the non-glare ones that I had with the mirrored ones, and that being they were too thick.

Oh, you're probably wondering where I got the IPod. David wanted the latest one and one with more memory, so I told him he could buy one if I got his older one. Yes, I am becoming a real geek, but I promise that this will be the last electronic gadget that I will get, that is until my computer needs replacing, I can't live without my computer. Actually it's becoming that way with the phone and IPod too. Oh oh!

Old Clocks

We have an alarm clock that has two alarms on it, one for Dave and one for me.  At most times I don't hear it, even though it's on my side of the bed. It's there because there used to be a time where I would hear it and Dave wouldn't. To tell the truth, I'm surprised that it still works considering we bought it when we first moved into our house back in Virginia back in 1984.

Why don't we move it to his side of the bed? Well, to tell the truth, I don't know, just habit I guess. But if we both have to wake up early, after he's crawled over me to get to it, if I'm not awake already, he can wake me up.

On days where he goes into the office, I can count on Angel being my alarm clock because as soon as I move, she's right there licking my face and nudging me to get out of bed. Jake and Max will lick my face, but then they'll roll over onto their backs in wussy mode. Rolli can't get on the bed or she'd probably be trying to nudge me out too.

But back to that alarm clock. Our appliances are old too. Our stove is original to the house, which was built in 1979-80. We just recently bought a new one, but Dave has to convert it to propane. Our refrigerator is at least 16, but that alarm clock has them beat, well not the stove because it still works. But it's the only original clock we have that still works. We have other clocks in the house that work, but they're those battery wall clocks that I bought at Walmart. I think I even had to replace one of those. They do come in handy when the electricity goes out and we want to know what time it is.

I can't remember where we bought the alarm clock, probably KMart because I don't remember a Walmart being anywhere near back then, but I know there was a KMart.

Dave collects mantle clocks and we have some really nice ones. One, which does work now that I think of it, has the prettiest chimes that go off. He doesn't have it plugged in though. After awhile, the chimes got to be annoying and boy were they loud. We also have the mantle clock that my grandmother gave to my parents as a wedding gift. My mom gave it to Dave. He has since stripped off the old paint or varnish to reveal a gorgeous grain and two inlays in the front that we didn't know were there until he stripped all the other stuff off. It still needs a new crystal, the original one broke years ago before we got it. He also just bought another one on our return trip from Pittsburgh when we stopped at a big antique mall in Ohio. I'm not sure if that one works or not.

The ones he bought he didn't pay much for, probably less than $30.00 each at antique stores around here, but once he's redone them, they look great. He has gotten most of them running again, but since we don't want to hear clocks ticking all day and don't have the plug capacity for them, they stay unplugged. They're displayed in the dining room, but the one my mom gave him is prominently displayed in the living room on a shelf. I wish I had a mantle to put it on, maybe someday. I'm still looking for the perfect one.

"Gremlins!"

We have gremlins in our house, you know those little things that pop off if you feed one after midnight, only ours aren't from those gremlins we saw in the movies, they're from the pups.

Every year at this time little puffs of fur start popping off the pups, except Jake, he just sheds, but the others get these little gremlin things that we find all around the house. Believe me, we don't feed them after midnight, but these gremlin things still show up. I won't say that these gremlins are cute either and they are a real nuisance. Thank goodness they're not like the "real" gremlins, or we'd be in BIG trouble and thank goodness we have a vacuum that can handle the extra fur.

I do have several combs and even a furminator to take care of the pups' coats and when I comb them outside, the birds really like the soft fur for their nests. It's funny seeing those little puffs of fur flying in the breeze. See, I bet you didn't know that gremlins can fly. I do try catching most of them in a bag, but some do escape.

So if you're ever in this area and see a little furry thing floating in the air, it just might be one of those gremlins that got away. So be careful, but don't say that I didn't warn you.

My New Phone and the ReStore Bargain of the Day!

Isn't it funny that before you get something, you can't imagine yourself having it, but after you get it, you can't imagine yourself not having it?

That's the way it's been with my phone. Before I had it, I thought that my plain regular cell phone was fine and then I got my android. I never realized how attached I was to it until one day at Walmart, I went to call Dave and I didn't have it. I knew it had been in my purse, or I thought so, actually it fell out in the van. I almost went into a panic. I usually call David in the store when we go together so that I can tell him when I'm leaving, but that day I couldn't even do that. Boy did I miss my phone.

This past week of not having it has been pure torture, I hated it. Now it looks like the end is near and within the next few hours, I will have my phone back. I checked its shipping status and it's out for delivery!

They sent me a different phone, which I kind of had a feeling they would. This one's a LP Apex. I looked it up on the cell company's website. I also read the little booklet that came with it. I like it, it's slightly smaller, but thicker than the other one but still has the pull out keyboard. It's not activated yet. I'll get that done tomorrow. It'll feel good to have a phone again.

Oh, we bought a new stove today, at the ReStore no less. It's brand new, just has a few dings in it, but it's one we had looked at before. It's the one Dave really wanted because it has the long burner in the center with a griddle. It's also stainless steel. We went to Lowes afterwards and saw the same stove, for $450 more than what we paid for it. Now that's a bargain. This fall we'll be getting a new refrigerator to match. Maybe we'll get that at the ReStore too.

Sore Toes, Broken Phone, and Getting Lost in Pittsburgh

We are back from our trip. We got in late yesterday afternoon. The trip was a complete success, minus some minor setbacks.

Okay, they weren't so minor, but we still had a good time. It was rather relaxing even though we felt like chickens with our heads cut off a couple times, but it was our own faults for not giving ourselves enough time, but it all worked out in the end.

As you might know, we left last Wednesday and got into Pittsburgh on Thursday afternoon. I called my sister Jackie to let her know when we were leaving the hotel in Columbus, Ohio, which is where we spent the first night on the road and what time we expected to arrive in Pittsburgh. The hotel was great and the people super nice. Our waiter for breakfast was really nice, so nice that Dave left him a super nice tip.

On the way to Pittsburgh, we stopped at the Zanesville Pottery Factory. We picked up a few, okay, more than a few pieces of pottery and then checked out some antique stores close by. I couldn't believe all of the really early pieces of the Johnson Brothers Friendly Village pattern I was seeing. Only problem though, there was no Johnson Brother's mark. It just said, "Made in England." I had never seen any without the Johnson Brothers mark before. I couldn't find any information about it on line either, so I guess I'll have to try to find a book on the marks.

While in Pittsburgh, we had dinner with one friend, breakfast with another, and then the rehearsal dinner and wedding. The bride looked beautiful by the way and her dress was absolutely gorgeous. With the things we had going on, we didn't see my sisters or mother until Saturday. No, I take that back, we did stop by Jackie's work to see her on Friday morning and to give her the mug I found at one of the shops we stopped at in Ohio. The saying on it was perfect for her. I'm not one who ordinarily wears heels, but decided to wear three inch heels to the rehearsal dinner and wedding the next day. Luckily the reception was held at the hotel we stayed at, so I was able to run up to our room and change shoes. I went back to the reception with my tennis shoes on. Yes, they looked odd, but my feet loved me for it. Sunday to round out the trip, we decided that a day of shear fun was in order, so we went to Kennywood with friends of ours.

We started the day off by meeting at a local Denny's for breakfast. There was our friend Judy, the one we had dinner with, her niece, and another high school friend and his wife, named Rich and Dollie. We followed Judy to Kennywood because the rest of us had no idea where we were going. Judy said that she just followed the signs. We had a lot of fun making like we were youngsters again. We went on the roller coasters, and got drenched on the Wild Rapids ride. Unfortunately my cell phone bit the dust when it got water logged. I was without it for the rest of the trip, but it was my own fault. I put the claim in for it today. It should be here by Friday, I hope. We stayed until about 6:30. Rich and Dollie left about an hour earlier because they had to drive back home to West Virginia because they both had to work the next day. Judy and her niece stayed for one more ride, or so that's what her niece said she would leave after. :) Judy also had to work the next day. We were leaving the next day.

On the way back to the hotel, we had no idea where we were going, but did end up finding our way. Since we hadn't driven through the county park yet, we decided to do that before heading back to the room. It was perfect weather for it. In fact for the whole trip we had perfect weather.

When we got back to the hotel, I had my hands full with stuff, one of them being my Pittsburgh Steeler gnome, which I named Hienz, when all of a sudden, he slipped out of my arms and went crashing to the ground. I was devastated. I picked up as much of him as I could and Dave put him in a plastic bag. I'll eventually find another and possibly get him a wife too.

Monday morning came too soon and I had to drag myself out of bed. We got off to a late start so decided to eat breakfast at the hotel and then we headed over to my mom's to say goodbye to her and my sister. My mom didn't recognize me at the wedding, but she did then, so that was a relief. She has her good days and bad days and I guess Monday was a good day.

On the way back home, we stopped by this huge antique mall called, "The Heart of Ohio." We unfortunately didn't have time to really check it out, but we did the best we could given the time we had. We made it to Indy to spend the night and were lucky to get the last room at our favorite hotel there. The room even had a fireplace which pleased the dickens out of me because I had always wanted to stay in a room there that had a fireplace. I felt bad for the citizens of Indy though, theirs was the highest price for gasoline of anywhere else we stopped. All the others were a comparable price to what we pay here in Iowa.

It felt good to get home. Luckily it didn't take long for me to unpack, but did I ever have the laundry to do today! Thankfully that's now done. Tomorrow I'll do the other things I need to do, like watch my soaps. I wonder what's been happening on One Life to Live while I was gone.