Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Another June Day


"Thanks, this is really comfortable"

My goodness it is already the middle of June. The time has been flying by since our return to North Georgia. Yesterday the bathroom renovation got underway and great progress has been made. Today there is all new plumbing going in for the new shower. Tomorrow the new sink will be installed and then it will be my turn to do the finishing of laying new tile and painting. This will be my weekend project. It already looks so different in there. The new shower is taller than the old bathtub with shower surround so it just really changes the look of the room. It was such a busy day and so nice to have the sunshine back. Everything somehow seems better when the sun is shining bright on all the green we have around here. I'm still have not  use to seeing so much green.  Living in Baja really changed my vision for the world around me.  I grew up in the suburbs of San Francisco and there just always were nice mature trees, and manicured gardens all around me. Something I just took for granted. Now I really notice them and don’t take them for granted. 

Today I’m off exploring local shops in Clarksville, it is a little town east of us that I’ve mostly just driven through on my way to someplace else. A friend invited me to join her for lunch and a little exploring. I've heard they have some nice little galleries, so it will be fun to check them out. Other news, my painting series is going well…though there are moments when the cats want to get involved that doesn’t always work so well. LOL Tonight it is dinner with a group of friends at a local Mexican Restaurant, always a delight. I'm still playing with my iPhone and got a flashlight app on it and bought a really fun ringtone. So, life is good, I’m enjoying the start of my summer. Hope you are too.

Monday, June 3, 2013

The joys of Smart Phones and Other News








"How do you answer?"
Well it is official, I have now joined the new generation with my smart phone, but unlike the younger generation I have never texted, and find lots of frustration learning this “smart phone”.  Every few years I get a new cell phone because I’m on a family plan and dad manages to break his phone just about the time the old contract is up and they are offering a new phone. While we were in Mexico dad, right on schedule broke his phone, but since we didn’t really get good service, I decided to wait until we got home. This years offering is the iPhone, most of my friends seem to have smart phones, and so I decided it was time to join the band wagon. After getting back to Cleveland I went to the local Verizon store, which happens to be right near the house.  Dad has no interest in these smart phones so passed my flip phone on to him. I came home filled with excitement ( I always love new tech toys), but it soon turned to frustration when I couldn’t do anything with the phone, like make a phone call. So, went back to the store and had the clerk show me a few things and he set up my email. Armed with my new knowledge I thought okay I kind of get this. Then I saw I had messages in my email and I figured out how to read them. I thought this is cool, but then someone called me and I couldn’t figure out how to answer the call. They left a message and I couldn’t figure out how to hear my messages.   

To make a long story short I’ve been reading a book on the iPhone. Then found that Verizon gave a 2 hour workshop on using the iPhone, not at my store, but the near by town of Gainesville and went to that.  The workshop was a group of seniors all trying to figure out their new phones. I left feeling like, oh this is such a cool phone, it does some many really great things. Then I was busy painting, a call I was expecting came in so I rushed to answer it and in that moment  I had  kind of forgot how to answer the phone, said hello with great trepidation…but at least I did guess right. In that moment I realized that I still really don't have this phone down yet. Most of my friends say it takes a while. I laugh at the fact I can do email and surf the web, take photos, even edit little movies and post them to YouTube and FB, so much easier than answering a phone call or listen to a voice message. So, here is what I think, great computer device, camcorder, digital camera, but a phone, not so great.  I’m sure with practice I’ll get it down one of these days. What are your thoughts?
"It's for you!"

Other news, here is an update on my dad. Thank you for all your prayers…. He mostly back to his old self and learning to living with his new limitations…. a big change in diet, which is suppose to be very low sodium. Reading labels I am learning how much salt is in everything…tons.  He will be on oxygen from now on, which he finds annoying at times. He is most happy to be back home, enjoying his music and videos and chatting with his lady friends via the internet. He is looking forward to the up coming visit of my sister, grandkids, and great grandkids. Last week we went out to lunch at his favorite all you can eat Chinese restaurant and I’m sure lunch had way to much sodium, but a fun treat promised for a couple times a month. Wish restaurants around here would offer low sodium dishes on their menus. We enjoyed the ride, which was filled with green trees and lots of flowers.
My one last thing is a product endorsement for anyone with a walker…while traveling home with dad’s new walker I started noticing walkers with new eyes. I met a women at a rest stop with the coolest little ski things on the back legs of her walker instead of the usual tennis balls. So, I ask her about them. She told me you can get them online for a couple of dollars and they work wonderful on gravel and all kinds of surfaces where the legs can get stick in.(reason for the tennis balls). I ordered them on Amazon and they can right away and were only a couple of dollars. Dad loves them, too. Web address below.