I'm Baaack!

Stagnate! I think not! Material is just harder to come by this month. I'm not getting much (any) help from WonderMom, either.

Where to begin? Oh! I know! New toys! Technophobe Alert! This next part is geeky!

As mentioned earlier, our ESR was 'earmarked' for a new digital TV so we could watch our many recorded Movies and TV shows on a better display. The delay in making the purchase was deciding how I would get the recordings, which reside on the MacMini's disc farm in the basement up to the TV in the living room. I didn't really want to move all of that computer hardware into the entertainment center. There was also the question of fitting a new wide-screen TV into the corner entertainment center that was designed to hold a 27" max normal screen TV.


Solution one: Purchase an Apple TV unit from the Apple refurb store. This unit has a 160GB internal hard drive for storing videos, a high speed (802.11n - you were warned!) WiFi card built, and takes up minimal space in the cabinet (7-1/2 inches square by 1-1/2 inches high). It is controlled by a small Apple remote control. Files are transerred from the MacMini over WiFi, so cables was needed.

Solution two: Find a TV whose widt would fit inside the cabinet from inside the doors to the corner of the wall behind the cabinet. Then build a platform on heavy duty 18" drawer glides that would allow the TV to be turned and pushed back into the cabinet. Clever, n'çest pas? The TV turned out to be an LG 32 inch purchased from a local merchant (not a big box or Wal-Mart) so some of the ESR money would stay in the country. I paid a little more for it, but hey, it was Dubbya's dime! Turns out the Olevia I talked about in Homeward Bound earlier is made by an American company, but is manufactured in Asia! Photos follow!




The TV is turned to face the right here, but can be turned to face full forward or to the left. This model LG has a built in swivel base and an exceptionally wide angle of view. The Apple TV is the white horizontal stripe in the middle of the upper right hand glass door.







Close up of the rolling platform. The outer drawer glides let the platform roll out in front of the cabinet. The inner glides let it roll back out of the back of the cabinet.










Here is the set pused all the way back into the corner of the wall so the doors will close. This was taken before I cleaned up all the dangling wires.








Next toy! This is my first blog written on my new (to me) from the Apple refurb store MacBook Pro 15" laptop. The new operating system, Leopard (10.5.2) is taking some getting used to.
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OK! Well, the iris really haven't bloomed much yet, but I better put som photos in here to stop your head from spinning from all the techy stuff.




Here's a shot of my black (really deep purple) iris.

All of the little pinkish buds you see here will become blossoms soon, like the ones on the left.











This is one of my new blue iris that I planted last fall.









That's it for now. More when something happens!

Scooter's Turn!

Saturday was recital time again, this time it was Scooter's first piano recital. He did a great job! I think he was pretty happy with his performance too! Here's a video of the performance:




Cutie Pie is taking all of this in and plotting for her turn in the limelight.

Wish we could attend recitals for our CA grandsons, Thing 1 and Thing 2. Hopefully Shimmy will record and post them for us.

OK! So I Lied!

I said I wouldn't post anymore flower photos until the Iris bloomed. I lied! The Iris haven't bloomed, but our scrawny little flowering crab tree is just bursting with beautiful pink blossoms this year. Just gorgeous IMHO. What do you think?

And this little guy showed up! A mutant (double) tulip! I don't remember planting it, and there is only one. It sure looks like a tulip from the foliage!

Oh! Those pretty purple tulips I showed in my last post; the deer thought they were good too! Hope they tasted as good as the looked!

More Pretty Flowers

Can't help myself. The bright colors after a drab winter just beg me to photograph them. And I m compelled to share! So here are the latest blooms in the yard. There are still some tulips that haven't bloomed yet, so you'll have to wait a bit to see them!







OK! That's it 'til the iris bloom (flowerwise!).

Flying Tree Trimmer

OK! Hadn't planned to blog today, but the flying tree trimmer came through here today. I have this compulsion to share the experience with the world.


This appears to be an MD 500 D or E helicopter trailing an eleven-bladed gang circular saw from a 60 foot shaft.



It flies in dangerously (IMHO) close to the power lines to clear the tree limbs hanging out over the powerline right-of-way. He didn't spend as much time here as last time and I didn't get much video footage, but it's interesting none the less. Enjoy!



Here is the same setup taken in October 2005, the first time he was here. I didn't expect it to be back so soon. This has to cost a bunch of $, but how else would you do the job in inaccessible locations like the deep valley here.



That's it for today. Oh, went to the dentist today - "Look, Ma! No cavities"!

Sweet, Sweet Music!

OK! WonderMom here. First time blogging so bear with me. This morning we were on our way to Cricket and Paco's house when we got a phone call from Marble in Minnesota. She had arrived home but it was cold and damp. When she left AZ it was 98 degrees and heading higher. It may be raining in Central IL but we can wait a few more weeks for the hot stuff. Besides, April showers bring May flowers. Marble and I discussed how big our respective homes seem to be after a few months in a trailer.

Although, what I have found is that it is time to downsize. We have waaaaay too much stuff. Time to get rid of things we never use and don't really need. Superdad and I seem to be those kind of people who keep things just in case we may need them. Time to let go! Now, understand, I am not talking about my fabric stash here! There is never too much fabric!

Quit laughing Cricket and Shimmy!! Shimmy feels the same way about yarn.

The occasion for our visit today was a violin recital for Sweetie Pie.



She is doing quite well, seems to enjoy playing, and doing so in front of an audience does not seem to bother her at all. BTW, Sweetie had the privilege of having Daddy for an accompanist

Scooter read a book during the recital (Harry Potter) and Cutie Pie was her usual impish little self. I was informed that Sweetie Pie has finished the first set of Junie B. Jones books and is ready for more. Amazon will soon have an order. We are delighted all our grandchildren seem to be so interested in reading and are doing so well.

No news from SuperDad except to say that we were both really pleased with Sweetie's performance, and proud of her for the effort and enthusiasm she has put into learning the violin.

Spring Has Sprang Here!

Our tulips are heralding the demise of Old Man Winter!


Our daffodils are trumpeting the arrival of warm(er) weather!


Our little Magnolia tree is celebrating the sunshine - three weeks later than last year!

Hopefully the cold is over until next winter and springtime can proceed forthwith! I even got out and cleaned up some of last year's floral debris.

After scurrying around for a new cable modem, our old Motorola unit having bought the farm unexpectedly Thursday morning. Alas, we are joined at the hip to the Internet for our news of the outside world.

Since the Chicago Tribune decided they could no longer afford to deliver their product to "our area"! I'm guessing the wages paid to their delivery people ran smack into the escalating gas prices in our area! Did I mention that Tuesday PM, every gas station in our area suddenly jumped up to $3.43 from a variety of previous prices. Can you say "price fixing"?

And yes, the ground shook for us this morning! Actually only a few glasses in the cupboard rattled about 10:30, to signal a small aftershock of the rare geological event. We slept through the "BIG" one at 5:30!

No new stuff from WonderMom this week. She's been busy getting us back to normal after our return from AZ. She says,"We're all unpacked. The washing is done and the house is clean - ish!"