Better

Each day I'm a little better than the day before! That's real good news. I'm still not able to bend or stoop and sleep in my normal fashion. Life goes on.

It's deer season, so the animals are smart enough to hide. I told the big buck who hangs out at my house to stay in the back forest, but I don't think he listened to me. On the other hand, one doe has decided to stay. 

I'm a little worried about her as her ribs show -- will she have enough weight to survive a cold winter and have a baby?

Recovering and an Android Tablet

Slowly, I'm getting better. My recommendation .... Don't fall...and if you do, don't break a rib. There's not much the medical community can do for a broken rib. They will not put you in a cast, nor will they tape you up...as both are ways to bring about pneumonia! That is why I was given a rib brace. The brace is helpful but now after a week, I no longer need to have it on 100% of the time. Think of a rib brace as a corset...if you've ever worn a corset, then you know what I'm talking about. If you've been lucky enough to have never worn a corset, please don't break a rib to "enjoy" the experience. 

In the meantime, I purchased a really inexpensive android tablet. It arrived yesterday. This morning I had a lesson from Ed, my android using friend, and I think I have the basics figured out. I will probably never be an android fan, but It serves my purpose. This fall I'm going to teach a digital photography course and some of my students are going to be android users...so I need to know how to use an android unit. 

My friend Phyllis called last night saying she was looking at a small Samsung tablet for under $200. I bought this little fellow from Tiger Direct for under $60. My guess....the Samsung probably has better support but for the price, my TD-cheapo unit is excellent. It will not replace my iPad which is about 100x faster (at least it seems that way).

Bounce Next Time

I'm taking a little vacation from my blog because I forgot to bounce. I was on my morning walk...and I tripped. Instead of bouncing, I broke a rib! I don't recommend it. It hurts. I'm in a rib brace and taking pain medication. I'm sleeping a lot and trying not to cough, laugh, stretch, or move. This is not what I had in mind for Labor Day weekend! 

Kindle vs Book

I’m an advocate of online learning! I’m also an advocate of using “modern tools” to bring about more learning. Given that, I’ve been concerned about learning to read from an electronic book (i.e., Kindle, iPad, Nook, etc.). I’ve wondered if comprehension rates were the same for both types of books or reading experience. Kim Komando, one of my favorite online computer gurus, sited a source today saying it is NOT. Click here to find out more.

To read more about the fact that paper beats screen, click here. And for those who want to read the article in Norwegian, click here.

I believe that electronic books are good for experienced readers, but beginners need the advantages of print on paper! The study mentioned above involved a very small group of people. As they say in “academe” more research is needed. This is true...but in the meantime, schools should pay heed to this line of research as they are putting a lot of educational $$ in iTablets that might be better spent on traditional paper books.  

My New Keyboard

I just bought a keyboard for my iPadAir. I had a Zagg keyboard for my first iPad, and I was not very impressed with it. In the meantime, I've had 2 other iPads, and I learned how to use the built-in keyboard quite well. 

One of my friends bought an iPadAir and the Logictech keyboard/case and I finally found a keyboard that I liked. I bought the keyboard online and it arrived this afternoon, and I'm using it right now. It's pretty good. I can even get some speed on my typing. The line between an iPad and a laptop computer has been pretty much erased. 

Growing Up

I saw our twin fawns today and I was surprised. They've grown up in the last few days (the last time I saw them was August 6). They have lost their spots. 

See the difference? 

It's time for them to leave their momma soon. I hope they survive the winter in the Rockies. 

An Aminal

It's the summer for strange and unusual crocheted creations. My crochet-pal likes elephants. I saw this pattern and gave it a try. The first elephant (see July 16) I made sits in the other DrC's office, but this one will be sent to my pal. The little critters are fun to make. 

Again

Guess who spent 3 days in Yellowstone and the Tetons? I went up with 2 lady friends and we had a grand time. The mountains were beautiful; the animals were abundant; the weather was heavenly. It's hard to ask for more. 

The Oxbows with Mt. Moran 

The Grand Tetons

The lovely Jenny Lake nestled in the Tetons

Old Faithful in Yellowstone. 

A good time was had by all. 

Pig Time

It time for the County Fair and that means 4-H Pigs. Our friends raise pigs and their four little kids get super involved. Last year,the two oldest won Grand Champion for Showmanship for their age category. This year we are hoping for a similar outcome but you never know what is going to happen when a 60 pound child starts wrangling a 260+ pound pig. 

That's our boy and Arrow. 

And there's his sister with 1000 pounds of piggy. 

Even the 5 year old and his 2 year old sister get involved. The little one at 25 pounds gets into the pen and gives those pigs marching orders. She's fearless. I'm not sure how much the pigs listen as they seem to sleep most of the time. 

It's a great experience for the kids. They work with the pigs daily for 4 to 5 months. They are responsible for walking, feeding and nurturing their pigs, knowing full well that a week after the fair, the pigs will be sold to the highest bidder. 

Stag

Yesterday we had a doe and her twins, today we had the large stag that has been hanging around this summer. 

He's very distinctive as his rack is not symmetrical. 

I think he has 12 spikes..it is hard to tell. He won't let me get close enough to count. 

Twins

One of our resident does had twins this year. We saw them earlier in the summer, but have not seen them again until yesterday. 

The little family was munching grass and leaves in our front yard. 

This little guy took a drink from a puddle

While the other stayed close to mom. 

They are a treat to see, and as long as they stay in the forest or my yard they will be safe.

Wristers

Wristers are fingerless gloves. One of my friends made a pair and I thought they were cute. I looked on the web for patterns, and came up with a bunch of ideas, but nothing I really liked, so I put those ideas together and came up with this pattern. Not only are they easy to make; they are a good project for all that leftover yarn that seems to accumulate.

Even without fingers they are warm and cozy. Being warm and cozy is not an issue during the summer, but they will be perfect for winter. As the other DrC said, "now I can type when my hands are cold!"

Caps for Cancer

        

I have two friends who are recovering from cancer surgery and treatment. When Katherine complained that she needed an extra-large cap but could not find any, I accepted the challenge to make one for her. Then somehow that led to making more caps.  Here are a few of the caps I've made. They are going to be donated to the cancer society. 

1960 Chevrolet

Yesterday we had some minor repair work done on our car. We waited in the dealership showroom and instead of seeing the newest and shiniest 2014 model, we saw 3 older cars. One was this 1960 Chevrolet Impala convertible. 

This boat was huge and lumbering and even kind of pretty. 

When I was going to high school, this was a must have car. 

The steering wheel was huge. Look at the speedometer...it goes up to 120 MPH without a hint of the metric system. The modern round dials told the temperature, battery and fuel information. Not a back-up cam or air bag in sightooi' My goodness, how did we drive safely?

 

The Chevy bowtie setting in the crest said it all. This was a great car!

No seat belts, no bucket seats, and zero to 60 by the end of the block -- with the top down, this was all you needed. 

Two Strange Plates

I collect license plates. Unlike my father
who covered a  wall of the garage with them, I take their pictures. I have a  PowerPoint file of license plates, each one on the map showing where it's from. 

The following license plate I can't put on a map because it's from an nonexistent place. Let me explain. Wyoming has 23 counties. The first two numbers on the plate designate the county. This plate is from County 24--also known as Longmire Country. 

The TV program Longmire takes place in  fictitious Absaroka County (but in reality it's filmed in New Mexico.)

This is a rare plate. It's from a real place, the Northwest Territories in Canada. It's one of the few plates in the world that has a shape other than a rectangle. According to Wikipedia less than 45,000 souls live in the Northwest territory yet it is home to eight different languages. I wanted to drive to Yellow Knife (the capital) one time, but it's a long long way from the world. I guess I'll just have to settle for looking at the license plate. 

Rain on Daisies

We had a slight sprinkle--maybe 17 drops of rain, and the daisies loved it. Take a look

And even more amazing, these photos were taken with an iPhone. I'll use these pictures as examples for my photography class this fall.

A Pink Elephant

                     

Yep! I made an elephant! No this hot pink baby is not a political statement. It's just an elephant because it's cute. I've learned that crocheted and knitted animals are called "amigurumi." 

This little guy is about 4 inches tall and 6 inches long from truck to tail. I found the pattern in the Lyon Brand App in case you want to make one. It took about 3 hours to crochet him, and another 2 hours to stuff and piece him together. Someone will like this little guy. 

                  

Caps

My "crochet pal" Christiana has asked me for lessons on cap-making. Since she is a long-distance pal, I've been making caps one step at a time, taking pictures along the way, and then texting her the directions. The results are cute. 

            

These caps (and others) will be donated to the Cancer Society. 

Another Purse

I'm not making a lot of blankets right now. It's warm and crocheting a big blanket in the heat is less than perfect. I've just finished an iPad purse or "pocket."

           

I lined the purse with a cool Wyoming themed fabric. I'm not a huge horse fan, but in love the design. 

          

There's a lot of room in the purse for additional cables...and if you have any electronics, you know there is a passel of cables. 

How To Train Your Dragon 2

I saw the movie yesterday. It was delightful. The message was clear--love is better than hate or fear. In addition to a heart-warming message, the animation was excellent. There were times I was sure I was looking at a real object instead of a cartoon of the object. The dragons were cute too. The movie has been out over a month, so you might have to rent it from Red Box, and when you do, it will be worth your time. 

Wildflower Collage

A few of the wildflowers in my yard. Note that the asters are blooming. Does that really mean only 6 more weeks of summer. 

P.S. Can you identify the flowers?

For Christiana

Christiana is my new crochet pal. We met on the Star Princess going to and from Alaska. She sent me this pattern last night, so I sat down on my back porch and made it in red white and blue. It seemed fitting for Independence Day Weekend. 

           

It's for a very tiny person as it "bearly" fits my smallest teddy bear. 

           

For My Cousin

My cousin is having a birthday soon and I wanted to make her something special. I'm an ace at blankets, but for some reason, I decided that a blanket was not going to be "it." Off to the hardware store, to look for solutions. (You might ask...the hardware store? Well, our hardware store sells a little bit of everything including fabric and yarn.) I went to the pattern display and saw a cute purse pattern that I liked it a lot. 

I chose a color yarn that was pretty, some fabric for lining and started working away. The crocheting on the purse was finished on the Star Princess before we reached Alaska. The lining was finished today. As a bonus feature I made a smart phone carrier too. 

The lining includes a pocket for all the small junk that collects in a purse..

                   

And the smart phone carrier is seamless. I've been reading about making seamless items and I figured it out. 

                 

Slowly, I'm branching out to crocheting items other than blankets. I'm having a lot of fun creating them too. 

If you'd like a purse, or a smart phone carrier, let me know and I'll make one for you. 

Backyard Treat

As we were getting ready for dinner, I looked outside and saw one of our resident does and next to her was a tiny fawn. The first fawn I've seen this summer. I tiptoed outside on the porch and saw a huge surprise. There was a second fawn about 10 feet we away from the mom. 

I tried to take pictures of all three, but they started to leave. Here's one of the little guys. The crook is 3 feet tall, so the spotted fellow is about 15-18 inches tall. I hope I see more of them this summer. 

By the way, I discovered deer like pansies as much as they like petunias. The deer liked the pansy buffet so much, we moved them to a friend's home. The remaining planter boxes are completely destroyed with uprooted plants. Deer are a mixed blessing. Given that, I love having them around. 

Glassblowing

First and foremost, I am not a glass blower! I have always looked at glass blowers as people who create magical illusions out of everyday "stuff." How can someone take molten sand and shape it with air and talent to make beautiful works of art? Never did I think I would have an opportunity to say "I did that." I am not Dale Chihuly, but I can say I have participated in the creation of a glass globe!

            

I made this globe. I put a steel rod into a molten mass of glass and collected a small "glob" of it. I rolled the rod to even out the glob of glass then reheated it in the glory hole (and even hotter furnace). With the help of a master glass blower, we blew tiny puffs of air into the glob to make a globe. The sphere was reheated and the drapery design was applied by gauging the very hot glass with a simple tool that looked like a nail on a pole. The glass was reheated and shaped again, before the rod was removed from the ball and a small dab of molten glass was "glued" to the bottom to form a base. From there the ball was put into an annealing chamber to cool. 

All if this happened in Skagway, Alaska a few days ago. I received my globe today in the mail! 

I also received a second piece of glass. Remember I told you about this on June 20? In less than 10 minutes the master glass blower created a ruffled bowl. I bought the bowl before anyone else had a chance to bid on it!

To give you an idea about size, here they are together.

Do you think the folks at Orient and Flume or Tiffany will hire me?