Please stop improving my life! (Part I)

Posted on May 26, 2011 | 9 comments

Hi Everyone!

How many of you are, well let us say, youthfully challenged enough to remember the VCR?  I could handle the VCR – I couldn’t program it, but at least I could use it.  You pushed the cartridge into the machine and hit play. 

Then came the DVD player – I still couldn’t program it, but as long as it was just the TV and the DVD player, I still could use it.  You put the disc in the machine and hit play.

DVD Player Photograph from http://www.wikipedia.org

Then came surround sound – and everything came to a screeching halt! 

I admit that I am technologically challenged, but once the time arrived where it took more than one remote to accomplish an entertainment task, I was in trouble.  After years of struggle, my husband finally took pity on me last year and bought a universal remote that is supposed to work by simply pressing a button on the remote that says what you want to do (for example, “watch tv” or “play a movie”), pointing the remote in the general area of the AV equipment, and everything that needs to turn off or on does so.  It works great for my husband, but I really don’t think it likes me, because I have a 50/50 shot of being successful with it.  Still, 50/50 is much better than a 100% chance of not being able to do it.

From Print Shop Professional 2.0

Now the DVD player companies are beginning to introduce DVD’s and televisions that can show movies and programs in 3-D.  Enough!  I have yet to see a 3-D movie that would be incomplete if I saw it in 2-D.  Let’s think for a minute people – isn’t being able to watch 100+ channels, download the movie of your choice from the internet or place your disc in the DVD player and watch it on your TV in super-duper high-clarity High-definition with surround sound comparable to that in a theater sufficient?  Do we really need something else to keep us glued to the TV and away from more profitable activities such as reading, writing or playing games?   I say no, and that it is high time for the technologically challenged people of the world to stand up and unite!

From Print Shop Professional 2.0 with edits by me

Please, please write your local DVD manufacturer now and plead with it to stop the march of entertainment technology immediately!  Let’s draw a line in the sand and stop with Blu-Ray.  Period.  Then the innovators and inventors of this world can turn their attention to more important topics, such as energy, medical research and the riding vacuum cleaner.   

Tomorrow’s topic:  Software manufacturers that improve my life, and why they shouldn’t.

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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New story published on Yahoo!

Posted on May 26, 2011 | 8 comments

Yesterday, I learned that Yahoo Contributor has published a very short, funny science fiction story I submitted. Here is the link:

The Model 3300 Robotic Clone Return

Please read it, and if you like it, please forward the link to others! Thanks!

Nancy

P.S.  This is not my post for the day, just an announcement!

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The Non-existent Mom Cave

Posted on May 25, 2011 | 10 comments

Morning All!

The post yesterday over at The Big Sheep Blog  was about “The Man-Cave Classifieds.”  After reading it, I started wondering about the concept of the Mom-cave, and decided it could never work.

Wikipedia has a page long entry devoted to the definition of the man-cave, its purpose, and its design.  According to Wikipedia, “A man cave, sometimes a mantuary or manspace, is a male sanctuary such as a specially equipped garage, spare bedroom, media room, den, or basement.”  (To my friend over at The Big Sheep Blog – I know you don’t like the phrase “man cave”, but “mantuary” to me is even worse!  Just the sound of it is jarring, like nails on a blackboard.)   Over at The Urban Dictionary, where apparently people supply their own definitions, one particularly thorough definition was listed as follows:

A room, space, corner or area of a dwelling that is specifically reserved for a male person to be in a solitary condition, away from the rest of the household in order to work, play, involve himself in certain hobbies, activities without interruption. This area is usually decorated by the male [who] uses it without interference from any female influence.

Having read through some other definitions, there seem to be two key components to  the “man cave” – 1) it is decorated solely by the male, and 2) no interruptions.    I find one of these requirements peculiar and the other unenforceable.

The decoration part is confusing to me because, in our house, decorating decisions are arrived at (mostly) jointly.  It may take us a while to agree but once we do, we can be certain of two things:  1) whatever it is will look really, really good, and 2) it will be one of the more expensive of the class of items we have been reviewing.  We don’t deliberately go for expensive; it just seems to happen that way.  We each have two areas which are supposed to be off-limits to others, too – Mark’s is the garage, where he keeps his tools, although both Kayla and I could be cited for trespassing on a continuous basis and mine is my craft closet, which Kayla visits at least once a week during the Sunday nap ritual and anytime else she needs something she knows I keep in there. 

I wondered whether, since the concept of the “man-cave” seems to be on the rise, the time has come for the invention of the Mom-cave, but decided that it would never work.   The second component, non-interruption, is where the concept of a Mom-cave would fall apart.  (In our house, with three dogs and one child, the Man-cave would not fare any better.)    

I know this because I tried to imagine how a Mom-cave for sewing might work in my house, picking a Sunday afternoon session for two hours while my husband was taking a nap.  In doing so, I counted three interruptions and one final forced entry with intent to stay by Kayla, two forced entries by the three dogs, and numerous stops and starts to retrieve any scrap of fabric, needle, or other sewing appliance that either of the Twins of Trouble (Darwin and Mandy) thought looked attractive enough to chew.  At the end of the two hours I was supposed to have in isolation to sew, the small room I would be using (the guest bedroom) would contain myself, sewing stuff spread over the bed, one 9-year-old daughter, one very long dog, one very large dog, and a sweet old dog who will not have given me a particle of trouble the whole time, and my grand accomplishments would be limited to the set-up and threading of the machine, and the sewing of one or two seams. 

That, my friends, is why the concept of the Mom-cave will never take root. 

In the interests of full disclosure, I can take a weekend nap without interruption if I bring Tyra and Mandy into the bedroom with me, and lock the bedroom door so that Kayla can’t slip in for us to argue about whether she has to let me sleep or not.  At least, that is, until Mandy decides it is time for me to get up, which usually ranges anywhere from two to three hours or sooner if she senses anyone else eating anywhere in the house, at which point she starts walking on my hair.

Have a good day everyone!

Nancy

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Dance Recital

Posted on May 23, 2011 | 8 comments

First Pre-Recital Picture

 Good morning Everyone!

I hope you had a great weekend!  I will give you fair warning about today’s post:  this is a Proud Parent Post, heavily laden with pictures of Kayla, because Saturday was the day of Kayla’s dance recitals.  The recitals are an EVENT!  Her dance studio has two recitals, one at 2 and one at 6:30 that last about two hours each.  There are classes in baton, jazz, tap dancing, ballet, and gymnastics for girls from age 4 to age 18 or 19 (seniors in high school.)  The teacher does an amazing job of scheduling things so that each class has a chance to perform their routines. 

There are at least three dance studios in our small town, and I think that each one picks a Saturday in May to rent the high school’s auditorium, but our recital is usually the last one.  It is an annual rite of passage from spring into summer.  (Yes, I know the calendar says it is still spring, but down here, we consider Memorial Day the unofficial start of summer, and as of this week have already had temperatures soaring into the low to mid-90’s.  Most of the schools in this area finish for the year in the next week.) 

Darwin Barges In

 My Mom came to visit for the recital, and took a picture of the three of us, with Kayla in her baton costume.  She took the first picture, then was lucky enough to get this one of Darwin barging in to the photo also.  Every once in a while something happens to remind me how very tall he really is, and this was one of those times.  I would guess from this picture that he is at least 5 feet tall when he stands on his hind legs! 

Anyway, with Darwin’s help we were able to get out the door and to the auditorium by 1:00 p.m., when the doors opened for audience seating.  Past experience has taught us that if you don’t show up an hour early, then you will not be able to get very good seats, and we needed end seats so that I could scoot in and out to help Kayla with her costume changes.  Since I chose to sit on the first floor of the auditorium, so I could sit with Mark and Mom, each time Kayla’s costume needed changing, I rushed up a flight of stairs to the second floor of the high school to reach the changing room, then rushed back down to get back to my seat in time to see her routine.  The multiple trips reminded me why I really hate elliptical training machines, Stairmasters and all other exercise equipment of similar ilk. 

I put Mark in charge of the camera because getting pictures during the recital is tricky between the lighting (dark in the audience, light on stage) and the movement.  He got this photo of Kayla during her baton routine.  If you look on your left, you can see the baton twirling around in a blur. 

Baton Routine

 The next routine was her tap dance routine.  She was concentrating!  (The tap dance and the closing routines were the only repeats between both recitals.)

Concentrating on her tap dance routine

 The first recital ended at 4, so the four of us (me, Mark, Kayla and Mom) hopped over to the local Pizza Hut for a very early dinner, had time to run back to the house for about 20 minutes to change costumes and freshen up her hair and make-up, and then get back to the auditorium at 5:30 for the 6:30 show.  By 5:30, a good part of the auditorium was already full, but we still managed to find end seats.  I estimate that there were between 150 to 200 people present at each of the two recitals.  For this second recital, her first routine was the jazz routine. 

Jazz

 

Jazz 2

It wasn’t until the very end of the routine that she saw Mark, who had slipped up the aisle, taking pictures, but after that suddenly she relaxed and starting smiling.  You can see this in the picture Mark took at the end of her gymnastics class’s  routine…..

Final Gymnastics Pose

And in her ballet routine…..

Ballet Dance

And in the closing!

Closing Routine!

 

So kudos to Mark for the pictures he took and kudos to Kayla for her time and effort in dancing!

Have a great day everyone!
 Nancy

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Blast from the Past: 2008: Stories, Spell Check and Scorpions!

Posted on May 20, 2011 | Leave a comment

Good morning everyone!

This morning I thought I would share some stories I wrote down in some letters back in 2008, when Kayla was 6 and in kindergarten.

From April 2008:

One morning, Kayla burst out into tears in the bathroom. Mark caught that call. When he went in to check, she told him that she was crying because she had brushed her hair but it didn’t look like she had brushed it at all! (Item: the hair looked fine.)

Two Sundays ago, she and I were awake and watching TV in my bedroom because Mark was asleep on the couch and I was trying hard to keep everyone (child and dogs) quiet in my room so that he could get a full nap in. I had to go into the other room to get something, and when I came back, Kayla was just walking away from my bathroom sink. I asked her what she was doing, and she said brightly, “I was going to get into your makeup, but then I decided that I didn’t want to get into trouble!”

From April 2008:

I did the funniest thing on spell check on one of my briefs the other week. I had to use the name “Schnitzler” a lot in the brief.  Schnitzler was one of those words that, to save my soul, I could not type correctly the first time, so rather than re-type it over and over, I used “SS” as an abbreviation, with the thought that when it was finished, I would use “find and replace” to replace the “SS” with Schnitzler.  FN.  It worked like a charm, except that I got slap-happy pushing buttons and ended up telling the computer to change every “ss” to Schnitzler, which left me with lots of words like “Congreschnitzler” (Congress), “ischnitzlerue” (issue) and “paschnitzler” (pass.) Spell check almost had a nervous breakdown before it was over with!

From June 2008:

The past week has been a week of weird wildlife encounters. Last Thursday, I looked out of the window after Mark and Kayla left, and saw a huge turtle on the side of the road – its shell had a diameter of at least 16 inches. I couldn’t help it; I took a picture of it.

Turtle, 2008

Yesterday, which was Wednesday, I started my day being stung by, of all things, a scorpion! Mandy, who has decided that one of her missions in life is to be my little alarm clock, waking me up by 5:20 whether I need it or not, harassed and harangued me until I got up, fed her and the other two dogs then went out into the garage like I normally do to get my Diet Coke. When I walked back in, something bit/stung my toe, and it really hurt! I couldn’t see what it was but jumped around and started screaming , which woke Mark up in a flash (Kayla slept through it) and brought him into the den to check on me. We sat down and looked at my foot, but unlike a bee sting, we couldn’t see anything. Mark announced that it must have been an ant that bit me, and went back to bed. I walked back over to the area where I had been stung, turned on the light and saw a brown form on the brown wooden floor that looked like a scorpion. I looked again, because I thought maybe it was just a leaf that the dogs had drug in from outside, and realized that it really was a scorpion.

 So next I did what any reasonable woman with a husband at home would do – I went back into the bedroom and got Mark! He looked at it, and not only agreed that it was a scorpion but also realized that it wasn’t dead yet, so he killed it for me. Never having been stung by a scorpion before, I was not at all certain what I should do, so I went and looked it up on the Internet. The information I found said that most species of scorpions in the United States are not poisonous, except for one species in Arizona. However, even so, you can have a reaction to the bite of one if you are allergic, and some of the symptoms of that type of reaction are an elevated heart rate and anxiety.

That symptom list was not helpful;  I already had an elevated heartbeat and anxiety because I had just been stung by a scorpion! It all turned out okay, although it will be a very long time before I walk anywhere in the house without my slippers on.

And on that unusual note, I will bid everyone good day!  Have a great weekend!

Nancy

FN.  To prevent any unpleasantness, the name “Schnitzler” is  changed from the actual name, but you get the idea.

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A Tribute to the Women at Main Street

Posted on May 19, 2011 | 6 comments

Hi Everyone!

I haven’t talked a lot about my work, so today I thought I would show you the building I work in, and the stellar ladies from our Alex City office who help to keep me straight. 

This is the front of our building:

Building Front

Our building, the white triangular-shaped one, began life as the First Presbyterian Church around the turn of the century.  Since then, it has been many things, including a doctor’s office and a bank.  (One of the relics from the bank era is a room-size fireproof vault on the bottom floor.)  We first moved into the basement floor in 1991, while the upper two floors were occupied by another firm.  We merged with them in 1992, and then about 10 years later began an extensive renovation that resulted in the exterior you see in the picture above.  The renovation also included make-overs for the side and back of the building.

Building side

 

Back of Building

 

Like many small Southern towns, our downtown has lost some businesses, although Alex City has done better than most in trying to get, and keep, other businesses to replace those that have gone away.  Our choice to renovate the building and stay in downtown rather than moving out to the four-lane highway was in part a statement of belief in Alex City and its downtown area. 

Every working woman, whether you work solely inside, or also outside, the home, needs a support structure, and the women in my Alex City office are part of mine.  (To the guys in the Alex City office, the investigators and all of the people in Birmingham, you are part of my support structure too, but none of you were present on the same day that I had my camera at the office!)

All of them are mothers, two of them are grandmothers, two have children younger than Kayla and two have children older than Kayla.  I learn an awful lot from them, and when I need them, these ladies will circle the wagons around me. 

My office is on the top floor, the floor behind the fake window on the top of the front of the building.  Next door to me is Lauren, who has known me through work since our firm opened in 1991.

Lauren

Lauren is our bookkeeper, and has the distinction of being the grandmother of twin boys in Michigan.  (She has other wonderful grandchildren in Alex City, but I find the idea of twin boys fascinating!)  She is level-tempered, exceptionally organized – you can ask her for a receipt from four years ago and she can produce it in less than a minute – and diligent to the highest degree. 

Kim

Kim is one of the other attorney’s right hand man, and we have worked with each other at least 10 years, if not more.  (I think it’s more.)  She is down the hall on the left from both my office and Lauren’s office.  No matter how bad she feels, Kim usually has a smile ready to greet anyone, and is willing to laugh at bad stories told by co-workers who write blogs! 

Hanlon and Kathy In Our Reception Area

 Kathy, the lady to the left in the picture, and Hanlon, the lady on the right, work for one of our other attorneys.  Both of them have organizational skills which leave me awe-struck.  It is a level of organization I can’t even imagine!(Since I lack organization, I very much admire those who have it.)  Both of them help keep the second floor a pleasant place. 

Hanlon at her desk

Moving on down the hall, Amanda is our newest attorney and someone who has made my life a lot easier.  She is working on some of her own cases, and on some cases with other attorneys, but she also gives me a lot of help with the research and writing end of things, which is an immense relief.  I have known Amanda for years – she worked for us as a runner during high school summers and as a law clerk a summer or two during law school – so it was a natural fit to bring her in as our ninth attorney – and I am very glad we did!

Amanda at work

 Our receptionist, Angela, was unfortunately away from the office the day that I was taking pictures and is our newest employee in the Alex City, having only been there a couple of months.  However, she has to me the other name of She-Who-Makes-Sure-I-Have-A-Diet-Coke-Before-I-Go-Upstairs-In-The-Morning, which makes her very special!

Carla

Carla’s office is on the bottom floor, far from the madding crowd.  To make up for that fact, it is extra big, although I don’t know if she thinks the extra size is a blessing, or a curse.  Carla used to be my assistant, until she was moved over to another attorney, and I miss her.  She can properly attest to my lack of organizational skills!  Her daughter was our baby sitter for a while, and while we were happy for her when she got a full-time job at the hospital, there also was a great deal of sadness in our house because we miss having her as a baby sitter. 

So, anyway, these are the ladies I work with in the Alex City office almost every day.  There’s not one of them who wouldn’t come to my rescue at the drop of a hat, not one of them who is not extraordinarily gifted in her own way.  Thank you ladies very much for making my workplace a pleasant place to work!

Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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Latest Art Picture

Posted on May 19, 2011 | 2 comments

Hi Everyone! This is just a quick note to show you the latest painting I finished in art.  It was my first acrylic.  I will add it to my art page shortly.

Nancy

Blue Birds

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Posted in Just stuff...

Lambert’s Cafe, Foley, Alabama

Posted on May 18, 2011 | 3 comments

Hi Everyone!

I had a strange malady hit me yesterday – I lost my sense of humor!  After searching for it diligently for the last 24 hours, I have finally recovered it so I am cleared to write. 

Front of Lambert's Cafe in Foley, Alabama; courtesy of infrogmation of New Orleans

 

When we were at Perdido the other weekend, we made time to take Kayla to eat at Lambert’s Cafe in Foley, Alabama.  Lambert’s was first established in 1942 in Missouri, and eventually expanded to include another Missouri location and the Foley location.  The same family still owns and operates all three Lambert’s.  Eating at Lambert’s in Foley is unlike eating anywhere else (except, I suppose, the two Lambert’s in Missouri.)

 (All the pictures from here below are copied from the Lambert’s Cafe web site and reposted here with permission; my camera picked this optimum camera opportunity to run out of battery.) 

The Inside of Lambert's

Lambert’s signature food/event is the throwed rolls.  In fact, their website even reflects it at www.throwedrolls.com.  Whenever you eat there, they bring out pans and pans of yeast rolls that are over 5 inches in diameter, and if you want one, they throw it to you. 

Getting ready to throw

 Kayla did not believe us when we told her that the wait staff  throws rolls to the customers, and once she caught the first one thrown at her, her face had a bemused “I’m not in Kansas anymore” look.   
 
Our seating was ideal for Kayla to truly experience Lambert’s for the first time.  (Many Alabamians and people from other states that come to Alabama’s Gulf Coast will tell you that a trip to Lambert’s is obligatory once you are in the area.)  We sat along a hallway that connects two bigger main rooms with her facing the entrance to the restaurant, so that all of the Lambert’s staffers bringing pass-arounds could see her first. 
 

We were in a booth on the right down towards the end of the hall

 
One of the many things that Lambert’s does differently is that, in addition to the meal that you order, “pass-arounds” are brought by your table.  That is, the waiters will carry around pots of various items, like cabbage, black-eyed peas, apple butter and fried potatoes and onions, and offer you portions of them in addition to your main meal.  Kayla didn’t know quite what to think the first time someone came around and offered her some of whatever was in it.  She was both a little startled, and a little impressed, as she started to realize the sheer amount of food that was available to her.
 

A waiter offering a pass-around

Our waiter, a friendly young man, came to take our order, and then came back with a pot, offering Kayla a pass-around of something like fried apples, I think.  She opened the pot to look at it, and a toy stuffed ferret jumped out of it, kind of like a jack-in-the-box.  She gave a startled little scream, Mark and I couldn’t help laughing, and from that moment she never lost track of where our waiter was when he was in eyesight.  She was going to be sure she didn’t get fooled again! 

The menu allows you to choose a meat and two or three vegetables from the side menu, or a salad or sandwich with one vegetable from the side menu.  The quantity of food that you get is really remarkable. 

A sample plate

 

 It is even more remarkable that Lambert’s can give you this quantity of food while keeping up the quality of food as well. 

Our waiter tried a couple of other tricks on us while we ate – he brought by a pitcher that he said was for a refill, then dropped it sideways like he spilled it, but it turned out it was a fake pitcher.  Kayla thought long and hard about that one, but was reconciled enough with it to enjoy it when he tried to play the same trick on another table. 

In spite of our most valiant efforts, we could not eat everything in front of us, so finally we gave up and asked for the check.  Even Kayla, who is about to experience a growth spurt and therefore is eating everything in sight finally had to cry uncle.  The waiter brought the check by with a closed box labeled “Fresh Mints” and tried to get Kayla to open it.  She absolutely refused, since her trust in the waiter as far as closed boxes goes had been entirely shattered, so he left the box on the table.  Mark and I couldn’t stand it, so we opened the box gingerly to see what would come out of it – it was a toy mouse on a spring.  Kayla edged away from the box slowly, like she thought the mouse would come to life but Mark and I just kept laughing. 

By the time we left, Kayla had judged Lambert’s and not found it lacking, so she desired a souvenir from the gift shop.  My idea of a souvenir was a T-shirt;  her idea of a souvenir was stick candy.  I won, since I held the checkbook, and she yielded, since she was quite full already. Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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The Gulf Coast Beaches: Beautiful and Ready for Visitors!

Posted on May 16, 2011 | 4 comments

Good morning everyone! 

We recently had the chance to spend a weekend in Perdido, one of the beach towns that run along the Gulf of Mexico from Orange Beach, Alabama through Pensacola, Florida and on through Panama City, Florida. 

Mark letting me take a picture of him while driving

Kayla in the car
We left for the beach Friday after work, having left the dogs at their kennel/day care known as Cutie Patootie Dog Boutique.  It is, quite frankly, the only kennel the dogs have ever enjoyed (as opposed to endured), although they are always glad to come home.  I think it’s because they get to play with the other dogs that are there, which means Tyra gets a break from everyone, Darwin can play to his heart’s content, and Mandy only has to play with someone when she feels like. 
 
It took us about 3 hours to get to the condo we were staying at (I rented it from an acquaintance).  The condo was well-appointed and comfortable.  Kayla was particularly fascinated with the narrow metal spiral staircase that led up to the loft.
 

Kayla on the spiral staircase

 She wanted (or at least pretended like she wanted) to try jumping off the top step, but both Mark and I quickly nixed that idea. 

Perdido is only 8 miles from Orange Beach and Gulf Shores to the west, and only about 15 miles from the heart of Pensacola, although from where we stayed it was only 8 miles to the Naval Aviation Museum, which is high upon our list of things we want to do when we go back. 

Some of you may remember from last spring and summer that this area was affected by the BP oil spill.  If fear of oil or tar balls on the beaches along the Gulf is keeping you away, let me show you what the beach we were playing at (one of the Perdido State Park beaches in Florida) looked like:

View of Perdido State Park Beach

Here’s another view:

Headed out to set up camp

 This view shows our own little “beach camp” that we staked out for the day:

Our Beach "Camp"

Here’s a view from the beach towards the water.  The dark stuff is dried sea weed.

View toward the water

Interestingly enough, we did see some BP personnel drive by behind us while we were there.  There were about eight people with two trucks between them, each with a mounted trash can on the back.  They sat in the truck for about 20 minutes, then eventually two of them sauntered down to the waterfront, walked around for a few minutes, then walked back.  I couldn’t help but think that what BP really needs to be doing at this point is figuring out how to get the tons and tons of oil that settled onto the Gulf of Mexico seabed cleaned up instead of patrolling beaches, but BP didn’t ask my opinion, either. 

Mark and Kayla played with the football while I watched, which is always fun to see.  Kayla can throw and catch, but it takes her a little while to warm up and stop being afraid of the ball before she catches it.  Here are some pictures of her while playing football with Mark:

A precarious catch!

 

Deciding whether to throw or kick

Getting ready!

Of course, the most obvious reason you go to the beach is to play in the water. Mark and Kayla played longer than I did, but I went in a couple of times too.  The water was cold, but not frigid.  What’s the difference?  Cold is where you go in and after a while it doesn’t bother you too badly; frigid is when you go in the water and everything just turns numb.  Frigid is usually experienced only by parents who have children, who seem to be immune from any water temperature from cold to frigid and who assure them, “Really, it’s not too bad!” or Canadians, who seem to be used to it, or Californians, because the water almost always seems to be frigid off the coast of California unless it is an El Nino year (I lived in the San Diego area when I was a child).  I knew how much my husband loved my daughter when he spent an hour in the water with her one day with the water temperature at frigid.  Mark does not like cold – at all!

Headed out to play and swim

 

Caught by a wave

 

Trying the Back Stroke

 

Hugging Daddy

 

Getting ready for the next wave!

We got there about 11, and it was almost 3 when we left.  Even though Kayla told us it was “across the law” (she meant “against the law”) to leave, she had reached the point where she was shivering and needed to rest, not to mention her parents!

We had sat down once between the two rounds of playing in the waves, and while we were sitting there, we saw one pelican dive for fish several times, and three dolphin go wandering by, probably investigating the same school of fish the pelican was interested in.  That had all three of us excited! 

Tune in tomorrow when I attempt to explain about Lambert’s and throwed rolls (an experience not to be missed!)  Have a great day everyone!

Nancy

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My Kindle

Posted on May 13, 2011 | 8 comments

Hi Everyone!

I am running late today, not aided by the fact that neither Kayla nor the dogs have come up with anything interesting to talk about the last couple of days (besides Darwin losing his collar outside, we don’t know how, but we did find it again!)  So, the time has come to talk about my Kindle.

First of all, I love books!  I have shelves and shelves of books at the house, and a few of my office shelves devoted to some personal books also.  I had loaded books onto my phone before, but never did enjoy reading them that way.   

I got my first Kindle two Christmases ago.  I think Mark decided that I was incapable of not purchasing books (and that’s true – I still can’t go into a book store without buying something!)  and was looking for a space-saving option.  Of course, it didn’t hurt that I lobbied for it for months, too. 

The first one’s screen broke about four months ago, so I purchased my second Kindle then.  I cannot tell you how much I enjoy the Kindle!  The best things in my life are my husband and my child, the best gifts my husband ever gave me were the dogs, but the best non-living gift he ever gave me was my Kindle. 

The Kindle is small enough to fit in my purse (granted, I like really, really large purses, because then it is harder for them to camouflage themselves when I lose them somewhere in the house), and the one I currently have is holding 112 books on the device, with 10 magazine issues.  The books include books on science, children’s literature (for me, not for Kayla), science fiction, books on Christian living, history and computers.  Because I like to read such a wide range of books (and I usually am reading 2 or 3 or 4 at a time, depending on my mood), the Kindle gives me a welcome anonymity, so that if I want to read a book on the Franco-Prussian war or re-read Little Women, I can do so unapologetically and without needing to explain.  I used to feel a little self-conscious walking into a restaurant at lunch with some of the books I like to read, but now I don’t. 

Oh, and I have another 61 items in the archives, which include both magazine issue and books I have read and removed from the device, but which I can re-load any time I want. 

Reading my Kindle feels very much like reading a book; the type is made of ink that is electronically arranged, and for those of us whose eyesight is, shall we say, in a state of flux, the type can be re-sized up to a very large font, which is nice. 

Book shopping on the Kindle is fun, too, because I can do it any time of day or night.  There’s nothing like sitting in bed at 10:00 p.m. at night and book-shopping in the privacy of your own home!  In fact, book-shopping is a little too easy; I have to work to restrain myself a little bit.

The Kindle will also let me connect to the internet, although navigating the internet on the Kindle is a little cumbersome, so I only use it as a last resort. 

Because I purchased the cover that goes with the Kindle (and the cover for the new Kindle includes a built-in reading light that runs off the Kindle battery itself – way cool!), it feels very much like a book when I read it.  There is a button you click to turn the page, which feels much more book-like than scrolling on a screen like you do on the computer. 

Do any of you use a Kindle, or another type of e-reader?  How do you like it?  Do any of you have a version that has color?  How does that impact your reading?  What kind of back glare do you get with your reader?  (My Kindle has virtually none, but then it is not color, either.)  I would love to hear from all of you on this subject, because I am curious. 

Well, that’s enough for today.  Have a great weekend!  I hope all of you get a chance to read something good!

Nancy

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