Does this example, help?

I have 2 Hard Disk Drives in my computer. We will call one of them “A” and one of them “B” for this example.

RAID 1. If I write the word “example” and save it to Hard Disk Drive “A”, my computer automatically writes the exact same word “example” to my Hard Disk Drive “B” in the exact same place.

The same example applies if I save a picture to my hard drive. The exact same file is saved to disk B, making me a perfect copy of my entire hard drive. Most would say this is overkill.

It “Mirrors” everything I put on “A” to “B” so that if “A” would ever die or fail, “B” just picks up and I can keep on working with just a short pause or two in my computer. (I did see the pausing on Saturday while I was working on the computer).

In my case, “B” failed, so A is still working and running along. If I want that "safety net" of an exact copy of everything on my original (A) hard disk, I will need to replace B.

Without a net

At first I thought it read "Deathstar"

Actually, this is the "good" drive. It is still one of the original disks from when I purchased my system in 2003. I think it was 2003. It was Dell's top of the line 2nd generation XPS. It was a gaming system. I needed a gaming system like I needed another hole in my head. But, it was easier times back then. It was my first "real" computer that I could buy without limitation and I went all out.

The second hard drive is a Western Digital 500 gig. I took it out and reinserted it hoping to bring it back to life. No such luck. Ah well.

Now, do I buy another 400 gig to mirror the above Hitachi, or do I just go with the TB drives that are almost the same price as the 400/500 gigs? If I do go with the TB, I'll have to nix the RAID 1. It would only mirror what the 400 gig can hold. That would be a huge waste of space. I didn't mind losing 100 gig when I put the 500 gig as my second drive.

I could put the TB drive in - let it mirror and then turn RAID off and remove the 400 gig and use the TB drive. Maybe? Would that work? Then use the 400 gig as an internal backup drive. Decisions, decisions. I'll hash this around for a while.

The Staples store (4 miles away) has a WD 400 gig internal SATA hard drive. I can order one online for $10 cheaper, but would have to wait a week before it arrives. Decisions, decisions.

Meanwhile, my RAID volume icon keeps blinking in my task bar reminding me that I am cruising without a safety net. The icon looks like 2 55 gallon drums. One is white (indicating the good hard drive) and one keeps blinking from dark red to red/yellow. Stop it already!

And you know what? I might just cover that little hole up to see what happens. I hate it when they say "Don't Do This!" Or what? I'll lose all my data? It can't breathe? It will come and murder me while I sleep? What?! Cripes! At least tell me what the consequences are.

Prickly

Empty pods from harvesting Moonflower seeds

I braved the prickly pods of my moonflowers yesterday and harvested all the seeds that they contained. I was hoping that I did it late enough so that I didn't destroy any chance of the plant growing in the area in front of my patio, like I did with them on the side of my house. I will plant seeds this spring and return the moonflowers to the west side of my house.

Speaking of prickly, one of my hard drives failed. Ugh. I have my system setup with Raid 1. One hard drive completely mirrors the other drive. So, if the main drive fails, I have a word for word, byte for byte back up. Overkill ? Perhaps. Waste of space? Perhaps. I also back up new data monthly to an external hard drive. Everything I did in January was backed up Saturday morning. Hmmm. My backup hard drive failed soon after that. I wonder.... probably coincidence. I set this up after I lost a lot of pictures one time. I was making sure this didn't happen again.

As it stands if my main hard drive dies, I can re-install Windows and my programs from the original disks and it might take me a while but slowly put everything back onto my hard drive from my external hard drive. I also take snapshots of my desktop (to see the icons) so that "if" my hard drive does fail, I can remember what programs I actually used on a daily basis. Well, that's the idea anyway.

My sisters and brothers don't back up. Not that I know of. I am not certain they understand the concept. I don't believe they have had a hard drive crash. Maybe one did and he took care of it himself. My one brother understands. He backs up all his email to a CD. It was funny. A couple of weeks ago when I was working on his computer at the fire station, the CD-ROM drive failed. We had to revert to 3 ½ inch floppy drive. All the disks had something on them and I cleaned one off to use it. It has old emails on it. He did not remember what they were. They were mostly old jokes that people had sent him. We got a good laugh at most of them.

I admit that I keep all my emails. But, I don't keep the jokes. Good grief. I keep family and friend correspondence. I don't keep pictures. I save all my pictures to another folder on my hard drive so that I can sort them and back them up monthly.

So, until I purchase another hard drive and install it, things are a little prickly here. Of course, I will physically remove and re-install the "failed" hard drive, just in case it comes back to life on it's own. They do that sometimes you know. Sometimes a cable shakes loose just enough so that it cannot read the hard drive and it "fails". I did just clean the computer out a couple of weeks ago, so I may have loosened a cable then.

If not, a new one in that size costs about $50. Once it is installed I am hoping that my system automatically begins the copying process where it mirrors the "master" drive to the new one. If not, I'll have to sharpen my memory and troubleshooting skills and enter the RAID setup program and do it manually. Fun stuff. This is all and well, I can do that. The trouble is that I did it four years ago or so and I don't recall what steps I took to perform it. And, I believe I had a Dell tech walking me through the procedure. Should be interesting.

Just checked. It was June 2005. I didn't read back into my posts to find this date. I went to the CLI in DOS and looked for the oldest date. CLI (Command Line Interface) and DOS (disk operating system). I worked on computers before Windows. I remember getting new PC's at work and they had this small book that came with them titled Windows 3.0. I was like "Okay, that looks interesting" and put it aside. I started using Windows version 3.1 soon after that. But, before Windows was DOS. And the DOS prompt (C:\). You know with each newer version of Windows the CLI gets harder and harder to use. It is like taking away my safety net, my security blanket. Eh. The times they are a changin'. Gotta roll with it.

Movie update. I watched "The Invention of Lying" and "Surrogates". R Gervais is quite funny, in my book. I laughed out loud when he utilized the pizza boxes and when he opened the door with his long hair. I KNEW when the camera panned on his face who he was going to look like.

Surrogates is your normal B Willis gets smashed up and finally catches the bad guy and wins his scarred and spiritually broken wife back. Really. It used to be in the old films where the hero didn't even get a scratch. Now, they defy gravity get pummeled almost beyond recognition and keep on ticking. Like a Timex watch or the Energizer bunny. I mean really. At least show him taking an aspirin or rubbing his head in pain sometimes. Maybe he could wash the blood off once in a while? All in all, same old "ho hum, ho hum" for Bruce. Same action-hero character, different movie. More money! More money!

Not a big fan of R Pike. I recognized her and when I researched, I saw that she was in "Fracture". Didn't like her in that movie, either. (I really liked the movie, though.) She is not easy for me to look at. Something about her features. As for her acting, I'd like to see a few more movies before writing her off.

Delays

My back yard about 3 years ago

This is sort of what it looks like today. Not so much ice on the tree, though. They have delayed all area schools by 2 hours or so. I am going to have to finish my coffee and get my behind in gear. A delay just makes me drag my feet even more.

Found out late last night that my brother has a spot on his vocal cord about 2-3 mm. Possibly papilloma. His surgery is scheduled for next week to remove it. From what I have been reading, there is a good chance it comes back.

And, on a side note. I always check the pets lost & found. I saw this ad today:

1/21/10 - LOST DOG - male, tan, American bulldog, pink collar, Indian Meadows

He isn't lost. He ran away. Who puts a pink collar on a male dog? Just kidding! Seriously, I hope all lost pets are found by their caring owners.

Super side note: I was actually going to put a pink tutu on my boxer for Halloween. I'm sick I tell ya, sick!

Free to Good Home

Hahahahahahahahaha!

I sh!t you not!

This is what I saw while reading Google News this morning. No lie! I was a tad bit disgusted and I do apologize for sharing but I could not believe how crass this was. Right on the front page of Google for all the world to see.

After the initial shock wore off, all I can do now, is laugh. I don't even have a label for this one. If you go to Google and type in "pepper salmonella" it is the first link to show up. At least for today, it is. Good grief!

I have no words

Double Vision

Cheech is on the left (still wearing his harness) and Chong is on the right. Twice as much fun. Twice as much grief. Twice as much poo... I mean mess.

What a mug!

Slade up close.

My picture taking skills are a bit rusty.

Found it!

It couldn't stay hidden forever.

I flushed it from it's hiding place just this evening.

Pictures should resume after I charge both the batteries.

I watched this video on another blogger site: Earthhomegarden.

Keith Olbermann slams R Limbaugh and P Robertson.

Keith is my new hero.

Finding shelter

The shelter house where we held our summer family reunion

Photo was taken this past week. Since I STILL can't find my camera's battery charger (oh, this gets really old, I know!), I will rely on others' photos. An elderly first cousin passed away and sister 1944 went to the funeral. While visiting, she drove past the shelter house where we held our summer reunion. Whew. I wouldn't like to spend the day there during this time of the year.

I hope that we can shelter the poor lost souls of Haiti during this tragic time.

I mentioned the Colin Powell video. You can watch the video, just google "Colin Powell BBC Haiti" and it will most likely be the first URL listed. He speaks of how organization must be restored before they can just start supplying much needed food and water to the victims. Oh, I don't know. It sounds good on paper, I suppose - but in reality I have to think "bullshit!" Save them, restore the government later! Maybe the greedy, bigger stronger victims will get the supplies, and maybe some will trickle down to the weaker people in need. It is better than waiting until there is a working government in the country.

Is he for real, or is he so full of bureaucratic logic that he cannot relate on a tragedy level? I'm sure he would just say (or think) "The average citizen has no idea what steps need to be taken to obtain order and to properly distribute supplies to the needy. Most of it would be wasted if we just threw it out there at random." I suppose he knows better than I, and I'll try to wrap my head around it. Meanwhile, how many more died today because we didn't drop supplies but waited for a government to be established in the country? I guess that is why he held the position he did and I deal with machines and their catastrophes. :)

I watched "The Hurt Locker". I really like movies like this. I don't know why. It reminded me of "The Kingdom." Yes, there is some gore and blood but I have so much empathy for soldiers and what they go through that this really touches me. Not that I can ever imagine what hell they go through (and personally, I hope I never get to know really).

J Renner looked so familiar. As I looked up his list of movies (and television appearances) I am guessing it must have been the episode of "House" where I remember seeing him.

A Mackie was superb. I have seen a few of the movies he has been in, that is why he was familiar. B Geraghty has also been in a few that I have seen. He plays a very good mentally fragile soldier. I thought I recognized D Morse and R Fiennes.

On a lighter note:
For a funny medieval help desk video, go here. Then tell me if you don't think it would have been funnier if he would have knocked the burning candle over and burned up the book at the end of the video? They missed a great ending with this one, I think.

SNAFU

January of last year. My dogwood covered in ice.

I can't believe I have not posted since Tuesday. What have I been doing? I can barely recall the entire week. I don't know. Time is passing so quickly. For all the griping I do about how long and dull January is, I am always surprised at how quickly it passes.

I heard Colin Powell speak about the situation in Haiti tonight. It is sad that we have to put such a political spin on everything anymore. I am sure he is correct. However, from a victim's standpoint who gives a sh!t about the government and how control needs to be in place to safeguard against chaos. The supply teams are looking out for the people of Haiti's best interest so that the greedy government officials don't take all the supplies and keep it all for themselves. I can imagine that the people of Haiti are just saying "Give me the food and water NOW! Worry about the greedy government officials later!"

I do understand that folks like Mr. Powell know much more about this sort of disaster relief than I do but it certainly looks like the rich kid coming in to say "It's my football and we will play the game the way I want to play with my rules, or I am going to take my football and go home." In other words, we will give you supplies and aid, but on our terms. We don't want you ignorant sub-humans to waste it. We try to force other countries to see things the way we see them. It just doesn't work that way. Not without a lot of friction. We continue to shove our way (the best way, I'm sure!) down their throats. Sigh. Same old, same old.

I repeat. I stand behind our country helping Haiti. I also understand what our government is trying to do (after listening to Mr. Powell). I am just imagining what the victims of this disaster and other countries might be thinking about the United States and our way of policing our efforts.

Once bitten

Don't worry. They didn't get it again. This is just a very close up view of the remote from last week when they chewed it good. Click on the picture. Go ahead. It's huge.

I can't help but be horrified by the news of the earthquake in Haiti. The other half of the island is Dominican Republic. This is NOT where my nephew is. He is a few islands over on the island of Dominica. I had a dream about an earthquake the other night. Except it was a tree falling on my house, which was not really my house. Dreams are strange.

It was the big pine tree behind my house. The wind always makes me think it is going to fall. In the dream I just remember the dirt falling on my face, but I was not hurt one bit.

I think it was after the recent quake in California.

Well, I can imagine the people who believe the end is near are really having their heyday.

I was really disturbed listening to this one guy on Skype they were interviewing talking about his ride home, seeing only a woman's head protruding out from under a bunch of concrete, he said there was blood coming from her eyes, nose and mouth. He didn't say he stopped. He didn't say he stopped to see if there was anyone alive that he could help. He said he was sure she was dead. It was shortly after that his video froze. I'd cut him off, too. The louse.

A dirty picture

My nephew gave me some canned air and monitor wipes for Christmas. I put them to good use over the long week-end. I did some cleaning. My computer really needed it. Cripes!

My Honda dealership took care of my low tire pressure indicator today and put my new plates on the car. They were out of keys, so they ordered some and I'll have to go back. They didn't charge me a dime for the other stuff. Very nice.

I have a lot less anxiety to come home to now that the pups are caged while I am gone. Or, crated. Whatever. However, they did manage to get my glasses one more time and I paid a visit to my eye doctor again today to get new tips put on again. They laughed.

I had a migraine all day Sunday. I slept most of the day away. Didn't get much done other than taking the dogs out to do their business every 3 or 4 hours. Then, I slept all night. Wow. Today all I needed was the usual generic acetaminophen. I have not switched back to Advil (or ibuprofin) since my surgery, I'll stick with acetaminophen for a while. Until it doesn't work anymore.

I read an article today about puppy mills and it just made me sick to my stomach. Please spread the word around to all your friends and families.

Stop puppymills.

Stop puppyfarms.

Do not buy from pet shops.

Do not buy from the Amish.

So many people (tourists) believe the Amish to be a fine, peaceful and admirable group of people. That may be so in most cases, but they do not believe in kindness to animals. They are a stern and simple people. They do not have room for anything they (or their beliefs) consider excessive. Animals are put on the earth to serve mankind (they say this comes from the Bible, I don't know) and that if the animal is no longer useful, it can be discarded or destroyed.

I am not knocking their way of living. To each their own. I just want to help spread the word so that many people do not mistakenly purchase a puppy from an Amish puppy mill thinking that this critter was well taken care of by these peaceful and loving people.

Sigh. NOW I need the acetaminophen.

My hand

I was dealt this hand in Euchre last night

The opponent on my right dealt the cards. She turned up an Ace of clubs. I passed. Her partner passed. My partner passed. I held my breath. She turned it down. I called it Spades and said "alone!" Then I lay down the hand you see above. Once in a lifetime!

It didn't help me one bit. My partner and I lost all rounds of the game. Even after getting 4 points from that hand. I'm very rusty. Oh well.

I slept in until 8:30 this morning and I feel like crap. The dogs must have thought I died since I was not up and about at 4:30 or 5:00 to let them out. The headache is raging. I drank ginger ale so it is not a hangover.

Disruption of sleep pattern. But hey, what am I supposed to do? Stay home every night? Find friends that just want to get together during the daytime? Hardly. I like my down time, but I need to socialize once in a while, too. And, it was not a late night. I was in bed by midnight.

Bring it on. I've got the sumatriptan.

I got in my car to drive home. Most of you know that the newer model cars have an indicator light for when a tire has low air pressure. Mine was lit. It figures. It was 7 ° Fahrenheit outside. I ignored it. I almost made it home when after making a sharp left turn, I heard a god-awful noise coming from the underside of my car. WTF? It is 11:30 p.m., cold as the dickens and I have to stop and investigate. Sigh. Fortunately it was only frozen ice buildup on my splash guards that were rubbing against the tire. I kicked it off and all was quiet again. That stupid yellow/amber low pressure light remained on, though. Grrrr.

Have Mercy

Sunday the 3rd, my daughter and I had a dinner to go to. An early "surprise" birthday party for the nephew who is going to school in Dominica. He leaves tomorrow to return. My daughter and I have become very good at putting stuff out of the dogs' reach. They are getting desperate.

For the (almost) six months that we have had the (newer) pups, not one time did they touch the cable remote. We returned from the dinner to find this. The next day I went to our cable provider and set the remote on the desk. "Have mercy" I said. She laughed, chucked the remote into a boot barrel next to her station and said "It happens all the time."

She promptly gave me a new one, said it would be $10 and she would add it to my next month's bill. I said "What if it happens again?" She said "Still $10."

Mercy me! Folks at work got a good chuckle out of seeing the remote. I did not "investigate" to see who pooped out the missing buttons on the remote. It is very cold outside and it is all I can do to stand out there with them while they do their business, I certainly am not going to go poking around in it. My neighbors already think I am nuts.

I left the cable office and promptly went to the farm feed store and purchased two medium sized crates for my rat terriers. They are set up in my living room. The boxer will need a special order crate made of sturdier steel that I will get online. He would chew the flimsy store bought ones up in no time. With the pups locked up, I may not need one for the boxer. Time will tell.

The rat terriers get very vocal when I come home after they have been in the crates for a few hours. When one began to pee on my carpet he promptly was placed inside his crate. He curled up and did not make a sound. After about 20 minutes I took him outside.

This should have been done long ago, I know. I have read where they also feel much safer with a "crate" and it increases their self esteem. I hope so.

I will continue to plod along. I signed up for this job, I'll see it through.

Survey says...

So there I was at work reading e-mail and I received the above survey message from the manufacturer of one of our applications. Secretly I want a Kindle, but I am not certain if I would use it all that much. I think if I were to use public transportation like the train and had a long commute, it would be a great idea.

So, when I saw the option "Who cares?" I figured this was the one for me. Then, I thought again. Don't we need to use less paper in the office and at home? Did I really care or was I just in it for the free Kindle? So, I decided to view the results.

Hmmm. I thought a lot more people would have chosen "Who cares?" I didn't vote. I don't want a free Kindle at the risk of receiving a ton of junk mail that might go with participating in the survey. Besides. Who follows up on these things? Do people really get the item?

Have you ever won anything this way?

Save yourself a lot of grief and pass on the following movies:

"Funny People" with A Sandler and S Rogen. Why do I keep watching movies with L Mann in them? I need my head examined. I need to remember that she is in her husband's movies and that they are very degrading to women. I am very disgusted with A Sandler. He has two daughters and he doles out crap like this? Can anyone say Casey Johnson and Paris Hilton? Too much money from the fame of their parents and no self respect. L Mann also has two daughters. I cannot say much about Rogen. You would almost expect low, vulgar movies from him. He oozes vulgarity. No more.

"Land of the Lost" with W Ferrel. Where were the kids? There were kids in the television show. Aren't kids funny? I did not like Chaka at all, or the weird Will Stanton character. I thought that the monkey's name was "Stink" but I realize the entire show just "stinks".

My daughter watched "The Goods" and told me to pass on it. I did, so I have no comment.

I must return to Turner Classic Movies. With emphasis on the "class".

Little furry heads

Somebody got me a computer game for Christmas. I am addicted. Yep. Like I needed another addiction. To get points you make at least 3 fuzzy heads of the same color in a row. I would drag the lime green one down to match 3 green ones in a row. The entire row moves. There is more to it, after you play for a while. You get locked (where the row won't move) you get big fuzzy balls that move two rows at once and a lot more. So, I've been doing that on the computer instead of other stuff. Heh.

I did get two of the main goals done over the holiday week-end. I did not go anywhere on New Years eve or day. I ventured out on Saturday with my daughter to pick up her big Christmas gift. Our wireless provider would not let us upgrade her phone until January 2nd, so she had to wait a week. She wanted the Droid. It is a lot of phone, I want to tell you. She had one of the Blackberry flavors, prior. In March I may move to a smart phone.

One goal was to clean up the basement clutter - done. The other was to get my non-working dryer out of the laundry room and into the empty side of the basement, then to get my spare dryer out of my garage, down the sidewalk, up onto the back porch, inside the back door, down the basement steps and into the laundry room and hooked up. Done. Did it. All by myself.

I am a wee bit sore, but not much. I did break off one of the legs, but I used shims to level the dryer off. The hardest part was getting the unit into the back door. I had to leave my house from the front door and push it in from outside. In single digit weather! The funny part was walking the dryer down my sidewalk (it really sounded to me like a science fiction monster walking around) at 10:00 a.m. on New Years' day hoping beyond hope that none of my neighbors had a raging hangover and I was waking them up. LOL!

I also play the time game. That is where I start the dryer walking down the sidewalk and get it into the house before any "good Samaritan" neighbor sees me and comes over to help me. Now, most folks wouldn't have to worry a lick about this issue, but I have great neighbors. I was fortunate that on one side are two elderly widowed ladies and I don't think the guy on the other side was home this week-end. Whew. Made it into the house without incident.

Okay. The truth is I have a very difficult time asking for or accepting help. There. I said it. I am going to be 50 this year. I ain't changing now. Well, maybe a little.

Then there is sister 1944. She yells at me. Well, if you can YELL in e-mail. She, her husband and our oldest brother are retired. She keeps telling me to let them know what I want done and they will come down and do it. Big breath. Okay, if I am going to change, I will ask them to rip up my carpet and put a floating floor in my living room come this spring. Right? Just bite the bullet and ask for help. Maybe get a couple of other family members involved and supply food and beverage for all. The hounds will have to be boarded for that week-end, that is for certain. Get them out of the way. Well, it is a plan.

In the mean time, I am getting caught up on my clothes washing and will probably go back to playing my furry head game during this cold snap here in Ohio. Happy New Year y'uns guys. Some co-workers and I debated what "y'uns" meant back in the 80's when I moved to Virginia. Of course they say "y'all" there. As in "you all". We in the eastern part of Ohio always said "y'uns", as observed by my Virginian co-workers who were teasing me one day and I said "Y'uns guys!" Well, that started it. As close as we could come was "you ones". Huh? Maybe. It helped having a Pittsburgh native in the work group. Well, we didn't have the Internet back then, but there is a lot about that phrase out there on the info highway nowadays. Looks to be a Pennsylvanian dialect.

Winding down

Slade in the good ole' summertime

I still have a hard time imagining who would let this magnificent canine go. It "appears" as if he were just let loose or dropped off. He is pure muscle. Although I can't afford the really "good" stuff right now, the cheaper food has not affected him (or the others) much at all. Side note - his ribs do not show at all, now. This picture must have been taken shortly after he was returned to us. You should see him in the snow! And, you will - if I ever find my battery charger. Time to get my daughter's camera out again. Sigh. Same old, same old.

This year has brought a car (new to her) for my daughter. She started college. She worked her first "real" job. Even though it was only seasonal and probably cost me more to buy her the red and black clothes necessary for working there than she made the entire time she was there. [grin].

It brought our household two new (cutest ever) puppies that grew into little black monsters, Cheech and Chong. The boxer entered our lives, left and re-entered - now looks to be a permanent fixture. That's okay. Cat population remained the same. The fish? I don't know - you get one, you lose one. I'll let my daughter keep track of them.

I got a new (used) car. My Civic is in auto heaven probably tormenting the deer that took it out.

No new babies or marriages in the family this year, but we will have a new one in the spring for Nephew (May) 1978 and his wife. This one will make them 3 sons. YAY! Nephew 1985 did acquire an "insta-family" when he began dating a woman with 3 children. So the family did grow a bit. She never had the closeness in a family that we enjoy, so she is making the most of it by coming to every get together that she can and bringing as many of her children as she can, all of which I think are adorable. (Even the one that everyone says is a little monster - I think he is a doll. But then I only see him for an hour here and there).

Everyone became a year older, but perhaps not wiser. Sister 1954 is now in a rehab program and out of prison. We expect her release in either April or June. Fingers and toes crossed that this is her very last lock up. Big sigh. Life is passing by, let's hope she gets to live it with us and not in some reformatory.

We had our first annual (father's side) family reunion in WV. Turned out to be a huge success and we cannot wait to begin planning next year's event.

Nephew (June) 1978 started a new job that he found on the Internet. Nephew 1987 is home for the holidays from his schooling in Dominica. (Not Dominican Republic, they are separate I have come to find out).

All in all a rather quiet year for our family. Not bad at all. Marching on to see what 2010 will bring with our back straight, our chin up, eyes looking forward and one foot firmly on the ground.

Gathering it all in

A friend's tree from 2006

I like to be alone a lot more than most people. I also like to socialize (not nearly as much as most people). I am quite content to be by myself. As the year ends and I am gathering all my thoughts and memories I contemplate how to spend the last hours.

I had planned to do nothing. If family stops in, I'll entertain and fix food, but if they don't I am just as content.

I've had two invitations for New Year's eve and I am not sure of what to do. I don't want to drive after dark anymore. For one, the deer incident still has me spooked and for two, my night vision ain't what it used to be.

I don't worry about drinking, because I don't have that insane need or desire to do THAT anymore. Will I regret not going anywhere come January? Will I just kick myself and say "Would it have hurt to go out and visit with friends and family just one more night?"

Aw, heck. I don't know. The one invite is to the friend's house from the photo above. I've not seen her in about four to six months. She is almost an invalid. She will have about five people with her so she won't be lonely.

I don't want to leave my dogs for that many hours. I also don't want to drive home after midnight and place myself on the highway wondering if a) the weather will be bad or b) are any of the other drivers drunk? That does not make for an enjoyable 60 mile drive home.

Can I go earlier in the evening and leave earlier? I suppose so. I'd have to miss the other friends and family that are coming later and the games that they have lined up. I love to play games.

It is kind of a melancholy holiday anyway. I just received word from sister 1944 that sister 1949 is having serious problems with her children. Not health issues. Behavior issues. They are 30 and 25 years old. There is always some kind of fly in the ointment.

I think I'll go and visit my friend during the daylight on New Years eve. We'll see if I can get away before I have to drive too late in the evening. That way I can visit, but also I can make sure that I have taken measures to be safe, also.

The other issue is, if I visit with my friend, I'll have to visit with some family, too. They are only five miles from her house. If they hear I was there and did not stop in, well, that would just be rude! Can I do it? Can I visit two (maybe 3) households that day?

I certainly don't mean to sound like an ingrate, either. Like "Oh, my! The poor dear! She has invitations but does not know which one to pick! How sad! Poor girl!" No, I don't mean to sound like that at all. I break down and choose visit with family/friends 90% of the time. I just have to realize that I don't need to do it all anymore. I can stay home once in a while and relax and take care of myself and my household. Sigh.

There, I've said it. I don't have to feel guilty about not going, right? Right! But then, it wouldn't hurt to go for a couple of hours....

Got snow?

We do! Not a lot, just a couple of inches, but it is snow. And, it is cold. The above picture is NOT snow, it is scanned white plastic icicles from a Christmas past.

I don't have any pictures of the recent snow because both camera batteries are dead and I can't find (ready?) my charger! Anybody surprised? No? Me, neither.

Remembering

Yes, at one time they were this tiny. Photo courtesy of sister 1944 at sister 1949's house.

I need to look back at their pictures of when they were wee little babies. This way I don't feel the inclination to strangle them when I find yet one more thing chewed up. How do they get to this stuff? While I am out with the boxer I try peering through the dining room window so I can observe them, but they didn't do anything when I did that. Sigh.

RAT terriers.

Wake me when it's over

Gifts were opened. Gift paper was collected and thrown away. Food was eaten, given away or frozen. Dishes were washed, kitchen is cleaned. Decorations are gone, tree will be soon. I wanted to sleep through it all, too. Sigh.

On the back of the couch, black cat = Casper. Gold cat = Titten (a.k.a. Teton). On the cusions, boxer = Slade, middle black dog = Chong, last black dog = Cheech. "The children were nestled all snug in their beds, while visions of sugar-plums danced in their heads."

The Big Day!

A photo from my wrapping party. "Wrap, a-wrap, a-wrap, they call me the wrapper! " I always sing that song when I wrap Christmas presents. Hey, I never knew Donnie Iris sang that!

This is what I am taking to my family feast today. Well, the cheese ball/tray thingy too, of course! Hope all of you are having a very, merry! It is raining a cold, steel rain here this morning. The dogs were quite anxious to get back onto the porch and back inside after their morning outing.

Jingle all the way!

My Grand Nephew performing at the mall with his pre-school classmates.
He is the one in gray.

Ah, just a note before I start my herculean day. My nephew arrived with a ton of gifts we hid in a back bedroom (pups). He is so organized this year. All wrapped and in lovely store totes. He and my daughter put up a 3 foot live tree. My daughter bought it at the nursery who only had 2 little trees left. We put the LED lights on it and they shine bright blue through my blue curtains. Really quite magical.

I called my eye doctor's office about my dogs chewing my glasses. After a couple of banters back and forth the receptionist said "Oh, you only need temple covers, come on in any time." I did. They covered the ends, tightened the frames, cleaned the lens(es) and I am back in business. Like having new glasses. For 2 dollars! 2 dollars! I didn't know anything (involving a doctor's office) could cost 2 dollars.

Now, I am off to make more cranberry-nut bread, a couple batches of cookies and wrap, wrap, wrap.

Oh, and for Christmas I wish all of you a family (or close friend) who is a techno-geek. I cannot describe how much I am learning from my nephew. When we go shopping (Lowe's, Staples, etc...) he explains so much to me. He told me all about how light fixtures work (picking up a new electrical cable because the dogs chewed mine), he explained all the possible flooring I could choose from (carpet in living room is ruined and must be pulled up), and he knows all about cameras (what CMOS and CCD) are, and he showed me how he can download entire movies in less than 10 minutes. He downloaded "Four Christmases" and a bootleg copy of "Old Dogs". He deleted them, we didn't watch them. He was just showing me how he could do it using something I had not heard of (NZB). It isn't free. He downloads TV shows that he cannot watch here in the USA. All British broadcasts. He is a big fan of British TV. Sigh. Amazing.

Delicious!

Some parents teach their children young. This one has the pose down to an art form and she has softened her smile considerably. She is recently four years old going on 16.

Myself? Whenever I looked at her in that dress, all I could think of was rich, dark chocolate.

It will come without trimmings or tree

I am one photo behind on the chewed up merchandise. I am wearing my glasses with the chewed ends behind my ears. Ouch. That happened just yesterday. The above cable happened last week. My nephew told me I should have been using this digital cable for my monitor. What do I know? LOL!

Anyway, this is the main reason I do not have a tree put up. I do not have one decoration up. But, Christmas will come. It will come without tree. It will come without decorations. There will be food. There will be presents.

I will decorate once I am able to stay in the house 24/7 with the hounds. They have broken every barrier we have made for them. I have not invested money into a more industrial barrier, yet. Maybe this spring. If there is anything left to barricade.

I get a live tree every year. My nursery just around the corner is out of trees. I do see a little tiny one sitting by their sign. I might stop there tonight to see if I can get that one. It is about 3 feet tall.

It is only one year out of my life. One Christmas out of the 48 I have celebrated so far. This will be my 49th year. My daughter's 18th. My nephew's 32nd and my niece's 22nd. We will survive. We will laugh and celebrate regardless of what condition the tree and decorations are in.

I can remember sparser years. I used to decorate a plant when I lived in an apartment in the 80's. But, I also drove home for the holidays back then. My Mom always had a huge tree that reached to the ceiling. Always a live one. One year somebody stole it right off of our front porch before we could get it inside and into the stand. Sheesh!

Saturday Afternoon

Another batch of cranberry-nut bread. My first attempt to make it less crumbly was by adding some small sliced apples to the mix. When I sliced the bread all was perfect until the very last edge and then it crumbled again. Not bad. For some reason this batch seemed a bit more sour. I used cranberries from another grocery store. Maybe? Or could be I mis-judged on the sugar. I doubled the batch and I was distracted several times, so it is possible that I did not add enough sugar. (Sorry, blogspot - www.dictionary.com says that "mis-judged" IS spelled correctly).

My Great (Grand) niece came up to stay with me yesterday. This is the reason I was distracted in my measuring of ingredients in the bread. After watching a movie she crashed. (My nephew said I should refrain from the word "crash" for at least a year because of my deer incident - LOL!).

She was not the only one who napped the afternoon away. Here is my baby Slade (above). I have nick-named him Eeyore because of his common dejected demeanor.

This one (above) is my big baby Casper. Our first pet (after the bird).

And, this is Jasper (above). Curled up and dreaming of sugarplums and catnip I suppose.

On a side note, to make all of you out in blogdom feel better; I had a horrible problem with my computer Friday. It got hijacked or something. Well, maybe it wasn't that bad. I could not do anything! I got frustrated. I was able to fix it Saturday morning. You must have a ton of patience and calmly WAIT, WAIT for the system to respond and run your anti-malware programs. I recommend the following:

malwarebytes from www.malwarebytes.org

ad-aware from www.lavasoftusa.com (do not confuse this with the adware malware)

spybot search & destroy from http://www.safer-networking.org

I am sure there are other good programs, but the above three usually take care of my woes. I don't purchase any of the above. I use the free programs. I do pay for anti-virus software.

It isn't funny!

The damn cards were bought BEFORE I hit the deer! This is why I don't have my Christmas cards sent out yet. It is just too ironic. Stop laughing!

Another one bites the dust!

And, another one's gone, and another one's gone, another one bites the dust! C'mon. You know the song. Actually I got the thumb drive to work and moved all files over to my hard drive. I may keep this one. Electrical tape or black duct tape wrapped around it .... NO! Just throw the thing away Peruby! See? It's just a 512MB. Not even 1 gig.

I don't think I have to tell you who chewed it up. Could have been any of the three rascals. I really don't think it was our precious Sable as she is out of the chewing stage by now. I seriously doubt it was the boxer who has such a wide, big mouth he has difficult picking up small objects. No, I'd have to say it was one of the rat terriers, with their sharp little teeth and long pointy snouts that could have easily picked a thumb drive up and chewed it up like this. Of course somebody had to get it off the back of the desk first!

La di da!

It is green. It's just the day and sky was gray and the asphalt was gray and it all reflected back onto the car to make it look gray.

I got the color and style I wanted. I got it at the Civic price. How? I bought it used. Certified used. Five things it does not have. Leather interior, heated seats, power seats, navigator and an outside temperature gauge. I think I can live without those.

My absolute favorite (besides the color)? The 6 CD changer that plays CD's and MP3! I have a huge MP3 collection. I can fit about 200 songs on each CD. That's over 1,000 songs without touching a disc! It's all in there.

Cranberry Nut Bread

First you coarsely chop up some fresh cranberries. They are pretty but taste one only if you like sour, bitter stuff. I also coarsely chop up some delicious English walnuts to put in the bread.

Besides the usual flour, sugar, baking soda, egg, salt and baking powder, this recipe calls for some melted butter, orange juice and some grated orange peel.

I am trying the cheap disposable aluminum tiny loaf pans for the first time. They worked just fine. I'll have to go back to the dollar store and pick up some more or just invest in some nice ones. I am not sure how long my cranberry nut bread jag is going to last. It's my passion this year.

Warm and fresh right out of the oven. I add butter and the treat just melts in my mouth. The orange juice sweetens the cranberries up to create a wonderful mix. This recipe is still a bit too crumbly for my liking, I am thinking about experimenting, but I don't want to mess up a good thing. The smaller loaves helped to keep it from crumbling too much.

I wrapped some and gave some as gifts already and am going to freeze the rest. I really need to double my batch as I bake them. Here is the recipe, I think I got it off the Internet:

2 cups flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup coarsely chopped walnuts
1 cup chopped cranberries

3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp grated orange peel

Pre-heat oven to 350º F.

Mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add the chopped cranberries and walnuts to coat with the flour mixture.

Mix together orange juice, butter, egg and orange peel. Add to flour, cranberry, nut mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until just blended.

Pour into a greased 9x5 or 8x4 loaf pan. Bake at 350º F for 55 to 60 minutes or until done (a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean).

Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Note: Mine would not pour, I had to scoop and plop. And, I am not certain why you have to use a wooden spoon. Maybe it is the cook's preference who wrote the recipe. I used a wooden one.

Speaking of recipes, I watched Julie & Julia. I was not disappointed. We then watched Four Christmases. This was one where they showed all the funny parts in the previews. Nothing new or funny to see once you actually watched the movie.

I got tired of Netflix saying that there was a short wait (for Julie & Julia) and a long wait for (Four Christmases) so I went out to my nearby video store and rented them. I stopped Netflix cold. No more.

I also got rid of my land line. Since the dogs chewed up my last two telephones I have not had it plugged in for a month, anyway. I'll call all my doctor offices tomorrow and make sure they list my cell phone as my primary number.

As you can see I am gearing up for that car payment.

I've received 9 Christmas cards so far. I don't have mine filled out yet. Maybe I'll do that this evening.

Bon Appetit!

Putting on the brakes

The hood of my car after the accident. Poor deer. I did not want him for a hood ornament.

Anyway. I am putting on the brakes today. Well, I am going to try. I was so sick of looking at, researching, talking about, hearing about, and plain old thinking about cars last night that I wanted to scream. In fact, I think I did.

Today I plan on getting Christmas decorations out. Dogs be damned! If they chew them up at least they are leaving my lamps alone. I won't get out any sentimental decorations. It will be all the store bought stuff and either it will be very old or very tacky, so I won't care what they do with it. Well, maybe.

If you are a serious pet lover, don't continue to read this.

If, by chance any of my decorations happens to strangle, poison or just makes any of my dogs ill - that will just make my day.

Kidding! I am kidding! Really. I don't want to clean up vomit or any other mess that might come out the other end.

A side note on the boxer. He has decided that our longer walks to the field beside the horse barn are no longer necessary now that the temps have dipped into the lower 20's and the windchill factor has even made it colder. Nope. He is content with doing his business in the corner of our front yard, thank you very much. Of course it isn't where the puppies go, that would be... well just gauche. He must be proper and separate himself from the heathens.

This does however, cut down on my much needed exercise. Oh well. I guess I have to make sacrifices, too.

The windshield

I can remember the deer hitting the windshield, now. I think I can put the pieces of the puzzle in the correct order, now.

First glimpse I saw the deer over the hood of my car (as if he were a flying reindeer). I can remember thinking to myself "That's not right."

The next flash was the body of the deer hitting my windshield. I think this one I blocked out for about a week until it came back to me Wednesday night or early Thursday morning.

The air bags must have deployed and at the same time the deer bounced off the hood of my car and was thrown onto my windshield. I remember seeing his back smacking up against the windshield.

The next flash would have been the bags deflating and that powder everywhere in my car.

But, the smell. My God, the smell. It was just the worst.

In a flash, my brain realized that I had an accident and had hit a deer.

My first instinct was to get the car safely to the side of the road and were there any cars behind me or in my passing lane?

My brain told me there were no cars (most of the time we know if there is a car coming up behind us, etc...)

The next flash of an instant, I felt under the airbag for the flashers.

I do not recall pressing the brakes, that would have been reflex and I didn't have to think about it.

I pulled the car to the side of the road and put it in park.

I fumbled for my cell phone which was in the charger.

I gasped for air. I rolled down my window (and tried to roll it down again). That I remember.

I thought the car might be on fire and I wanted to get out.

I tried to see if there were any more cars coming, so that I could exit the car safely.

I remember seeing the dashboard all in red, so I reached up and took the keys out of the ignition. I turned my lights off.

I do know that I saw the deer flying perfectly over my car (he was not hurt yet).

I do recall his body hitting my windshield.

Sigh.

I am still looking for a car. I test drove 2 yesterday. The new Accord and the new Civic.

I am (relieved?) that I found out the Accord is way too much car for me. Yet disappointed because it was the only Honda that comes in green. And you can't find many.

I am also upset that they only make the CRV in that pretty glacier blue.

That is my biggest pet peeve about Hondas. The colors.

Now, on to the Civic line. My first one served me well, I can probably expect the same from another one.

I've been driving a rented Jetta. The one I am driving is metal gray or something like that. It is nice enough except it has a horrible blind spot that unnerves me, and a bit sluggish when I press the gas. You really have to give it some gas to shoot forward at quick take offs, etc...

It appears to be in the same price range as the Accord, but the Accord is much, much bigger. I'd say the Jetta is between a Civic and an Accord. Perfect size for me, but that blind spot really bothers me. And, the nearest dealer for a Jetta is 40 minutes away.

My rental goes back on Monday. I have my sister's Cougar to drive. It is also green. Maybe I should have driven that for the past week instead of the Jetta and when I test drove the Accord I would not have been overwhelmed. LOL!

Regardless, my pocketbook will thank me if I stick with the Civic. I am still paying my daughter's car and insurance, so this will be a challenge. I have started to cut back on things. I won't miss them anyway. I'll probably use the money I get from my faithful Civic to pay our vehicle insurance for a year so at least I don't have to worry about that bill. My daughter's job is only seasonal, and I have to prepare for her not working and bringing in any money. That way if she does get another job, or if this store decides to keep her (It is a long drive, so that is not great) then things will go a bit smoother for us.

Broken lamp

The headlights on my civic had a yellow tinge to them anyway. The dealer said they couldn't clean it off. I observed a lot of other cars with the same problem (not just Honda line). It was as if moisture got in under the plastic and ruined it.

I am looking forward to nice clear, bright lights again. Among all the other features newer cars have these days.

Still looking. Tomorrow I call the insurance company to determine what kind of car will cost the most and least for me insurance-wise.

Options

Sedan - coupe, leather, cloth, power windows, moon roof, heated seats, CD players, 1.8L, 2.4L, 4 cylinder, 6 cylinder, overdrive, 15k, 17k, 23k, I can barely keep up with it all.

Round and round and round my head goes! Numbers, options, points, sticker prices, invoice prices, games salesmen play. Where it ends..... who knows?