Netflix

I rewatched the entire Luther series (BBC) in preparation for the show that appeared on BBC America recently (in the last two weeks I think). I like Idris Elba's character DCI John Luther and Ruth Wilson's character Alice Morgan very much. I have liked a lot of the characters that appeared for a few episodes or a season, I think they are well developed. It is a somewhat gritty show. There is talk that this series will roll into movies. I think that is a good idea. (It sounds like a lot to say I rewatched the whole series, it was something like 12-14 episodes, so not a lot.)

Oldest and I watched the first season of Dark Matter while we were tending youngest last week. It is sci-fi, by some of the same folks who did parts of the Stargate (multiple) series. We think it shows promise. It has been picked up for a second season.

I am now watching George Gently which is BBC and is set in the 1960's. There are seven seasons with the first six on Netflix so far. I believe the show is still in production. The seasons have between 2-4 episodes. So, not a lot of shows, but they are 1 1/2 hours each, which helps. Really enjoying it. Not a gritty show. Plots are good, in my opinion. I like the characters. And I am having fun watching the clothes, hair styles, cars and furnishings. (There is a lot of smoking. A lot.)

My little store

I think I may have mentioned that I cleaned out my closet, when my husband was out of town a couple months ago. It was a big job. I found a lot of things stashed in that closet. A lot. For example, I found Christmas gifts for middle stashed away, most of which I had forgotten were there. All her presents came from what I found.

I also found a lot of other gifts.

I used three cubby units, left over from Middle in college dorms, in the studio, to organize all these gifts.

I think of this as my little store. As in stored goods.

And I am very pleased with it.

It has come in very handy in the last couple weeks.

Example one -
On Friday, middle mentioned she was going to her boy's nephew's baptism today/Sunday. And I knew I had supplies for quiet church bags (post one, post two) in my store. When she looked, there were three canvas bags (from which to chose) and a variety of things to put in them. She customized (a combination of items for) her bag as her gift. It was very cute, very unusual, and very fast. And we would never have been able to put it together in time if I did not already have the items on hand. I (immediately) reordered a few things to replenish the quiet church bag stash. Many times there is not much notice for baptisms. This feels handmade, special.

Example two -
I had four autism T-shirts and flatware on hand as part of middle's graduation gift. I knew I had the flatware stashed. It is my traditional graduation gift for our kids. But I had forgotten I had the autism shirts. They are hard to find. I had found good ones long, long ago. I was very pleased to refind them in my closet.

Example three -
I had bought four really great hats at our church craft show. I picked up three first and then went back and got the fourth so each girl had a choice. When our friends' college girl was here, I let her pick hers first (and take it with her, she wore it to middle's graduation). It was our Christmas gift to her. While we had them out, I let youngest pick one, I wrapped that one and added it to the stash under the tree. That left two. I wrapped the one I thought Middle would like best for Christmas. She opened it and loved it. I showed her the remaining one, the fourth, so she still had a choice. She kept the one I had picked. She had seen the college girl's pick and youngest's pick. Middle liked her own the best. But, honestly, no girl ended up with the one I originally thought they would like. They picked differently than I would have picked, choosing for them. So the four hats for three girls ended up being very smart. The remaining one goes back in the stash. These were handmade, just not by me.

Example four -
Middle and my close friend both used cherry pit bags (links to two posts) for gift giving this year. I made 36 bags between the two of them, 18 each. Two shipments of cherry pits used. Middle used these as thank you gifts for student teaching and as Christmas presents for all her boy's family this year. My friend used them as teacher, therapist, tutor, coach gifts for the seven year old's people. And as gifts for her very hard to buy for sisters, brother in laws and parents. I have a few (of middle's 18) left in my stash for future giving. Again, handmade, which people love.

Example five -
I have (lots of) swaddling blankets and baby books in my stash. We use them, all the time, for baby shower and "congratulations on the birth of your child" gifts. I even shipped three blankets to oldest to use as a new baby gift. People really like homemade. Swaddling blankets are hard to find.

Example six -
I have two toddler towels put away for middle for next year. If all goes well, another one of her boy's siblings will have a new baby by then. Toddler towels will be great Christmas gifts. Huge hooded towels, handmade, for both babies.

Example seven -
My dishwasher was down and out for a couple days. I had a house full. I gifted a 9x13 glass pan out of the stash to myself.





There are many, many more gifts in my stash. A very wide variety. Some I will be very glad to see used/gone. Others I will restock as they are used, like the cherry pit bags, toddler towels, swaddling blankets and quiet church bags.  I always keep a few card games on hand too.

I am pretty sure I have never discarded a cord, in my life

Not a charger cord, not a connection cord.

If it looked like a cord, I kept it, in a big bin in the garage.

Big bin in the bottom of the cupboard with the tools.

The bin was overflowing and a tumbled mess.

I hauled it in the living room.

It was all I could do to lift it. Evidentally cords are very dense.

I dumped the bin.

Oldest said - I guess we're committed now.

I had labels and zip-ties ready.

I detangled.

He identified.

It went very quickly.

It either went in the recycle pile on the floor at his end of the couch, or I coiled/zip-tied/labeled it and it went back in the bin at my end of the couch.

He was helping youngest with her game, so she was there too. Sometimes it took both of them to figure out if we were really ever going to need a cord again.

We found a cord for middle's Apple laptop in there. We found cords for camcorder in there. We found cords for one of the digital cameras in there. We found a lot of other cords and Y connectors and things that he had me keep. And now he knows what is in the box. So if he is on the phone, long distance helping me, he will be able to say - go get the one that says xxxxx, that is what you need.

Probably 80% went in the recycle pile, which my husband boxed and put in the garage. I will take it to the electronics recycling center this week.

There is now enough room left in the bin that when I find stray extension cords or plug in timers or power strips, they can go in there too.

Older kid game ideas in comments

Notes to myself on 8" flannel squares, with fleece as the backing, quilt

I have some type of a glitch with drop box on the new computer right now. Waiting for computer guy.   Will post a picture when I can. BUT if I don't get directions to myself written, in a couple days I will not remember what I did.

So, making notes so I know for next time.


8 rows by 10 rows
approximately 60" x 90"
which is a great size for a nap/lap type quilt


I cut 8x8 flannel squares and sewed them into rows. So 8" cut. 7 1/2" finished.

I had a few cotton pieces and a few interfaced T-shirt squares too. But mostly it was flannel. I alternated light and dark color values so it flows. So it was very much a "scrap" looking quilt. But the eye has a way of knowing where to go with the light and dark diagonal rows. I almost always do this either thru color or light/dark when I make a scrap quilt.

And it truly was scrap. I started with squares I already had cut for the baby quilt project I rejected after trying one quilt (exposed seam allowances which made it too linty for me). I added some prints to the original pieces, but most of it is non baby prints I was planning to use for a series of baby quilts. One big quilt instead of several small ones. I still have squares left for other projects.

I sewed the rows together, attaching to white flannel, quilt as I went, method.

I sewed strips of white flannel together, as I went, as Joanns did not have wide widths.

When I got the whole top together, I serged the outer edges, all the way around.

Then I sewed three more sets of white flannel together to make a big enough piece and added another layer to the back, making sure the white flannel seam allowances did not end up in the same places.

I then quilted through all three layers, on the machine, in the horizontal ditch. Or I should say about 1/8" out of the ditch, reinforcing all those seams, by sewing on the seam allowances.

When I sew rows together or machine quilt, I alternate directions so the quilt stays flat. So I sew right to left one time, the left to right the next. Otherwise the fabric "walks".

Then I sewed around the outside edge again, zigzagging, to hold everything together.

I put fleece on the back. I put a pin in the center, through all the layers, of each 8x8" square. Then I sewed, through all those layers, vertically in the ditch. BECAUSE the stretch of the fleece was horizontal. So I got everything held in place vertically first. (That is why I sewed horizontally through the top and two layers of flannel backing, because the fleece stretch was horizontal. Quilter told me to do that.) Then I went back and sewed in the ditch horizontally and then cross hatched (corner to corner to corner thru all the diagonal rows which makes an X in each square).

The fleece was slippery, but manageable.

I cut my binding at 3" and used a wider seam allowance to sew it to the quilt to hide the serged and zigzagged outer edges. I used a cotton print for the binding. Same cotton as one of the squares in the quilt. I knotted most of my stitches, all the way around that quilt for longevity as it is a thick, heavy quilt and it is going to a guy, who I think will really use it.

Really good weight for winter. It is tactile because of the fleece and flannel.

My quilter had told me I needed two layers of flannel as "batting" to work with the fleece and I think she was right. Just sewing the quilt top to the fleece would not have had a quilt look. The top would have disappeared into the fleece in an odd way. This has a quilt look.

This was a very simple quilt, because the blocks are not pieced. But it still took time because I quilted it myself and there was a lot of fussing around all those layers.

I layed it out, arranging blocks one night. Added a few blocks another night. Sewed into rows one day. Then sewed the rows together and did all the quilting and sewed on the binding in one marathon day. Then I did the handwork of the binding, one side at a time, over four days, to protect my hands. My left thumb is greatly impacted by too much "holding" at one time.

I might have a picture up in a few hours or a week. Not sure when computer guy will get back to me since "Dropbox" is not an emergency.

And I have learned I have to make these notes or a week later I am not sure what I did. I have made so many things over the years that they run together. And you can tell when I write these that there are definite tricks/techniques with each one.

Yeahhhhhhh!

New computer was installed. I can order pictures today or tomorrow and have them Monday.

Computer guy (here, installing computer) wanted encyclopedias. Husband loaded them in the car for him (immediately). They were still stacked in the living room, with me trying to figure out what to do with them (storage wise in the house). Computer guy has an early grade school son who he said would like to read them. So it will be nice for him (the son) to have a set that is not viewed as expensive that he can just have like any other book. Pleased.

We kept the hard drive out of the old computer so if we discover something did not get moved to new computer, he can still retrieve it. He moved music, pictures, genealogy, documents. He set everything like we are used to having it. He put in Word 7, because 8 was terrible, and they are still working the bugs out on 10. I do not know about 9. We have 7 for now and 10 to come later. Keyboard was replaced. And maybe mouse. The new tower is freakishly tiny.

I thought I had a leak in my bathtub handheld tub device. Sighed. Well, I did have leak, but plumber was able to tighten something and it was fine. Very quick visit. He took off panel and looked under tub, no water. Relief. I called Friday morning after they were already busy for the day, but he still came, so I was not worried about it all weekend. I did not beg. I just stated facts. Even though it was a busy day, he came about 4pm on Friday. We have been with them thru two houses and probably nearly 30 years and I always pay bill immediately.

We cranked yesterday, including me, cleaning up stacks in computer room, so there are counters again. I am left with several bins of weird stuff to consider after the holidays, but I am okay with that. The cubbies/pigeon holes need a major clean out this winter.

It was nice enough so my husband washed outside of windows. Not every window, but he got the kitchen and porch, which were (really) bugging me. He also cleaned porch. Major leaves. He asked me what we use to clean front door, so he must have scrubbed that too.

I washed outside of some kitchen cupboards. Murphy Oil Soap kind of washing. Not every cupboard, but got the really dirty ones. Like the end where garbage/recycling sits. That was bad enough so that I wrapped wet rag around pancake turner and scrubbed with that. I mix murphy soap in a (cooking) pan that can then go in dishwasher. Then I do not have to figure out how to clean Murphy out of a bucket. Did not take long. Very pleasing. My husband got skirting/baseboard right where refrigerator and microwave are. I got over by stove. That was really dirty too.

Instead of feeling like I have so much ahead of me, I am feeling like we have done a lot. Still have momentum. Loft is next on my hit list.

We will not be in a panic next week.

Still working on pictures. Our reward for big work, each day,  is sitting down and working on pictures. Different mindset.

Photos, in frames and in albums

I have written about photos many times over the years.

If you remember I once had a huge mess. Negatives, prints, digital, behind in our albums. We set up tables in the kitchen and worked our way through all of it. Big job.

We keep a set of albums for each kid and one for the house. This is now a lot of albums. Probably 5 for each kid and more for the house. So we are talking about 25+ albums.

I have no regrets in keeping an album for each kid. I think that was the right thing to do. Our kids value those albums hugely.

I think the concept of scrapbooks gets many women buried. It is expensive, it tends to never get done. I think it is a negative thing.

I think albums where the pictures simply slip in the pocket are smart. I think a three binder approach is good. Can add or rearrange pages easily. I think it is smart to have full page pockets/page protectors and put big pictures, certificates, etc in there too.

We have an enormous amount of genealogy stuff at our house now.

The genealogy pictures are on, under, around our old kitchen table in my husband's office. So as we have been going through closets and drawers and run across a picture, that is where we put it.

The contemporary albums are in the studio. So as we find contemporary pictures, that is where we put them.

We have never thrown out a negative. They are in sleeves in a binder. We still have prints made from negatives for some photos.

My husband and I cleaned out the living room, big time, a few weeks ago.

One of the clean outs was three shelves of framed photos above the piano. Lots of small frames. Some tiny frames. Probably 50-75 frames. Not likely to get dusted regularly.

We were just going to put framed art on those shelves, but nothing looked right. And everyone wanted family photos back up there.

So we decided to put large frames with family photos on those shelves. Maybe 15 frames that can easily be dusted. We are doing all black frames, some with white matting, so it has a uniform look.

So last night we started looking through albums, deciding on pictures, and looking for original negatives, to have prints made for those frames.

My husband is very good at looking at negatives. He uses the light box. He has found several of the ones we need. A larger print is better quality made from a negatives. The ones where we cannot find a negative, we can have prints made from the pictures in the album. But these will need to be smaller prints. Same size retains quality. Enlarging from prints does not work well.

Big job.

We have run across prints I had made but never got in albums when I lost my album page supplier. I have pages now. So I have been sticking them in albums as we go.

I have never thrown away a picture. Remember the days when you shot a roll of film and every picture was printed? Our photo store did free second set. So we have two of every picture. That is a lot of pictures. I have all of them. I put the "rejects" in a basket with a lid. Those have been very useful over the years. That is where the kids dug for pictures for school projects and bulliten boards, etc. Those pictures can be cut up, glued, given away. We are going through that basket too.

I have digital pictures on the computer that I need to have printed too. Some for the black frames. Some for the albums. But we have no computer. The computer guy is moving old stuff on new computer this week.

My goal is to get to the photography store today with at least our prints order for the ones being made from prints or negatives (for the black frames above the piano).

We bought the frames so we know what size we need for prints. We have maybe 8 frames so far.

We found a few larger pictures bought on tours (like standing in front of a boat) that we need 6x8 black frames.

So it is an involved process. It is complicated.

We used to keep albums on the ledge on the landing of the stairs. That ledge has accumulated a lot of weird stuff. Going through it too.

I am working with intention of finishing, this week, not dragging out indefinitely. It is one of those things where if you walk away, you don't know where you are, what you did. So it is better to just push through and do it.

Qwirkle

At resale shop today, wandering while husband was at library.

What did I see? Qwirkle.

I remember it being in the recommendations.

I asked if I could open it to see if the pieces were all there.

108 tile pieces later, we realized it was intact.

Directions included.

$5.

Sold.

It looks very fun.

Saved collection of game ideas, Jill started it

Here is Jill's post.

Very good list of ideas in her post and in comments.

I added a "card games" label to my blog.

I think I have my previous posts on card games all linked now.

Ordered a new computer

We do not know what year we got the current computer, it might be as much as ten years old.

Dinosaur in computer terms.

And that was our second computer, ever.

So we have made it with two consecutive computers for a very long time.





We refer to this as the house computer.

Keyboard, big monitor, tower, printer/scanner/copier.

I use my iPad 99% of the time. I really love my iPad.

(Apple should come visit me to see what they should be saying in their commercials.)

My husband uses his iPhone and Apple laptop 99% of the time.

But that 1% of the time we use the house computer, we want the cd, scanner, big monitor, keyboard.

All of those things are valuable to us when we do certain functions.






I use the camera on my iPad a lot.

But there are times when I want the scanner on the printer and I want it hooked up to the monitor.

There are functions I cannot do on my iPad.

There are things that are easier on the house computer.

My husband has a lot of music files.

He edits songs.

He listens to all of it.

The house computer is easier for a lot of functions.





So our oldest thinks we too are dinosaurs that we want what we call a house computer.

He thinks there are other options.

But he is not doing any of the functions (in life) that we do on our house computer.

His life is digital.

We are straddling digital and pre digital.

We still have a lot of non digital things.

Like versions on songs on cd.

Hard copy pictures that were taken with film and are in a print form only, a lot of them.

Many generations of them.





The new tower, computer guts, is around $500-600.

That is a small investment for ease in working with pictures and music.

There is a lot to be said for our large monitor set up high so we can see it.

It is very hard for 20 somethings to understand older eyes.

It comes with a new key board.

The symbols are worn off our old key board.

Our fingers know so it still works, but is a little weird.

I like having the computer in its spot, a big counter to spread out things, the scanner right there.

I like having a tethered mouse.

And there is something to be said for doing things the way we are used to doing them.





Our computer room has built in counters.

It has great office chairs.

It has a door that closes.

Those things are valuable to us, but not the way younger generations tend to live.

We find value in a non moveable computer system.

Something that stays where it is and stands ready.





We will have twice the memory.

I have piles of pictures waiting to be scanned.

The computer room is a big heap of waiting stuff right now.

I have been waiting so I can touch it once and be done, organizing and scanning as I go.

Our external hard drive is big enough to back up the new system.

We bought, planning ahead.

It will not have to be replaced.





I have been on computer hold now for months.

Last year, we deleted everything we could spare from the house computer memory.

Major culling.

And then we limped along, waiting for something new to come out this summer.

Then I was sort of waiting for my husband to be motivated.






This week I could not scan a letter to email to oldest.

It was too detailed to take a picture with my iPad.

It need to be scanned.

I had to snail mail it.






Then I could not attach pictures to email to youngest's high school for a senior project.

I was able to move them from house computer pictures to drop box and then email them from my iPad.

But I had to do a lot of messing around to do even that.







The house computer had just ground itself to a halt.

I complained, a lot.







My husband said - call the computer guy.

The computer guy makes house calls.

We have loved him since he was in high school/college.

He is now married and expecting fourth baby.

About half his business is commercial.

The other half is people like us.

I always tip him when I pay the bill.

I appreciate his service hugely.

When he came, I stayed out of the way so my husband was talking to the computer guy.

Next thing I knew, we were get new guts with twice the memory.

It will be here Monday or Tuesday.






PS -

I am not happy with our scanner.

Our computer guy said it might be because it is talking to an old computer.

He said let us replace the computer first and then see about the scanner.

It is an office quality one. It should be working as I want. So he might be right.