The Paper Chase

Today I pulled together the data and materials needed to prepare our 2011 income tax return.

I have a four-drawer filing cabinet which is stuffed "to the max" with paperwork.  So I decided to start purging some stuff as I retrieved the tax information.

I would say that I made it through about 25%... of one drawer.  (Baby steps....)

But I did work on my novel today!

Breakfast for Lunch

I now have gone out for lunch two days in a row.

Today I met my friend Carmen at IHOP.  We both decided to get an omelet.... Is the correct spelling "omelet" or "omelette"?  My extensive Google research of two minutes informed me that "omelet" is preferred by American writers.  The French spelling of "omelette" is used by non-American English-speaking writers.  So, my initial choice of "omelet" makes sense given my nationality.

But back to my breakfast -- er, lunch.  After our scrumptious meal, we still had some time before Carmen needed to head home.  So we decided to go walk in the Maine Mall... not shop, but walk.

We walked the length of the mall three times without going inside even one store, although we were tempted to go into the Coach store and buy ourselves new purses.  But we decided that it wouldn't be prudent.

My tummy has been very happy these past couple days.

I won't be stepping on the scale any time soon.

The Wisdom of Tommy Jon

Lew and I went out to lunch after church today with Tommy Jon and Julie.  (Why do we call him Tommy Jon?  Long story.  Not the topic of this post.)

We went to Cracker Barrel.  I got my yummy yellow-hued meal of chicken & dumplings, hashbrown casserole, macaroni & cheese, fried apples, and a cornbread muffin.

When Tommy Jon ordered his meal, he selected fried okra as one of his side dishes.

Lew asked him, "What's okra?"

Tommy Jon's response -- and I quote:

"Okra is a nasty-tasting vegetable that tastes good when it's fried!"

A Lovely Spring Day

Yes, I know that it is January 28th.  But you wouldn't have been able to tell by the weather!

It was beautiful here.

Not sunbathing weather, mind you, but it was unseasonably warm.

It was nice to see Mr. Sun shining so brightly.

I think I've got the earliest case of Spring Fever ever.

(Postscript:  My Spring Fever was made "worse" by the movie Moneyball.  Mom, Dad, Lew, and I just watched it.  A baseball movie will always make me dream of Spring!)

Quarter-of-a-Year Club

Guess who is three months old today?!

Happy 3-month birthday to you, sweet baby boy!

You bring us all such great joy.  :)

Grampa and Tia love you!

***   ELI   ***

The Phone Call

When I answered the phone this morning, I could tell from the Caller ID that it was someone calling for Lew.

Me:  "Hello."

Caller:  "Hello.  Is Lewis available, please?"

Me:  "No, he's at work right now.  Would you like his cell phone number?"

Caller:  "Oh, yes. Thank you!"

I gave her the number and hung up the phone.  I knew that the next call she made would affect not only my husband's schedule, but my own as well....  After all, someone has to drive Lew home after his colonoscopy!

I must admit that I chuckled a bit.

Dad 81: Greek god update

(I'm a little nervous about what's supposedly coming next week -- but I do have all editorial control over Mainely Tracy, so I shouldn't be too scared.  LOL!  In the meantime, enjoy Dad's post! -- Tracy)

Derf Here!  From the slightly snow-covered northeast coast.  Yes, we still have snow on the ground.  It is much less than one week ago due to the warm weather of the past few days.  It reached 50 degrees here two days ago.  And to think in one week we'll be in February.  Only a very short winter remains.

It is time for an update on my attempt to reach my "Greek god" physique.  On August 11, 2010 I wrote about my doctor's visit.  My large body of 300 pounds earlier in the year had gone down by about 25 pounds prior to my visit.  However, I had gained a little heft and stepped on the scales at 283 pounds.  Doc told me I should lose some poundage.  This would help my blood pressure, verge of diabetes, and overall health.  I must admit that I felt fine.  My cholesterol has never been a problem.  I took my doctor's advice and started on my salads (yuk), burgers (no rolls) and various other non-goodies.  As I said in 2010, my world was upside down.  I was now eating food that I had frowned on.  It didn't seem fair.  But that's life.

Within a year I was down to mid-200s and I guess in better health.  I felt no difference.  However, blood pressure was better and I guess my blood sugar had improved.

I then had another appointment and weighed in at 265.  That was six months ago.

The reason I chose today to blog again about this issue is that I must go back and get my semi-annual physical within the next two weeks.  All the blood work will be done and I hope to pass all tests.

I have been very seriously exercising at least five times a week for 46 minutes on Lew and Tracy's elliptical machine.  The number 46 is a result of a 40-minute workout with a 3-minute warm up and 3-minute cool down.  I can't say I like it while I'm doing it, but when I have completed my training I'm happy.  The scale is now reflecting a weight of below 250.  Boy, will Doc be surprised.  His scales, however, will be a little more than our house scales.

This brings me to this point.  I am not ready for my picture to be published in my Speedo.  I'm not sure I'll ever get there.  Please be sure to look next week for a surprising picture.  Only "the Shadow" knows.  Enough said.  No more for today.

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Wear Bars

Today was "Take Your Sister-In-Law To Work Day" at Glen's shop.  Okay, that's not quite true -- but it's close.

Lew contacted Glen yesterday about getting one of our vehicles serviced today.  So I was down at Glen's shop by 9:00 a.m., with the following list from Lew:

• Oil change
• Air Filter
• Front left tire is leaking

It was that last item that caused the trouble.

Before today, I had never heard of "wear bars."  But brother-in-law Glen was kind enough to explain the concept to me.  He showed me our tires in comparison to brand new tires.

Per Wikipedia:

Wear bars . . . are raised features located at the bottom of the tread grooves that indicate the tire has reached its wear limit. When the tread lugs are worn to the point that the wear bars connect across the lugs, the tires are fully worn and should be taken out of service.

You have probably guessed (correctly) that our tread lugs were worn to the point that the wear bars connected across the lugs.
 
After conferring with Lew, I told Glen to go ahead and have his shop put on four new tires for us.  And, yes, I would continue to wait.

The vendor that delivered the tires brought the wrong ones the first time.  Fortunately I had my Kindle with me.

Glen finally kicked me out around 1:15 p.m. -- when my vehicle was ready.

The new tires are beautiful.  I haven't checked out the wear bars yet!  :)

A Long Wait

I took a phone survey today.  I didn't have to talk to a real person.  I just had to listen to a computer-generated lady's voice and press the appropriate number in response.

The final questions were demographic in nature, the last one being age.

"Please press '1' if you are under age ____."

"Please press '2' if you are between the ages of ____ and ____."

"Please press '3' if you are between the ages of ____ and ____."

"Please press '4' if you are between the ages of ____ and ____."

"Please press '5' if you are between the ages of ____ and ____."

As I was about to press "5" I heard the final choice:

"Please press '6' if you are age ____ or older."

WHAT?!
I was in the next-to-highest age group!
Oh, good grief, when did THAT happen?

Be Still, My Heart

A short while ago I didn't even know if I would be able to type well enough to post on my blog tonight.

That Patriots game... OH. MY. GOODNESS.

I know that sports are pretty low in the "what's important in life" hierarchy, but when I'm watching a game I do tend to get a little involved.  Okay... a LOT involved.  Especially if it's a playoff game.  And especially if one of my teams is playing.

After a few anxious moments for the entire population of New England, the Patriots did pull out a win today.

I now have two weeks to relax before the Super Bowl.

And if it's a rematch against the Giants???

I may not be able to watch.

Baloo Would Be Proud

Lew and I went out this morning (breakfast then errands), and we both had our winter coats zipped right up to our chins.

IT. WAS. COLD.

And spitting snow.

(Ha ha!  I first typed the word "snot" instead of "snow.")

The rest of the day was spent in the warm house.

Lew dozed off a bit.  He made spaghetti for dinner.

I did the laundry.  I ate spaghetti for dinner.

Then we watched a movie -- "Thor" -- which we both enjoyed more than we had expected to.

And now I just want to crawl under the warm covers and stay there until winter is over.

I would have made a really great bear!  :)

DVR Dilemma

The new season of "American Idol" started this week.  We currently have two episodes of it recorded on our DVR.

Lew really enjoys the show, and I have always watched it with him.  I find it somewhat enjoyable, although some years have been better than others.  For example, I thought that last year was pretty good.  The year before, not so much.

My dilemma is that I don't want to invest the time into watching the show.  But my husband wants me to watch it with him so that we can talk about it together.  (I admit that the "cultural literacy" argument favors watching.)

A second DVR disagreement is over the TV show "Chuck."  Lew and I have watched every single episode of this show together.  This is the show's final season, and I think there are about three shows left.  But the other day, Lew said that he didn't feel like watching the show any more.  WHAT?  With only three episodes to go???

So I have decided that here, on Mainely Tracy, I would announce my decision.  I will watch "American Idol" if Lew will watch the very few remaining episodes of "Chuck" with me!  That's more than fair, right?  :)

Novel Update

Regular readers of my blog know that I am an aspiring novelist.  I explained to some people this week that "aspiring novelist" is a euphemism for "I am not currently bringing in a paycheck."

A couple months ago (in November) I participated in NaNoWriMo.  I was able to get a good start on my novel because of that challenge.

I was suffering from "the plague" for quite a bit of December.  So I did not make much progress on the novel that month.  (The truth is that I made no progress.)

The first couple weeks of 2012 found me trying to settle back into my schedule.  I worked a little bit on my novel... but not a lot.  I was having trouble with the editing process.  My first approach didn't work.  And the second one didn't either.

But today I realized that I was trying to do too much with this next draft.  And therefore I wasn't getting anywhere!  So I've scaled back my expectations, and I made some breakthroughs today.

Some people have asked me what my novel is about....  I'm not telling yet!

Dad 80: FOOTBALL... and basketball

(Dad asks two questions below.  My answers:  "I hope so" and "Yes."  Enjoy his post!  -- Tracy)

Derf Here!  From the now snow-covered northeast coast of Maine.  Wintah' is heah'!  Last week's storm dumped about ten inches of the fluffy white stuff.  The crack meteorologists predicted the coast to receive about one to three inches -- a dusting.  The storm took a slightly different track.  Well, at least, I got a chance to use the plow.  Out in the cold in a nice warm truck.  Only about six weeks left until March!

I promised Tracy to be brief this week.  Last week I had to beg her to enter my blog (it was way too long).  It was an ego trip for me.

I'm sort of in neutral now just waiting for two more football games.  Rooting for the Patriots and Giants to succeed against the Ravens and the Niners.  Then, of course, the Patriots can turn the table on my second favorite team (Giants).  A Patriots win can never be payback for the Giants' win, denying the Pats of an undefeated season.  That, to me, was the single most devastating loss in pro sports history.  Let's get it right this time around.  Pats, are you listening?  Of course, the Ravens and Niners will leave their own stamp on the results.  Go Pats!!!

Sorry to hear Jim Caldwell was fired as coach of the Colts.  With Peyton Manning he was something like 24-8.  Without, 2-14.  I don't believe he'll be out of work for too long a period of time.

One more sports story.  The Boston Celtics are playing horrible basketball.  I've followed the Celtics since the early 1950s.  They have had some bad teams, but never lost five in a row with the talent they now have.  I don't believe Doc Rivers is too pleased with their record.  Please get it straightened out soon, or the playoffs will not be in your sights.  I'll watch again tonight.  Hope for a win!!

Was this short enough, Tracy?

Just waiting for Spring!!  I do not like wintah'!!  I can't be great every week!!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

I Love Free eBooks

There is a website that I follow that lists free eBooks for the Kindle.  It's called eReader Love and it sometimes has multiple posts per day regarding lots of free eBooks.

Now here is my problem:  I will never have the time to read all of the free books that I've already downloaded.  Yet I still look through the new listings.  I just can't help myself.  I mean, what if I miss something really good?  And there are some good limited-time free offerings.  But there are also a lot of books that are not even worth the zero price.

I have developed some guidelines so that I don't continue to download too many books.  (I've already admitted that it's too late for that, but please indulge me a bit here!)

I do not download a book if:

• I don't want to read its description.  (If I can't get through the description, then I probably can't get through the book.)
• I see the word vampire or paranormal anywhere in its title or description.
• It appears to be of the Horror genre or Erotica genre.
• Reading it would be bad for my soul.
• It is merely a romance novel.
• It has a bare-chested man on the cover.

I have just one rule for a book that I do download:

• I am definitely going to read it.

My success rate on that last rule is currently far below 100%....  What if I miss something really good?!

Do You Deliver?

Several of my Facebook friends have been posting about food that they have made, are making, or will be making.

And it all sounds scrumptious!

I have been responding to these posts by asking, "Do you deliver?"

My niece Kelsey (who made Texas Roadhouse rolls and honey butter) replied:

"why yes i do!!! I can catch the next flight out =)"

What time should we pick you up at the airport, Kelsey?

A Giant Win!

Probably everyone knows this by now:  The Patriots won last night.  And they won BIG.

I commented in an earlier post that all four of the home teams won last weekend.

As for this weekend, three out of the four home teams have won so far.  The fourth team is currently playing, but it's not looking good for them.

Lew is a New York Giants fan, so he is hoping that they can hold on to their 30-13 lead over the Packers with about five minutes to go.  With that little time left, I think it's in the bag.

Oops.  The Packers just scored a touchdown.  Did I speak too soon?  (Nah!  It's in the bag.)

Grampa is enjoying Eli's visit today.
"But who is Eli MANNING, Grampa?"

Hmmm... What to Do Tonight?

I am not really into blogging at the moment, so I hope this post makes some sort of sense.

I'm watching the New Orleans / San Francisco game (currently early in the 4th quarter).  But my real interest is in the game that will be starting in about an hour.

I will be rooting for the New England Patriots, of course.  They are my team.  And I do hope that they win.

But if the Patriots are upset by the Broncos, will I be upset along with them?  I doubt that I will ever know the true answer to that question, as I fully expect the Pats to win.

But what if?

WHAT IF??

Okay, I'll admit it.

I am one Patriots fan that probably would not be disappointed if Tim Tebow is the quarterback celebrating on the field after tonight's game.

But still, I've got to say it:  GO PATRIOTS!

The Fly

Lew was already in bed last night, reading a novel on his Kindle, when he suddenly yelled to me, "I just got buzzed by a FLY!"

I had seen a fly in the bathroom the day before, but I found him belly up yesterday morning.  I was surprised to hear that another fly was loose in the house.

A few minutes after Lew's announcement, I finished getting ready for bed and then began reading on my own Kindle.

It wasn't long before I got buzzed!

But the fly made a really, really bad decision.  He decided to land right next to me on the bed.  I said, "Lew, look.  There he is."

Lew couldn't really see him, so he took my word for it.

The fly sat still for several seconds.  I slowly lifted my hand and.... Well, let's just say, that fly is buzzing no more.

S*N*O*W

When the radio came on this morning, the first thing that Lew and I heard was a school cancellation list.  But the announcer didn't mention Scarborough.

Lew got up and looked out the window.  It was not snowing here.

When he went outside to get the newspaper a few minutes later, it was not snowing.

By the time he left for work about 90 minutes later, it was snowing.  Pretty hard.  And it snowed for most of the day.  When Lew got home, he said it was still doing "a little bit" outside.

Yes, it took longer than normal this year, but winter has finally arrived.

Pepper even noticed winter's onset.  She slept most of the day on the back of my couch!

Dad 79: Tooting My Own Horn

(When Dad brought his five hand-written pages to me, he apologized for the length by saying, "This blog allows all my descendants to have a brief history of my musical career."  So enjoy his post... please!  -- Tracy)

Derf Here!  From the still snowless Northeast coast of Maine.  However, tomorrow we have a weather forecast for snow.  How much?  Don't know.  Me thinks the coast won't get a large amount.  The Chevy and I are ready, however!

Last evening we (me, Spouse, Lew, and Tracy) attended the junior high band concert.  The seventh grade band was huge.  The eighth grade band (Josh's) was less in size.  At three pieces per group, with an exchange of groups, the concert lasted only about thirty minutes.  A good time was had by all.

As I sat spellbound watching these young kids perform, my mind wandered back a few hundred years to my childhood and band membership.  My piano lessons lasted only from second through fourth grade.  Oh how I wish I had continued to learn piano.  The reason:  I would love to be able to sit down at the keyboard and sing along with my own accompaniment.  It will never happen!  My fault!  Mom told me!

Started lessons on a silver cornet my father picked up from a local resident.  This was in the summer after my fourth grade school year.  My instructor was a gentleman by the name of Everett Firth (nickname Papi).  He would be my mentor for the next eight years and serve as my band director throughout my public schooling.  A finer band director one could not meet.  Mr. Firth's son (Vic Firth) was percussionist for the Boston Symphony and the Boston Pops Orchestras for several years.  If you check out today's drum sticks, you have a good chance of seeing Vic Firth's name on them.  He manufactures them in a Maine factory.

Back to the story.  An announcement was made in the first month of my fifth grade.  All those playing instruments should show up for Sanford-Springvale Junior Band on a certain date.  Having taken about eight lessons, I decided this meant me.  I was to learn several weeks later that it didn't.  Well I showed up, sat in the second row of trumpets, and my band career started.  I made it through that year and was promoted to the front row in grade six.  From this point on, I never played anything but first trumpet music.  My first year in high school I played fourth chair trumpet.  A distant cousin, Malcolm Holland, played first chair and was a senior.  Second and third chairs were taken by juniors Bob Ramsdell (father was percussion instructor) and Richard Ford.  My sophomore year I was seated third chair.  I ended up first chair for trumpet both junior and senior years.

During my freshman year I was joined by sister Jean (trombone) in the band.  Then, when I was a senior, sister Deb (baritone) joined me in the band.  They both were also instructed by Mr. Firth.

While in high school, a few classmates joined the Sanford town band (sponsored by Goodall-Sanford Mills).  We joined the American Federation of Musicians (to get paid for playing concerts).  I still have my insignia that attaches to my license plate.  It was during my junior year that close friend Bruce McCombe and I formed a dance band called the "Swing Kings."  We played at dances after concerts and even did two New Year's Eve dances in South Portland.  We'd get paid three dollars for an hour session after each band concert.  We also appeared on local TV in Portland on a program called "Youth Calvacade."  It was live!

The Swing Kings.
The stands have my initials -- "FG" -- on one side.
You must look closely at the rightmost stand in order to see them.

One of my favorite moments of band participation was when I got a call from Mr. Firth.  He told me the junior high band was to march in a parade in town and he was lacking someone to boost up the trumpet section.  I was happy to oblige.  There I was, a senior in high school, marching with the junior high kids blaring away on my Olds Ambassador trumpet.  To say I stood out would be an understatement.  It was a fun experience.

I played a solo -- "Tenderly" -- at my graduation, as a local national band player and leader (Randy Brooks) had a hit with this song.  Randy Brooks died in a fire in Springvale, Maine on March 21, 1967.  My last public playing was around 1990 as I played on our closing song in my family's gospel concerts.  I always played on the last few lines of Andre Crouch's "My Tribute: To God Be the Glory."  It will be forever available as it is on our first album, Falling in Love With Him.

My interest in band music allowed me to attend many concerts to see world famous band leaders:  Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Dizzy Gillespie, Glen Miller Orchestra (with three different front men), Tommy & Jimmy Dorsey, Preservation Hall Dixieland Band, Louis Armstrong, and the list goes on.

I didn't dare to write more as Tracy may get typer's cramp putting this on the blog.  Sorry Tracy, I'll be much shorter next time.  I hope my arm doesn't break patting myself on my back!

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

The Annual Battle of the Typewriter

It's that time of year to be preparing year-end IRS forms.  Some of them need to be submitted on the "official" form -- that is, the blank form can't be downloaded from the IRS website.  Ugh.

So today I went to a friend's office to use her typewriter.  She was kind enough to let me use her typewriter last year as well.  And just like a year ago, today was an adventure.

I had four different forms that I needed to type today.  The first one went fairly well.  As did the second.  And the third.

I was almost done with the fourth -- only one line left -- when I hit a combination of keys on the typewriter that sent it into a frenzy.  It started to type all on its own.  It was apparently a "demonstration" of the typewriters capabilities.  (Thanks for that!)

Fortunately, I had two more opportunities to get this fourth form done correctly.

I ended up with two typos the first time.  The typos could not be easily corrected, as it was a multiple copy form.  But I retyped over my errors in case this was the one that I would have to use.

One final opportunity to see if I could get it done completely right... and I made no typos.

Major. Sigh. Of. Relief.

This Could Be Interesting

When I signed onto my blog just now, I decided to click the button to try the new blogger interface.

After several minutes of slight panic, I finally figured out how I could switch it back to what I was used to.

But then I thought, "You chicken!"

(Sorry, chickens; I mean no offense.)

So I am now typing my first post using the new interface.

I have a question for my readers:  How do you feel about learning a new way to do something?  Especially when the old way seemed fine?

I guess the key point is the alleged improvement.

But haven't we all had our favorite product suddenly become "new and improved"?  And once we try it, we realize the "improved" just means "different" or "not as good as it was"?

I am going to give the new interface a chance.  I must admit that it has a "cleaner" look.  And it gives the promise of being faster and easier to use.

If my blog doesn't disappear into cyberspace, you can assume that I have survived yet another e-challenge.

Teeeeeeeeeeeee-bowwwwwwwwww!!!!!!

What can I say?!  That was an exciting win for Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos!

Although I will be rooting for the New England Patriots to beat the Broncos next weekend, I do hope that Tim Tebow plays well.  I like him.

Lew was very happy that the New York Giants were also victorious today.

All four of the host teams won this weekend, so I guess there really is "no place like home."

Drool On Me

After eating out with our breakfast buddies this morning, Lew and I went to see Eli.  (We also happened to see Matt and Emily during our visit!)

Eli just had his first round of shots this past Tuesday.  The word on the street is that he was not happy.

The doctor told Matt and Emily that they could expect two things from Eli during the next couple weeks:  an increase in drooling and the start of trying to put stuff in his mouth.

Emily said that Eli hadn't quite figured out how to hold things yet.  But right before we left, Eli was holding a little plastic giraffe and putting (part of) the giraffe's head in his mouth.  Everyone was very excited!

And the drooling?  He's got that down, too!

Grampa says:  "Loving drool on my shirt. I may never wash it."

Hammie

When I sign on to Google, my iGoogle page shows several "gadgets."

The left-most gadget is Google Calendar.  I wrote just a few weeks ago about making this sync with the calendar on my iPhone.  I am happy to report that all is going well -- so far anyway!

There are two gadgets in the middle of the page.  The top one is Gmail.  I don't really use my Gmail address much at this point, so there are rarely any messages there.  The bottom gadget is Google Reader.  This helps me keep up with all of the blogs that I follow.

The right side of the page also has two gadgets.  The top one is the Weather.  I have it set to display Scarborough, Maine.  The gadget is telling me that it is currently 28 degrees here.  Brrrrr!  (But is also predicting a high for tomorrow of 43 degrees.)

The bottom gadget is a Hamster.  I have renamed this gadget "Hammie" after Lew's hamster from childhood.  I just looked at Hammie, and he is currently sleeping.  But I could wake him up and have him run around in his exercise wheel.

Hammie has a water bottle in his "cage."  But he gets no food unless I feed him -- one pellet of food per one click of the computer mouse.

It may sound strange, but sometimes I feel guilty when I don't feed Hammie.  If I am on the iGoogle page for a while, he starts to look up to see if there is any food coming his way.

Yes, I am being intimidated by a virtual hamster.

What have I come to?

To Each His (or Her) Own

Lew and I were visiting with some friends on New Year's Eve when the topic of the "worst song ever" came up.  I found a list online of the 100 worst songs (I can't remember according to whom) and read them out loud to everybody.

I then mentioned a song that I always felt was over-rated.  The song?  "Nights in White Satin" by the Moody Blues.  Now, I don't dislike the Moody Blues -- I am just not fond of that particular song.  Not fond at all.

When I was in grade school, I knew a girl that loved it.  She even got all googly-eyed and screamed during the "I love you" part.  All I could think was, "Really?"  (I wanted to scream, too -- out of boredom.)

Back to New Year's Eve:  The TV was turned to Music Choice -- the 70's channel, I think -- when Lew suggested changing it to Classic Rock.

Everyone started laughing after the channel was changed.  I looked up at the screen to see what song was playing.  Really?  I couldn't believe it.  What were the odds?!

The song had just started and someone turned the volume way up.  Everyone in the room that knew the song was singing along.  And, of course, it was the longer album version.

It was excruciating.

A college gal that was there said, "Gee, that really is a boring song."  I gave her a fist bump.

One of the guys later posted a YouTube link to the song on my Facebook wall.  Because he had gone to the trouble, I decided to try and watch it.  I made it through 57 seconds before I just couldn't take it any more.

To those of you that are not familiar with the song:  There are plenty of versions of it on YouTube.  But in my opinion, you are better off as you are.

Dad 78: The Cable Box Adventure

(Every now and then, I am right!  Enjoy Dad's post.  -- Tracy)

Derf Here!  From the Northeast Plantation at Pine Point Road, Scarborough, Maine.  It is very cold.  Temps were below zero degrees this morning.  Still no snow to plow.  The Chevy Silverado is stationary.  Just waiting for some snow.  No hurry, as far as I'm concerned.

The following is an account of my business activities with Time Warner (TW) Cable over the past six days.

Last Friday our cable box stopped recording.  Since we had to tend to some other business we took the cable box and I stopped in at TW to exchange for a new one.  Home we went and I thought our problem was solved.  I made all the proper connections.  When I turned on the cable box -- NOTHING.  It did not come on.  I swapped boxes within the home with no success.  All of a sudden the box responded and the TV was on (it was about 20 minutes before it came on).  So I switched boxes back to original TVs and the box wouldn't work for about another 20 minutes.

At the time I decided to keep the box.  Bad decision on my part.  The weekend was upon us.  The final week of the National Football League (NFL).  Well, after our flat screen was on for a while, the picture would scramble.  The only solution was to turn off the cable box for a while and keep checking until the picture was available again.  This went on throughout Saturday and Sunday.  All the while the bedroom TV acted as a backup.

My trip to TW on Monday was for naught.  Closed for Holiday.  I wanted a TV working in the living room. So, down to the motor home to fetch Kaelen's TV to our living room.  I hooked it up and was able to watch the Rose Parade in miniature.  Other programs were viewable but on a very small scale (about one-tenth of the flat screen's size).

Tuesday, with cable box in hand, off I go to TW again.  Returned home and hooked up the box.  It worked!  I was excited.  However, in the early evening, I decided to try some of the special features.  I found that the "pause" button would not work.  There was no reviewing what just happened on TV.  This is a necessity for reviewing great sport plays and various other reviewable scenes.  I decided then to trade the box in another day.  I told Tracy about this and she said I should call TW with my complaint.  I was sure this wouldn't work, but thought about it overnight.

Wednesday morning is upon us.  I decided to call TW.  After a series of questions from a computer-generated person (don't you hate that), I actually spoke with a real live human.  I told him of my problem and wondered if he could somehow make all the special features work via the land line.  He thought he could.  Our conversation lasted about ten minutes.  Suffice it to say all systems go!  I am amazed that he made all the corrective adjustments via land line.  Before our conversation ended he asked if I was told I should call the office to make sure the box was activated properly.  "No" was my answer.  I'll remember this next time I make a change.  Hopefully he'll tell all agents making exchanges to tell customers to call the office to activate the equipment up to its full potential.  Even I learned something in this transaction.  An old dog can learn new tricks.  I'm glad I took Tracy's advice.  Please don't tell her!  Promise!  Saved another trip on a cold day!  Success!

Through this process we set the machine to record two shows.  They seemed to record, but did not.  Hopefully this problem is also solved.  We'll find out tonight.

Everybody is now happy!  Especially moi!

A belated "Happy New Year!"

Until next time!

Toodle Pip!

Derf!

Spoke Too Soon

Just a few days ago -- on December 31 -- I titled my blog post "Farewell to 2011."

But as I got back into the swing of things today, I realized that I can't really say "good bye" to 2011 yet.

I have to do our income tax returns once I have all the data.

I have some year end reporting to do for my church treasurer position.

And the extra pounds that I gained over Christmas are still around.  (I really want to say "good riddance" to those!)

So, 2011, you're hanging around, aren't you?  You're infringing on 2012's time.  But I guess that's OK, because 2010 did it to you!

The Parade of Roses

It was just before 11:30 this morning when I yelled to Lew, "We're missing the parade!"

He turned on the TV and flipped through the channels until he found the parade on HGTV.  We usually watch it on that channel because they show it commercial-free.

I then grabbed the remote from Lew and pressed the button that would show whether I could "Restart" the program or not.

I could!

So I did.

Despite tuning in almost a half hour late, we didn't miss any of the parade coverage.

Gotta love modern technology!

(Postscript:  Back to work tomorrow for Lew and back to my novel-writing for me.  We've enjoyed the holidays, but it will be nice to get back into a routine.)

 Wishing You a HAPPY NEW YEAR!