My Love-Hate Relationship with Technology

Well, I bought a new DVD-VCR combo at Target yesterday, brought it home, hooked it up, and it was incompatible with my television.

I can't even begin to tell you the frustration. (Carla can, as she got to IM with me at the worst of it.)

So I re-packed it up and will take it back to Target tomorrow.

I HATE TECHNOLOGY.

Missed my show last night, Survivor, and couldn't record it. Major frustration continues.

This morning I got up and watched the entire episode online. Fewer commercial breaks, and each commercial was 15 seconds instead of 4 minutes (or whatever.)

I LOVE TECHNOLOGY.

Longing for the good 'ol days

My VCR died this week. It's only 27 years old, so I guess I can't complain. But now I am faced with a dilemma. I have to replace it so I can record Survivor and Dancing with the Stars. Really, I don't bother with much else.

But guess what? You can't buy a VCR any more. At least not all by itself. The simplest I can find is a VCR/DVD player combo. For $99.99.

Call me old-fashioned, but I just don't really want a DVR. I like how videos work. I know how videos work. And I don't want to pay $200 for a DVR.

All I want is a nice under-$50 VCR. Ain't gonna happen.

Sigh.

Overheard at the dinner table...

Mom: tonight I have to knit, to finish up a birthday present which I have to give on Wednesday.

Son 1: Oh, you're not going to work on my quilt?

Mom: Oh yeah, I will do that tonight when I am watching "Dancing with the Stars"

Son 1: But I thought you were going to knit tonight?

Mom: Oh yeah (laughing) -- lately I am so distractable.

Son 2: Maybe that's why you haven't finished it yet.

Mom: Finished what?

Silence.

Laughter all 'round.

Snowy Day

Just got this photo from my Dad - he took it this morning from their front deck. It's hard to tell, but those are two deer on the driveway. How beautiful!

What Would Colby Say?!?

from I has a hot dog (thanks, Carla, I was running out of things to look at on the 'net)

Painting + Carpal Tunnel

Bad mix.

Ouch.

Yesterday I painted about 2/3 of Ty's bedroom. See, he is getting a new bed, which meant he had to get new sheets, as it's a different size. Since we were getting new sheets, we needed a new comforter cover. Which led to new drapes, which, naturally, led to the need for a different wall color. And of course we couldn't find a comforter cover or drapes that we liked, so we went to the fabric store and bought fabric for me to make them.

So far, so good. I was actually quite excited to begin all these projects as they are the types of things I really enjoy doing and haven't done for a long time. In fact, it took me over an hour to find my sewing machine. You know the house isn't that big.

Anyway, after I started painting, all was going well until I stopped for lunch ... and my right wrist really began hurting. Really. Hurting. And now I am afraid to pick up the brush or roller again as I don't want to aggravate it further. But only 3 of the 4 walls are done. And the one that's not done is partially done, so I can't even leave it the old color like it's a planned decorating element. Contrast and all that.

One curtain panel is done, the top of the comforter cover is done, and the weekend is almost done. Maybe it was a titch too ambitious to try to do it all in one weekend with only my two hands.

I'll post pictures when it's completed.

Hopefully that will be before June.

Made for me

Now I have so many more blogs to read ...

2008 Weblog Awards winners:
(sorry to not have all the links, you will have to go find the ones that interest you on your own ...)

Best web application for weblogs: Blogger
Best Australian or New Zealand weblog: Reasons You Will Hate Me
Best Asian weblog: Freshly Squeezed
Best African weblog: Dotty Rhino
first off, can I say this is only because they don't read Hillmans' blog?! But secondly, I just visited this one, and I enjoyed it - it's the site of the wildlife refuge started by George Adams, of the "Born Free" Elsa the lioness fame, and it's in Tanzania so that makes me feel like I have proprietary rights over it or something! I recommend it!
Best European weblog: Chocolate & Zucchini
OH.
MY.
GOODNESS.
Calandria, you will join me in drooling over this website, I am quite certain. A French woman obsessed with food and cooking, specifically focusing on healthy and organic foods but with a VERY healthy appreciation for chocolate ... I am truly salivating after just one visit, of course that was because one entry (about 3 or 4 down) is about making ice cream from evaporated milk and Nutella - nothing else - which, hey, sounds good to me!
Best Latin American weblog: The Wired Blog
Best Canadian weblog: Attack of the Redneck Mommy Monkey
Best American weblog: Dooce
Best photography of a weblog: I Can Has Cheezburger? (see photo at right ...)
Best art or craft weblog: PostSecret
Best food weblog: The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Best fashion weblog: Go Fug Yourself
Best weblog about music: Said the Gramophone
Best gossip weblog: Dlisted
Best entertainment weblog: Television Without Pity
Best sports weblog: Fat Cyclist
Best weblog about politics: Crooks and Liars
Best computer or technology weblog: Lifehacker
Best topical weblog: I Can Has Cheezburger?
Best GLBT weblog: PerezHilton.com
Best teen weblog: Sarcastica
Most humorous weblog: Overheard in New York
Best writing of a weblog: Confessions of a Pioneer Woman
Best group weblog: Jezebel
Best community weblog: PostSecret
Best-designed weblog: Dooce
Best-kept secret weblog: So Very Alone
Best new weblog: Jezebel
Lifetime achievement: Heather B. Armstrong
Weblog of the year: Dooce

Another Knitting Day-brightener

Another fun knitting project completed! I made a set of 3 nesting felted bowls.

Here they are all knitted but not felted yet. Really, they are just hats before you shrink them down. I was talking to my friend Shawn whose daughter has a magic knitting loom (or some such thing, Calandria, isn't that what Lidia has?) And you could make hats with that, out of 100% wool, and then shrink them into a felted bowl, I do believe.

Here I've attempted to make them stand up like they will when done:

And here they are, nesting so cozily, after the transformation:

Finally, sitting out side by side.

It's just so cool to look at them and think "I made those with a long piece of string!"

I'm past it (for this month, anyway)

OK, I think I am past my two-and-a-half days of feeling down. You'd think I would be used to it now as it happens pretty much every month, but it still takes me by surprise and I don't realize it's the hormones talking until I am on the way out of it again. That moment of clarity came to me about 5PM yesterday.

Last night I had dinner with a friend ... actually I forced her to buy me dinner as when I got to the restaurant I realized I had left my purse at home on the kitchen counter. She was a good sport and we had a delightful meal together. Afterwards when I got home, I sent her a quick email thanking her, and she responded with a note that said "You always make me feel braver about making changes."

You know, that totally changed my mood around last night. I know, I was coming out of my funk anyway, but it reminded me that overall I am so satisfied with my life and the choices I have made and the place I am in now.

So I went upstairs and started knitting - always a sign of good humor here - and started my first pair of "two socks on one needle." A concept I have been aware of for a while and been intrigued by, and now finally got up the nerve to try. And you know what? It's a bit tricky at the beginning to keep all the yarn going in the right direction, but overall I really, really like it. And the best part is, when you're done - you're done! Both socks finished at the same time. Oh - and the really best thing is - both socks the exact same size.

Yup, today is sunny and life is looking up.

my secret vice

I just learned something about myself. Laundry is my drug of choice. (Well, not a drug really, but doesn't that sound intriguing?)

What I mean is that laundry is what I do when I know I need to be doing something but either don't know or don't want to do what really needs doing. By doing laundry I can justify my inattention to those other things, because I can rightly claim that I am not wasting my time or sitting idle.

Nope, those sheets and towels simply must be washed today! And the work projects, and school assignments, and tax organizing ... well, I'm doing LAUNDRY, for goodness' sake, and that's important, too.

Sigh. We have clean clothes but I still have angst about all those other things.

The Great Teeter-Totter of Life

It's all about balance and lately I have not been feeling good about my life.

I have been working a lot more than usual, which while is nice in some ways, is really hard in others. I have been burning the midnight oil, as they say, which I used to be able to do a lot better when I was 10 or 20 years younger.

They say 50 is the new 40 but even with that I need more!

Fairy Frost

She calls it "Impossible: Part 2" and this is just one photo of her series ... I literally gasped when I followed a link to this blog. You have got to check out her photos of what she has named "Fairy Frost." Impossible yet so incredibly beautifully possible it just takes your breath away.

The Reality Show for Me

Finally, a Reality Show I could WIN. Unfortunately I didn't know about it until way after the players were selected ...

Oprah's The Big Give. Now, Oprah is not my favorite person, even though I do admire many of the things she does. This reality show is all about giving to the community - to individuals and organizations needing a little (or a lot of) help. I watched the first episode, and there were 5 teams of two -- each team had a "situation" where they just had to do whatever they could in 5 days to help. All of them involved raising money, but they also had the chance to bring in community, connections, publicity, and anything else.

And I could have kicked 4 of the 5 teams' collective butts :-) One team did an amazing job on their task, 2 did a really good job, and 2 were very close to being worthless (in fact, I suspect that Oprah did a little behind-the-scenes rescue operation on one team.)

It's all about coming up with a plan, spreading a wide net, and working REALLY REALLY fast.

Totally up my alley.

I'll have to be satisfied watching and knowing what I would have done in their places. And maybe it's just as well, because several times during the show Oprah is standing there looking at the groups saying things like "We'll see who the biggest giver is" when it's obvious that she finds it a rhetorical question, and she is expecting all of them to bow down to her and say "Oh, YOU are the biggest giver of them all."

And she is. But does she have to be so smug about it?

Big C, Little C, Eensy-Weensy C

I often refer to Colby and Chaco as "Big C" and "Little C" but this weekend we had a really tiny C staying with us, too! The boys landed a dog-sitting job for their uncle's 6-month old St. Charles Spaniel, Charlie.

Big C & Little C were wary when we brought in the equipment.

The wariness increased as they met the intruder .. errr, I mean guest.

Chaco decided he did NOT like this at all and spent the weekend hiding from Charlie.

Charlie had a bit of hero-worship for Colby, who tolerated the attention quite well.

We loved having the BABY here and miss him now that he's back home!

Happy Birthday, Jess-kah!

In just under an hour it's my friend Jess-kah's birthday! I met her in Tanzania last summer ... here she hangs with the evolutionary chain at Ngorongoro Crater.

HAPPY DAY, GIRLFRIEND!!!

Book-Banning Controversy

This morning I was alerted to a movement by a group of University of St. Thomas parents who are trying to remove Margaret Atwood's book The Handmaid's Tale from the required reading list for freshman literature. The reasons they list on their website basically boil down to there is some (a lot of?) graphic language and imagery in the book that they believe will make some 18 or 19 year olds uncomfortable when reading.

This bothers me on so many levels. First and foremost, I am upset that this is still happening today - that a small group of people try to control what others read, that they try to insist their opinions are more valid than the teachers who assign the book. Wasn't there an episode of The Brady Bunch in the 1960s that dealt with book burning? Didn't Mike & Carol Brady teach their children - and the entire neighborhood - that burning a book is never the solution? Obviously these parents didn't watch The Brady Bunch - or at least they missed that episode. It just makes me sad that this is happening now, in 2008. Probably I am naive.

Secondly, I have read the book in question ... I probably read it the first time when I was in high school - what would these parents say about that?! And I remember the book for its themes and commentary and the futuristic genre. I do NOT recall how many times the "f" word was used (which seems to be one of the main complaints of this group.) I do not remember, much less dwell on, the scenes of violence other than to remember the grimness of society in general in the book. Which, afterall, was the whole point of the book.

I believe the parents underestimate their children's ability to read and discuss the book, and I believe they insult the integrity of the literature professors who selected the book and prepared the discussion activities.

So, as this parent group website urged me to do, I wrote to the faculty of the University of St. Thomas. Unfortunately for the parent group, I don't think my email (to the addresses they so thoughtfully provided) was what they were looking for.

My kinda of quiz (sorta)

Does this sound like me? From the results it looks like I am pretty firmly in the hazelnut camp ... Whatever ... LMK what YOU are.

What Kind of Chocolate Are You? Your Result: Chocolate Hazelnut Chocolate hazelnut is so pure and honest... just like you. You are one smart person, with a passion of helping others. We can always count on you to help us out, whether it's a math problem or just a bad day. Don't be afraid to steer away from your plain white tees and straight-cut jeans once in a while, though!
Milk Chocolate
Dark Chocolate
White Chocolate
Chocolate-Covered Fruit
What Kind of Chocolate Are You? Quizzes for MySpace

Introducing ...

The newest United States Citizen! My sister-in-law Mary became a citizen today. She is Irish, and has lived here for ... 25-26 (?) years and been married to my brother almost that long. Guess after all that time she decided it would stick.

The boys & I went to the ceremony, held in the US District Court Building in downtown St. Paul. The room was beautiful - it had draped white netting and lights, like for a wedding reception!

There were about 230 citizens-to-be in this ceremony, from either 37 or 47 different countries (I heard 47, Ben heard 37.) Mary was the only one from Ireland. Somali had the most, with 68, Vietnam and Mexico each had about 17 or 18, Liberia had maybe 14, and then all the rest of the nations had 10 or fewer. No Norwegians, Croatians, or Tanzanians!
Here all the candidates are swearing allegiance to the United States. The judge presiding spoke for a bit both before and after the swearing in. I really liked the message he gave, talking about how the United States is dependent on the diversity of many people from many cultures and that although they are swearing allegiance to the US, they should never, ever forget their homelands and all that they grew up with culturally, linguistically, and musically.

He ended with a John Wesley quote that is one of my favorites:

Do all the good you can,

By all the means you can,

In all the ways you can,

In all the places you can,

At all the times you can,

For all the people you can,

For as long as you can.

Then they had a video presentation set to the song Proud to be An American, with photos of the nation, its citizens, and its new citizens. It was incredibly moving; I stood in the back and cried.

I wanted to hug and congratulate and welcome each of the new citizens. I was, truly, proud to be an American.

Hmmm...

So bought the boys new socks at Target yesterday, washed them today.

A pack of 6 pair for each of them.

Carefully packaged in a resealable ziplock plastic bag.

Do people really take the socks out one pair at a time and then reseal the bag?