The Rest of the Outfit

I finished the booties and cap that go with the blanket. They came out really cute.

Isn't my Teddy Bear a wonderful model?

While On The Road

We made our migration to the Rockies. It's not a long trip but here are some little vignettes that made us smile. 

Did you know that you can drive 80 mph on Idaho's interstate highways? Trucks have to keep their speed to 70. In California the maximum speed limit for trucks and towed RVs is 55. Way to go Idaho!

It's the time of year when cattle are moved from the low country to the high country, so it's not uncommon to see stinky cattle haulers taking a break at rest stops along the way. We parked near this "hauler" and noticed it wasn't stinky. Then we noticed it had four levels instead of two. Then 

I saw this was a sheep hauler. 

They had not been shorn yet...I guess that will happen when they reach their destination. 

I love to collect license plates. 

Nevada has a very patriotic plate that is brand new this year. I really liked it and it was perfect for Memorial Day. Good job Nevada.

Since we were driving thru Nevada, seeing it's new plate is not that unusual. However, seeing a Rhode Island plate in the west is unusual. 

As our drive was nearing its end, we saw this red "geyser" in the sky...and then we saw the vestiges of another reddish geyser. Upon closer look, it was the beginning of a double rainbow. We did not see a full arc, but we could see colors from lavender to red. A pot of gold must be nearby. 

It's Memorial Day

On this day let's remember the brave men and women who have defended our wonderful country for over 200 years. 

Thank you for your sacrifice and your service!

Number 5

It must be the year of the baby because I've made five teddy bear blankets this year ... And all have a baby. I finished the last one last night. 

It's a pink confection destined for the daughter of my "oldest' friend. (We have been friends since we were 11, so we are the same age, but I've known her longer than any of my other friends.) Anyway, her daughter who was born on my birthday many years ago, is expecting a daughter. The circle of life continues. 

On The Road Again

The AC system passed the state inspection so now we can start our vacation. 

We are on the road again. 

For the last several years I've been taking pictures of Lake Oroville showing the low water level. Happily we have had some rain this winter and spring, and the water level of the lake is at NORMAL--something we have not seen in awhile. In fact "they" even had to let water out of the Lake to make room for spring time run-off from the mountains. 

Here's our glorious lake. California is still considered in a drought situation, but it does not feel as desperate as it was. 

That's what it looked like in May, 2015, about a year ago. Now there are not any walls of dry land surrounding the water. This is good. 

Day 5 of 4

The A/C is finished. The fellows pressurized the system and determined it is sealed. To make sure all the vents were tight they caulked them into place. Not a wisp of air can escape. MIke told me that we had leaks in the old system that collectively were the size of a 12 inch duct blowing air outside! 

We had a lesson on the thermostat, which does not seem too difficult. I downloaded the app too, so now I can control the temperature of the house from my iPhone. I still need to determine if that is a good thing or not. 

In the meantime, the weather went from 95 to 59 and we need the heat right now...and tonight the house was very pleasant. 

Day 4 of 5

Yep....we have one more day of installation. The four day project has grown to five. The fellows have been working hard but it's a big system. Today the guys took out the old a/c "box" 

And put in the new box

The new box is bigger than the last one. It's beefier than the last unit...and it has a huge fan ready to spin away the heat.

I placed my hand on the outside of the box to show how big the fan is. 

Inside, a digital thermostat has been installed 

but I fear that we will need lessons on how to use it...not all things digital are easy. 

The new system has a whole house air purifier, something did not have before. I hope it will help with spring allergies. 

Day 3 of 4

Good progress is being made on the a/c system. Today the crew loaded at least another mile of duct work in the crawl space under the house and the attic above the house. I had no idea that much stuff could be loaded into a finite space. They installed 2 air returns giving us a total of three...we've been told that will make the system more efficient and quieter. In addition, one visible piece of equipment was installed...the actual furnace unit. Tomorrow the outside unit will be installed.

There's Mike hooking up one of a thousand connections (I exaggerate only a little).

To add to the drama, the outside heat was turned up too. We could use some air conditioning today as it was a hot 95! We spent the evening in the RV where we have air conditioning. 

If It Looks Like a Duct...and Quacks Like a Duct...Then is it a Duct?

We have ductwork all over the place. In great large coils. 

Here they are laying it out to piece together.

Here they are staging it to go under the house...

...and here they are putting it in thru the house instead of outside in the crawl space. I have no idea where all the duct work is going as it looks like there's more there than there is house.

And there's more to be installed!

In the meantime, the old heating unit stands abandoned

...it worked hard for 28 years, but it's being replaced with new technology that will be energy efficient. I hope the new unit is as good as it's supposed to be.

A New A/C System

Last week our old HVAC unit quit. Since it was 28 years old, it needed to be completely replaced...which is what we are having done this week. 

The unit inside the house -- before-- midway 

---and after. 

They are also removing all the old duct work, so this pile of spaghetti has numbered days. The 

 Stuff is unceremoniously dumped in a flatbed truck to be hauled way. Apparently this stuff is so old it is held together by "duct" tape...which cannot be used on ducts any more. Also, the plastic covering is disintegrating. 28 years ago the plastic was unable to withstand UV light. 

Keyboard Update 2

The new keyboard arrived and it's a huge improvement over the Moko keyboard. The keys are in the right places and the keyboard action is correct. The downside is the color of the cover. The Moko cover was my favorite RED and this is a bland black. Oh well. It's the right keyboard cover.

It's the Logitech TYPE + (Plus) keyboard case and it fits the iPadair2 and the iPadPro as they have the same dimensions.

In case you are wondering, I purchased it from eBay. 

Keyboard Update

I'm returning the Mokoiah keyboard to Amazon as I was not adjusting well to it. I'm a pretty good typist and I could not type on the keyboard, but I could hunt and peck. The Cap Lock key was too easy to turn on, and too hard to turn off. The keys were just a little close together for my hands.  So, it is going back to Amazon.

In the meantime I searched for another iPadPro 9.7 keyboard case. I went to the Logitech website and discovered they are not making them yet. What to do? As I was searching for a good keyboard case, I noticed that many of the venders said the iPadPro and iPadAir 2 keyboards were interchangeable. I went to the Apple website and compared the two iPads and guess what? They have the same dimensions! That was good news. 

The next site I visited was eBay. I found the Logitech keyboard case for an iPadAir2 I wanted and bought it. It should arrive on May 17. All is good. In the meantime, I'll continue without a keyboard and use the one in the screen. For short term use, it's all right. 

New iPad, New Keyboard

My old iPad developed 2 nasty problems...the battery was not keeping a charge and the screen was losing sensitivity. I had a choice...replace the old iPad with a refurbished one or get the latest, greatest model. I choose the latter. No matter what, a new or refurbished iPad was going to need configuration, so I did not see a reason to waste all the effort on the older model. This is my 6th iPad and it's called an iPadPro 9 inch. I've been using an iPad since the first week they were introduced. The device has been improved over the years and I find I use the iPad more than my MacBookPro computer. 

Instead of getting the Apple iPadPro keyboard, I bought the aftermarket keyboard offered by the wise folks at Amazon...it's called a Mokoiah and it was a lot less expensive. I'm testing it out right now and so far so good...the placement of some of the keys is a bit different from the last keyboard, but I think I'll get used to it. 

I also bought the Apple Pencil to go with the ensemble. I've been playing with it for the last day and it's a lot of fun. It is particularly useful for "enhancing" or "editing" photos that need a bit of help.

I'll keep you informed about the new iPad and the new keyboard and the pencil in the next few weeks.

Meet Punky

This is Punky, the airport dog. She works at the San Diego Airport. In fact there is a small squadron of certified therapy dogs at the airport. Their job is simple...de-stress stressed out passengers. If you are in need of some furry companionship after a long trip, Punky or her team will be there. In fact, if your  flight attendants think you might be stressed out, they will notify the gate to have a therapy dog on hand. These dogs are magical. They will let you let hug and cuddle them till you feel better. With a face like that, you know you are in good paws!

Home

We are back home. While it was not the cruise that was planned, as we were not able to go to every port, it was still a great cruise. We had 30 days in a neat little ship. We sailed all over the South Pacific. We had a butler bring us breakfast every morning. Two room attendants kept our cabin spotless. Our meals were tasty and we did not have to cook nor clean for a solid month. The nice folks did my laundry and returned it neatly pressed and folded the next day. There was entertainment nightly. There were things to do during the day. There were neat people to talk to and the ports of call we did visit were wonderful.

Tomorrow I will get breakfast, cook, clean, unpack, do laundry...and the list goes on and on. I miss the cruise already! 

Say Goodbye to the Westerdam. The next cruise (right now) is in November...but something might show up in between ... you never really know!