While preparing to install my new hard drive, I backed up my whole picture file, then deleted it off this drive.
Way to go Einstein.
Gratitude #83 - Sweet Biddies!
11 years ago
Saturday, August 8, 2009
I admire. . .
I went to see a movie the other night with my friend David, who is in town for a few days.
This one was a 3d computer generated experience, but with real live people as well. I cannot even begin to understand the complexity of producing one of those, but I sure can marvel.
My head is stuck in the old days, where cartoons were all hand drawn, a frame at a time, I guess.
The first all computer generated movie I saw just blew my head in it’s realism, but with 3d added, it is even more awesome. A friend once said that in a movie, the stronger the special affects, the weaker the plot, and this was no exception.
When the character throws something your way and you think it is going to hit you, that is realism!
I am not a great movie buff, may go a couple times a year, but when I see one of these, I am blown away by some one’s expertise.
Even expertise I do not like or do not appreciate, I have to admire some one’s proficiency.
This one was a 3d computer generated experience, but with real live people as well. I cannot even begin to understand the complexity of producing one of those, but I sure can marvel.
My head is stuck in the old days, where cartoons were all hand drawn, a frame at a time, I guess.
The first all computer generated movie I saw just blew my head in it’s realism, but with 3d added, it is even more awesome. A friend once said that in a movie, the stronger the special affects, the weaker the plot, and this was no exception.
When the character throws something your way and you think it is going to hit you, that is realism!
I am not a great movie buff, may go a couple times a year, but when I see one of these, I am blown away by some one’s expertise.
Even expertise I do not like or do not appreciate, I have to admire some one’s proficiency.
Friday, August 7, 2009
tomato soup
Today is wet and cold.
This is not the kind of day that we desert livers prefer, frankly.
Wednesday was 97 yesterday got up to almost 70 and today the high is in the mid 60’s. But summer is not over, next week we are back in the low 90’s again.
And, just because it is raining does not mean I won’t water the garden. Right now I have two overhead sprinklers spreading water. Those 90 degree days next week will evaporate water very quickly.
At this point of the garden year there are some plants that need a lot of water and some that really do not need any. My system, unfortunately cannot be fine tuned like might be best. Oh well, as they say.
Today I am working on canning tomatoes. Miriam used to do all of the canning and freezing and do it very well. I never paid to much attention, then quite suddenly, it seemed, she was unable, and not only that, but she badly remember how she did it and get a bit upset with whatever I am doing.
While I do not have the experience she had, I did help my mom when I lived at home, and I read. The internet is full of information.
Yesterday I made a big kettle of tomato juice. I had hoped to make it work as soup, but it is way too thin and it would take too long to boil it down, so I’ll can it as Tomato juice. V6 tomato juice.
I added a couple of carrots, half a big onion, several garlic cloves, a couple celery stalks, some basil, which along with the tomatoes make 6!
To be on the safe side, I read, I should use a pressure canner for tomatoes. We have a canner that lacked a gasket for the lid. I found the brand and the model number and visited my local Hardware store.
Amazingly they had just the gasket I needed, and our canner is OLD.
Daughter one taught me another way to make thicker tomato soup, so I’ll also experiment with her technique.
Some day I will be able to stop experimenting. I do know how to can with the water bath system, and I am learning about freezing fruit, but I do continue to learn!
So, today I will stay out of the rain and experiment with canning tomatoes. Wish me luck! Remember that line from a song that says that fools go where angels fear to tread?
That’s me.
This is not the kind of day that we desert livers prefer, frankly.
Wednesday was 97 yesterday got up to almost 70 and today the high is in the mid 60’s. But summer is not over, next week we are back in the low 90’s again.
And, just because it is raining does not mean I won’t water the garden. Right now I have two overhead sprinklers spreading water. Those 90 degree days next week will evaporate water very quickly.
At this point of the garden year there are some plants that need a lot of water and some that really do not need any. My system, unfortunately cannot be fine tuned like might be best. Oh well, as they say.
Today I am working on canning tomatoes. Miriam used to do all of the canning and freezing and do it very well. I never paid to much attention, then quite suddenly, it seemed, she was unable, and not only that, but she badly remember how she did it and get a bit upset with whatever I am doing.
While I do not have the experience she had, I did help my mom when I lived at home, and I read. The internet is full of information.
Yesterday I made a big kettle of tomato juice. I had hoped to make it work as soup, but it is way too thin and it would take too long to boil it down, so I’ll can it as Tomato juice. V6 tomato juice.
I added a couple of carrots, half a big onion, several garlic cloves, a couple celery stalks, some basil, which along with the tomatoes make 6!
To be on the safe side, I read, I should use a pressure canner for tomatoes. We have a canner that lacked a gasket for the lid. I found the brand and the model number and visited my local Hardware store.
Amazingly they had just the gasket I needed, and our canner is OLD.
Daughter one taught me another way to make thicker tomato soup, so I’ll also experiment with her technique.
Some day I will be able to stop experimenting. I do know how to can with the water bath system, and I am learning about freezing fruit, but I do continue to learn!
So, today I will stay out of the rain and experiment with canning tomatoes. Wish me luck! Remember that line from a song that says that fools go where angels fear to tread?
That’s me.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
over
This weekend we visited a different church.
I know a lot of people in this group, one a classmate of Miriam’s reminds me that her grandparents and my grandparents were friends back in the 1920’s.
There were two couples and a guy whose wife was out of town. The sermon was to the point and well delivered. We were invited to stay for the visitors potluck and we did.
So on our way home we were quite happy. Good sermon, good food, good friends.
As we drove by the airport for our town I saw a small very black pillar of smoke. It was an angry color. The forest service taught me about smoke. Dark smoke means something ore than grass is burning.
As we drove by we strained out heads to see what was the cause of the smoke. I was sitting in the back seat on the smoke side. I got a good look. Though it was a mile or so away. The smoke was coming from right next to the county road on a fence line.
Could some one be burning brush and thrown a tire on the fire? It seemed too hot for that.
The next day we found out what it was.
An airplane had taken off from the airport, had trouble gaining altitude, and was trying to circle around and land, but it went through some power lines slowing it further and crashing it into the fence.
The article said the plane was burned so bad it was difficult to even know what kind it was.
The next day there was more details. A young pilot killed. A plane destroyed.
My dad had just such an accident once. He crashed his after going through some power lines, but he was able to keep it from a hard impact so there was no fire, and there was minimal damage to the plane.
Was dad a better, more skilled pilot? Was he lucky and this one this weekend very unlucky?
Of course there was no answer, but as I read the story I could not help but remember.
It was over quickly for the pilot, but the family will grieve for years to come.
There are no guarantees in this life.
I know a lot of people in this group, one a classmate of Miriam’s reminds me that her grandparents and my grandparents were friends back in the 1920’s.
There were two couples and a guy whose wife was out of town. The sermon was to the point and well delivered. We were invited to stay for the visitors potluck and we did.
So on our way home we were quite happy. Good sermon, good food, good friends.
As we drove by the airport for our town I saw a small very black pillar of smoke. It was an angry color. The forest service taught me about smoke. Dark smoke means something ore than grass is burning.
As we drove by we strained out heads to see what was the cause of the smoke. I was sitting in the back seat on the smoke side. I got a good look. Though it was a mile or so away. The smoke was coming from right next to the county road on a fence line.
Could some one be burning brush and thrown a tire on the fire? It seemed too hot for that.
The next day we found out what it was.
An airplane had taken off from the airport, had trouble gaining altitude, and was trying to circle around and land, but it went through some power lines slowing it further and crashing it into the fence.
The article said the plane was burned so bad it was difficult to even know what kind it was.
The next day there was more details. A young pilot killed. A plane destroyed.
My dad had just such an accident once. He crashed his after going through some power lines, but he was able to keep it from a hard impact so there was no fire, and there was minimal damage to the plane.
Was dad a better, more skilled pilot? Was he lucky and this one this weekend very unlucky?
Of course there was no answer, but as I read the story I could not help but remember.
It was over quickly for the pilot, but the family will grieve for years to come.
There are no guarantees in this life.
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
tease
The other night Miriam went to bed about 10, which is what I like her to do.
About midnight she got up to go to the bathroom and asked me if I was coming to bed soon. I said yes, I was finished with what I was reading and would be up soon.
When I went up, I took off my clothes, turned out the light and got into bed, as I normally do!
I wiggled over to her to snuggle a bit and maybe just pat her on the thigh. But when I snuggled over she was not there, and when I reached my hand out, she was not there, but instead was a rolled up blanket.
Quickly I turned the light on and saw that she had put an old wig on her pillow to make it look like she was in bed.
This has nothing to do with Alzheimer’s and every thing to do with my mischievous Miriam. She has done this before. I knew she was hiding. Since I had been seated at the foot of the stairs, I was sure she had not come downstairs. She was upstairs some where.
I made a run through the easy hiding places. Not in the shower behind the curtain, not in Emily's bedroom, I eve checked under the bed. Back in our room I looked in the closet behind the clothes, No Miriam.
Stopping, I scratched my head and did a bit more thinking. Of course, I was talking as I was looking and I knew she was laughing.
Finally I looked behind the bed, and there she was all wrapped in a blanket laughing so hard her eyes watered.
I am glad she can play tricks like that on me. We both laughed over this one!
About midnight she got up to go to the bathroom and asked me if I was coming to bed soon. I said yes, I was finished with what I was reading and would be up soon.
When I went up, I took off my clothes, turned out the light and got into bed, as I normally do!
I wiggled over to her to snuggle a bit and maybe just pat her on the thigh. But when I snuggled over she was not there, and when I reached my hand out, she was not there, but instead was a rolled up blanket.
Quickly I turned the light on and saw that she had put an old wig on her pillow to make it look like she was in bed.
This has nothing to do with Alzheimer’s and every thing to do with my mischievous Miriam. She has done this before. I knew she was hiding. Since I had been seated at the foot of the stairs, I was sure she had not come downstairs. She was upstairs some where.
I made a run through the easy hiding places. Not in the shower behind the curtain, not in Emily's bedroom, I eve checked under the bed. Back in our room I looked in the closet behind the clothes, No Miriam.
Stopping, I scratched my head and did a bit more thinking. Of course, I was talking as I was looking and I knew she was laughing.
Finally I looked behind the bed, and there she was all wrapped in a blanket laughing so hard her eyes watered.
I am glad she can play tricks like that on me. We both laughed over this one!
Monday, August 3, 2009
pears
Bartlett Pears are some of my favorite.
Unfortunately the trees are subject to fire blight, which can kill a tree.
So, this may be our whole Bartlett pear crop this year.
steam and roast
Some years ago we went to dinner with our photographer friend Dale.
I had steamed vegetables with rice. It was wonderful. The first time in my life I had vegetables steamed.
So, years later when I took over the cooking in our house, I remembered that occasion, and how wonderful it was. We had a steamer, and I put it to work.
Now, a year or so later, I have steamed everything, even frozen vegetables.
Miriam’s dad once joked that Marie (his wife, Miriam’s mother) burned more food than he could eat. Marie would put a pan of food on to heat and turn the stove on high -- she thought it would heat faster. The trick was to catch it at the right second and turn the heat down or off. She was frequently distracted. Bright green veggies were easily turned into grey-green caricatures of their origin, or burned beyond recognition!
So, I began to steam veggies. I like them a bit crisp yet and with full color.
One day I was talking to Dea on the phone about food and she suggested oven roasting vegetables. She said that when she did zucchini her kids asked for more, not something we don’t often hear with zucchini. She had several suggestions about other veggies.
I do not own a grill, but one source said that anything you could do on a grill you could do in an oven. While I have reservations about the surety of that line, it sounds good to me!
So I have been oven roasting veggies that I do not steam. I even have been roasting corn on the cob. It is delightful.
This morning for breakfast we had a big plate of oven roasted potatoes with half a Walla Walla sweet onion, sliced julienne style, with a bit of green pepper on top. I did not have to but we each had a fried egg and side dish of frozen apricots.
I am learning that everything does not go into the oven at the same time. This morning I should have added the peppers about 4 or 5 minutes before taking it all out of the oven.
Next time I think I will slice some tofu into strips and roast those strips with the veggies. Hmm.
Might even saute them a bit first. Hmm again.
I had steamed vegetables with rice. It was wonderful. The first time in my life I had vegetables steamed.
So, years later when I took over the cooking in our house, I remembered that occasion, and how wonderful it was. We had a steamer, and I put it to work.
Now, a year or so later, I have steamed everything, even frozen vegetables.
Miriam’s dad once joked that Marie (his wife, Miriam’s mother) burned more food than he could eat. Marie would put a pan of food on to heat and turn the stove on high -- she thought it would heat faster. The trick was to catch it at the right second and turn the heat down or off. She was frequently distracted. Bright green veggies were easily turned into grey-green caricatures of their origin, or burned beyond recognition!
So, I began to steam veggies. I like them a bit crisp yet and with full color.
One day I was talking to Dea on the phone about food and she suggested oven roasting vegetables. She said that when she did zucchini her kids asked for more, not something we don’t often hear with zucchini. She had several suggestions about other veggies.
I do not own a grill, but one source said that anything you could do on a grill you could do in an oven. While I have reservations about the surety of that line, it sounds good to me!
So I have been oven roasting veggies that I do not steam. I even have been roasting corn on the cob. It is delightful.
This morning for breakfast we had a big plate of oven roasted potatoes with half a Walla Walla sweet onion, sliced julienne style, with a bit of green pepper on top. I did not have to but we each had a fried egg and side dish of frozen apricots.
I am learning that everything does not go into the oven at the same time. This morning I should have added the peppers about 4 or 5 minutes before taking it all out of the oven.
Next time I think I will slice some tofu into strips and roast those strips with the veggies. Hmm.
Might even saute them a bit first. Hmm again.
Sunday, August 2, 2009
my first
This was my first Power Book, a 520 black and white. It was also my first Mac computer. Of course, I bought it used!
Before I finished with that model I had parts of a dozen or so of them (all minus the hard drives, which were very hard to find then).
I still keep a 540c around. It was introduced in 1994 and sold for $4840, plus the ram upgrade was another $1000! The snob value is only to me, no one else cares, but it is still a kick to remember.
computers
I bought my first computer 23 years ago this fall.
It was the “Turbo” model and ran at a whopping 10 MHz. The hard drive was the size of a big Mac, and had 20 Mb of memory. Not Gigabytes, but Megabytes. It came with 256 Kb of memory. I got some spider thingies and put them in to increase the riotous high of 640 Kb.
That is like talking about a model T, while you are sitting in the newest Corvette. But the old gal did get me through graduate school and get me that coveted (by me at least) Master of Fine Arts degree.
This MacBook is about 2 years old. It came with 1 Gb or RAM, with a slot for another 1 Gb. Those are numbers that are beyond my comprehension, but that is not even close to what the newest computers.
The hard drive was a rather anemic 70 Gb. I am not a huge power user and I was cruising along just fine when boom. I had filled my drive.
I know there are file on here that should never be here. I know I could trim all of that down, and gain some space, but sooner or later I would need to get a new drive. So I decide sooner was better. In the old 20 Mb days, we did a LOT of emptying. Even on text only files the capacity was limited. Remember those 5 ¼” floppies?
My last iBook took 70 screws and a lot of time to change the hard drive. Shops charged $75 to 100 for the trouble. Ifixit.com lists 42 steps!
But this one is different. Take out the batter, take out a piece of shielding and there it is. Grab a tab on the drive, pull it up and out. How is that for simple.
So I ordered a new one today. This one is 250 Gb and should hold me for a good while. Since I retired I won’t be getting a new mac every few years, so this one has to last as long as it can.
Now, if I just had not spilled orange juice on the keyboard!
I have changed keyboards on a lot of PowerBooks, some were quite easy. But on this one, the keyboard is one unit with the entire top, so I get not only a new keyboard, but a track pad and clicker.
I have the part. It has been sitting here mocking me for too long. I’ll fire up my old G4 desktop, get on the internet, and follow the instructions, carefully.
There are 12 steps to removing the top, and of course, 12 to put it back together.
But that sounds a LOT better 42 (times 2).
It was the “Turbo” model and ran at a whopping 10 MHz. The hard drive was the size of a big Mac, and had 20 Mb of memory. Not Gigabytes, but Megabytes. It came with 256 Kb of memory. I got some spider thingies and put them in to increase the riotous high of 640 Kb.
That is like talking about a model T, while you are sitting in the newest Corvette. But the old gal did get me through graduate school and get me that coveted (by me at least) Master of Fine Arts degree.
This MacBook is about 2 years old. It came with 1 Gb or RAM, with a slot for another 1 Gb. Those are numbers that are beyond my comprehension, but that is not even close to what the newest computers.
The hard drive was a rather anemic 70 Gb. I am not a huge power user and I was cruising along just fine when boom. I had filled my drive.
I know there are file on here that should never be here. I know I could trim all of that down, and gain some space, but sooner or later I would need to get a new drive. So I decide sooner was better. In the old 20 Mb days, we did a LOT of emptying. Even on text only files the capacity was limited. Remember those 5 ¼” floppies?
My last iBook took 70 screws and a lot of time to change the hard drive. Shops charged $75 to 100 for the trouble. Ifixit.com lists 42 steps!
But this one is different. Take out the batter, take out a piece of shielding and there it is. Grab a tab on the drive, pull it up and out. How is that for simple.
So I ordered a new one today. This one is 250 Gb and should hold me for a good while. Since I retired I won’t be getting a new mac every few years, so this one has to last as long as it can.
Now, if I just had not spilled orange juice on the keyboard!
I have changed keyboards on a lot of PowerBooks, some were quite easy. But on this one, the keyboard is one unit with the entire top, so I get not only a new keyboard, but a track pad and clicker.
I have the part. It has been sitting here mocking me for too long. I’ll fire up my old G4 desktop, get on the internet, and follow the instructions, carefully.
There are 12 steps to removing the top, and of course, 12 to put it back together.
But that sounds a LOT better 42 (times 2).
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