“Send Later” Function

iPhone to iPhone, there is a “send later” function. 

iPhone to android, this function is not available (as far as I can tell). 

I find this function very helpful. 

My most recent example, at 5:30am I remembered it was mosquito spray day. I set text alerts for my neighbors to send at 8:45am. The mosquito guys are usually here between 9-10am.

Here is how it works, iPhone to iPhone -

Here is a real example -

Clicking the x on the next open window returns the setting to normal. Can send texts in real time with the “send it later” activated/ready.

Sending later on email is equally easy, here are the directions - 

A new laptop

 The same week (last week) that I was very busy with my mom’s plumbing replacements, I was also laptop shopping for her. 

Oh my goodness. 

I am not a laptop person. 

So this process was a bit like buying a car for someone else when you do not drive yourself.

I used a laptop approximately 25-30 years ago to construct quilt patterns. So I have used them, but so long ago it does not count. 

My mom’s previous laptop was a very low quality one that she purchased on 2020 or so. A friend who clearly knows nothing about laptops helped her buy it, long distance. I think the purchase was based 100% on price. 

That old lap top cannot handle Windows 11, it has Windows 10. Windows 10 will not be supported after October 2025. (A detailed explanation is at the end of this post.) 

*** Mom (age 84) needed a new laptop. Her laptop is very important. She uses her laptop to pay bills online. She does her banking online. She reads Facebook. She talks to extended family and a friend on Messenger. She uses email. She orders groceries for curbside. She orders from Amazon. She stores her digital pictures. She orders her meds from an online mail order pharmacy. ***

My first step was to determine what her old laptop included. I went to a local computer store and Best Buy. 

Best Buy guy was helpful. He opened it up and had me take screen shots to send to youngest. 

The local computer store guy just kept telling me how terrible it was, but was not a lot of help. 

Youngest looked at all the screenshots and verified what both places had told me. “ You cannot make a mistake, no matter what you buy, it will be better than what she has currently.”

Mom wanted an HP because that was what she already had. (I also had to buy plumbing fixtures that were just like what she already had, so I did not argue.)

Two trips to the computer store, three trips to Best Buy, and lots of conversations with youngest later, I purchased a $649 HP laptop that was on sale for $399 at Best Buy. I also bought her a new mouse. I did not buy the extended warranty. 

I also looked at a lower priced HP, but the response time was too slow. I know this because the computer guy at Best Buy activated both display models, to look for something for me, and the lesser one was incredibly slow.

The original plan was to have the computer store transfer key data from the old laptop to the new laptop with a house call. They did not want to do this. They make house calls. But what they prefer is to make  transfers at their store. They would have moved everything. 

There were obsolete programs on the old laptop that had been on a previous laptop. We absolutely did not want “everything” moved. 

Youngest highly recommends this method - only move what you need - for new PC’s, new phones, new laptops. Do not transfer everything. Save the old device for a bit, to be sure you have what you need. I agree. 

I had my mom make a list of everything she uses on her laptop. 

Friday night middle went with me to her house. Middle activated windows, linked the new laptop to my mom’s WiFi, and then tackled the list. 

Middle updated passwords and set up backups as she went. There was a lot of general cleanup that needed done. She was quick. She saved login/passwords to the new computer for basic things (but not banking). She also updated my mom’s password book (hardcopy).

It was only a little bit complicated. There were three documents on Microsoft Works, which has been obsolete since 2009, that my mom wanted on the new laptop. Middle copied them, pasted into email, opened the email on the new laptop, and then pasted them into a One Note account on the new laptop. Bonus, these documents are also now on email as a back up. 

The old lap top is still functional with everything still intact. If my mom thinks of something thing else she needs, middle can move it. The three documents are also still on the old laptop. We are saving the old laptop.

Middle understands what is on the new laptop and can help with any problems.

Story Graph and Goodreads

My ultimate goal was to load books Goodreads and then upload my list to Story Graph. Story Graph does wonderful analysis of books read. Goodreads is widely used. Youngest uses both apps. That was my goal too. I started with Goodreads. We then uploaded my Goodreads list to Story Graph.

Last weekend, at my local beauty shop for several hours because it was a cut and highlight appointment, I worked on my Goodreads account (on my phone while my color set). I was updating past read books. 

I started logging books on Goodreads in the fall of 2023 at Youngest’s direction. She set up my account and showed me how to use it. 

So a recent book list has been maintained. A list of past books was the problem.

I have wanted to add books (read long ago) for ages, but it was a daunting task. I had not kept a list. I have read hundreds of books. 

To get started, I searched key phrases for book posts on my blog and I looked for old group book lists in my email archives. Both those sources gave me titles/authors and approximate read dates. 

When it was an author with a lot of books, published over decades, and I had no idea of my read date, I used publication date plus one year and logged the books in December of that year. I read a lot in December’s, when school breaks left more free time. Sue Grafton and John Graham are a good examples of this. I read their new books within a year or so of publication for decades. A book published anytime in 1992 was logged in December of 1993 on my Goodreads account. Having a method helped.

Sometimes I could remember where I lived (new house vs old house) when I read the book, and that helped fix the date. 

I continued to work that night and the next morning and the day after that. Authors or individual titles would pop in my head. 

One fact to my advantage is if I like an author, I read most/all of their publications. I also read a lot of series in my younger days. So remembering one title or author often led to many others. 

The next day, I talked to youngest, who could remember lots of other authors. These were books I read out loud to the kids, or books we read at the same time, or books on CD that we listened to on trips. We figured out the approximate years. We both plugged these books in to our separate, Goodreads accounts. 

With a couple days of solid thinking/effort, I got to over 500 books listed on my Goodreads account. This is a very good start. It makes me feel like I am getting somewhere. 

Will I remember every book? No. I am probably missing dozens/hundreds of stand alone books that I am not likely to remember.  

For example, I read the biography/auto biography section of the school library when I was in 6th grade. When I was pregnant with middle (in bed for nearly the whole pregnancy), a librarian sent me boxes of books for months. I cannot remember any of those books. 

But I have remembered a lot. 

Sunday, middle and I met youngest half way for breakfast. Youngest backed up my 500+ Goodreads list to Story Graph. 

I will maintain/update books on both sites as I continue to remember previous books and read new books. 

Story Graph was my original goal, because it does wonderful analysis of books read. But Goodreads is widely used and handy too. 

Youngest had me log everything to Goodreads first. Story Graph takes uploads from Goodreads (but not the other way around). So I could load once and have data in both places.

Trimming my address book on Shutterfly

I use Shutterfly for my family photo holiday cards each year. 

Starting November 2024, I used Shutterfly’s free service to print mailing addresses on the envelopes for me. I had the envelopes printed with our return address too. 

Youngest helped me with this project when I was at her house Thanksgiving week. We cut a dozen or more names off our list at that time.

As other people’s cards arrived in our mailbox, November 2024 - January 2025, I paid attention to the senders. 

We received more cards this year than previous years. They were better quality cards this year. Most had pictures and information. There were very few store bought cards with just a signature. 

I deleted at least a half dozen additional people off my Shutterfly address book in February 2025, while it was all fresh in my mind. 

Why February? I had one of our holiday cards from November 2024, show up in my mail box on February 7, 2025. It was marked as “no longer at this address”.

So some of my deletes were our cards that came back, people had moved, I have not heard from them, so I don’t have a new address. 

Other deletes were people that we no longer hear from, have slipped away. 

When I did the first holiday card mailing in 2020, I cast a wide net. I sent to people we had not contacted in a long time. Five years later, 2025, it felt like it was time to cull that list.

So I now have a very up to date address book online at Shutterfly. I will be in good shape to order pre addressed holiday cards November 2025. 

Photo frames

This would make a great gift idea. 

I ordered this first 10” digital photo frame directly from Amazon in March 2022, $180.83. We had problems with it. It was a return with someone else’s photos loaded on it. It appeared as if a family bought it for a party, loaded/used it, and then returned it. 

Amazon refunded the full amount after we complained about the fact it was a second hand frame. Skylight helped us return it to factory settings/clean.

I kept this 10” frame. It has been in the living room for the last two years. The kids send photos directly to it.

It recently moved to the kitchen. The 10” size is perfect on a kitchen counter. We tend to watch the frame while we wait for the microwave.

There is a power strip with a short cord behind the frame. This is my charging station.

I recently ordered a 15” (directly from Skylight) for the living room. I really love the larger size in the living room. 

I did not wait for a sale. I ordered June 2024. I ordered directly from Skylight (not Amazon) so I was assured it would be a new one. 

A book list project and Sue Grafton

I wish I had kept a list of every book I have ever read. 

It is impossible to re-create that full list. But I am capturing data on GoodReads now.

When the GoodReads list is mostly complete, the whole list will roll/upload to another app. That app, Story Graph, is the actual goal. It will look at what I have read, and liked, and make author suggestions for me. 

I try to record accurate “read dates” on GoodReads, but that is not always possible. If I am not sure “when”, then I simply enter books as “read” when I think of them. 

Rating the books on GoodReads is easy, there are few books I have read that I do not like. Most of the books on my read list are rated a 4 or a 5. (I wish the app used a scale of 1-10. So I could better designate what I loved and what I really loved.)

Normally, if I do not like a book, I do not finish it. 

Those books I read, but did not like, are most likely book club assignments, detailed in a past blog post. Those are rated a 1. The only two I can remember off hand are The Confederacy of Dunces and Winesburg Ohio, both definite 1’s.

An advantage I have is I tend to read by author. So if a book or author occurs to me, the GoodReads app makes it very easy to check off multiple books by that one author. When I have the author pulled up, all the books listed, I remember which ones I have read. (And I find ones I have missed.)

I thought of Sue Grafton recently. Looking at the nice long list of William Kent Krueger’s books, last Friday’s post, made me think “that is as good a find as Sue Grafton!”.

PS -

If you like mystery style books and she is new to you, her Kinsey Millhone series is a nice long list. 

 

Hey Siri

We had company this past winter. One of my husband’s cousins and his wife were here twice. 

She was a little mind blown by my Siri.  I use it constantly. 

She commented that they were too old for such a modern convenience. 

I would argue it is a necessity as one ages. 

First of all, we have it set to “Hey Siri”, so just mentioning her name does not activate her. 

Next, yes one could just use a timer, but a conventional stove timer only holds one thing at a time. 

Siri holds an infinite number of times with a message attached to each one. 

If I have six steps going on cooking dinner, she can keep track of each one. 

If middle and I are going to be gone for the day and my husband is home with the pups, Siri can remind him to refill their water bowl or feed them dinner. 

I often set it to remember the washer/dryer, put something on the front porch for pick up, leave for an out-of-the-ordinary event. 

After my rice steamer and microwave, Siri is my most helpful kitchen appliance. It lives on the shelf above the refrigerator. 

It makes a positive difference in my day and helps keep things running smoothly and safely. 

Excel family chart/tree

As part of the submission process for the certificate programs in county genealogy societies, a family chart/tree is required. 

I am working on a project to submit multiple ancestors as a means of saving/sharing research. My multiple packets will require slightly different family trees. 

Looking at the papers previously submitted, in other people’s  packets, most of those trees were handwritten (see blank form below). 

My arthritic hands could never take that much writing, my writing is not that clear, also good way to make an error. 

Here is what a standard form (fill in the blanks, meant to be hand written) looks like -

My youngest built an Excel template for me to use. 

As she typed, she took screen shots and texted them to me so I could edit as she worked. Here are three in a long line of texts. 

She started with the far right column because the math/space was very specific for 16 boxes. 

She worked her way to the left, letting the math/space dictate the design. 

Early on she added the background shading to make the boxes pop. 

Note there are only attachment lines on box #1 to the far left. Attaching the rest of the boxes at the corners, simplified the page considerably. 

It is very readable, even with no data on the page. Again, the background shading makes a huge difference. 

I will start with the oldest documented maternal/paternal ancestors, my 4x great grandparents, on the far right column. And do one page with the oldest ancestors, my maternal grandfather’s two family lines (4x, 3x, 2x, 1x great grandparents) who have been in my county from 1849 and the mid 1850’s.

I will add a first page with me, my parents, my maternal grandparents, and my great grandparents. I will add a note to verify which family line is continuing with more details on page two. 

On both pages, I will use the bold function to highlight the exact family line I am documenting. 

My first submission is my maternal grandfather’s, mother’s, father’s, father’s, mother who died in 1867.

PS - I have Legacy family tree software on my PC, but (to the best of my knowledge) it does not print out a format to get this many people on a single piece of paper. 

An excel program helped

At a family wedding in August 2022, two of my husband’s cousins mentioned quilts I had given them for wedding gifts (which I did not remember) long ago. 

These two were siblings and the aunt and uncle of the October 1, 2022 wedding’s bride. That put quilts into my brain. 

I was not sure I could manage it, my left hand is quite bad (arthritis). But the thought was persistent - quilts, wedding gift, delayed wedding gift for the bride’s sister, using up fabric I had loved/kept. 

I had a fabulous pile of flannel already cut in 9.5” squares that went together nicely. And I thought that if I was very careful, I could get two large lap quilts out of it. 

Youngest built me a very simple excel program to expedite fabric placement. 

The goal was to lay out one quilt, only using half of each fabric, leaving enough for an identical second quilt. The excel program made it accurate and simple. I laid out the colors on the left (above) and the program kept track of used/remaining on the right (above).

I sewed the 9.5” squares together fairly easily. Middle pressed the seams for me. My long arm quilter quilted them on her machine. I sewed the binding on by machine, I am no longer able to do handwork.

The whole process was humbling. The quilts were so basic/simple that it was almost embarrassing (so far below my previous skill set). 

And it is sort of a sacrilege to sew the binding on by machine. (Normally it is sewn to the front of the quilt and then flipped around to the back and hand sewn so no stitches show.) I had to top stitch it, stitches showed. 

But finished, the quilts were nice. The solid gold fabric on the back is actually pin-whale corduroy, so the flannel quilts are thick/heavy. I did not have enough corduroy, I added a cotton print and used the same fabric for the binding. The colors are both fall-ish and Christmas-y. 

The excel program speeded up the process in an easy/accurate way. It also prevented errors. One of my concerns was making a mistake and then middle having to rip out seams. With the printed plan in hand, I was able to check each square carefully before I sewed, and prevent errors. 

My previous method would have been to lay all the squares on the floor and then run back and forth to the sewing machine. This would have been very time consuming and inaccurate since I was making two identical quilts. 

The excel program allowed me to figure out exact placement for both quilts and be confident I had enough of each color.

Confidence

I did major plant work last year. I added a couple perennial/bulb beds. I reworked other beds. I added borders. We pulled a hedge. We pulled a tree. We pulled assorted bushes.

Middle just made me a large paper plot of our property with the beds detailed. I am going to write in the names of plants as they come up this year. Some I remember, some I do not. For the ones I do not, the app  (below) will help.

I have beds with almost no weeds. I have other areas with weeds.

This app also gives me the confidence to weed. I no longer have the “better let it grown so I can see what it is” approach.

It is very easy to use with my iPhone. I simply take a picture of the plant and it tells me what it is.

Oldest has sent me pictures of plants and I have pulled them up in the app and told him what they are.

I paid for this app. It was not very much. I have it set so it does not automatically renew this fall. But I will probably do it again next spring, if I have weeds.

Find a Grave

This is the online system where genealogy/family graves are linked and there are pictures of gravestone inscriptions (and sometimes) family photos and obituaries added.

Very clever people are answering photo requests. This is happening in a wide spread way. More than one person is clearly taking photos, because I have had many requests filled in multiple counties in the last week.

So they are going to cemeteries, hunting graves, taking pictures of the stones and loading them in the system. Very clear social distancing. I am sure most cemeteries are deserted.

These particular cemeteries are mostly out in the middle of absolutely nothing and nowhere. Old country sites. So I know there is major social distancing.

Great solo activity. It takes a long time to find graves. And they are getting fresh air and sunshine and a real sense of accomplishment, I am sure.

Getting charged for routers you do not use

I am not sure I mentioned this, but when Best Buy installed our WiFi system (AMPLIFI), I called Frontier to return their router and get its fee taken off future bills.

Nope.

They took the router back at their service center. They did not reduce my bill.

Here is an article on this topic:

https://www.google.com/amp/s/arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2020/01/us-finally-prohibits-isps-from-charging-for-routers-they-dont-provide/%3famp=1

I didn’t realize there were such easy options

Best Buy Geek Squad was here yesterday and fixed our WiFi coverage problem.

We had to buy equipment, but now have three bars of coverage in every corner of the house, garage and driveway.

Huge difference.

Picture This

These are screen shots from my phone of what this flower identification (Picture This) app does.

Super easy to use.

Can take photos on the app, or use pictures already stored on your phone.

It will identify plants from a leaf too, it does not have to be a bloom.

I think $20 a year.

This (below) is one of two things I identified for a neighbor. The other was a Lilac identified from leaf only.

Charging station, really good gift idea

https://authenticallyemmie.com/2019/07/everything-on-sale-day/

I love her pictures and posts.

I have never purchased anything she has featured, previously, but I jumped on the charging station when I read her post in July.

The station has been “charging central” on my kitchen island ever since.

Yes it has a lot of cords, but they are much more organized and visually appealing than the multitude of long cords that were there previously. (And I was always worried the pup was going to chew on one of the long cords.) It is nice to be able to set the device in the slots of the station. We have mostly iPhone cords attached, but I think there are two android which also work on our headsets.

The (now) 11 year old was here this past weekend and loved it. Her mom was here also and thought it was great.

I ordered one for them, also, shipped directly, they should have it Monday.

Bose

So I now have a pair of Bose (below).

And they work very well for me. The Best Buy guy set them up for me, before I left the store.

I wear it around my neck all day. I do not feel the collar around my neck (at all). And I find that collar very handy. Because I can let the buds hang down, loose, but have them handy to use.

If I have a phone call, I take it through the ear buds almost all the time. I listen to podcasts and audiobooks through them too.

If one of the kids calls, I can be doing something while I listen.

I use them while out with the dogs or in the garden.

I took me a while to get use the blue tooth. But I have the hang of it now, and do fine.

Dingless

I can no longer hear the buzzer/bell on the microwave unless I am in the same room (with it).

Neither can my husband.

The kids (when they are home) however, can hear it all over the house.

And our microwave keeps dinging until someone attends to it.

So we turned off the microwave sounds. It is now dingless. No sounds as you push the buttons. No sounds to say it is finished.

And something interesting happened.

I now remember things in the microwave MUCH BETTER than when I counted on the ding (which I could not hear as soon as I left the kitchen).

The thing, I put in the microwave most often, are cherry pit bags. I put one in, hit 2 minutes, and then run to pee or brush my teeth or something. Except now I come right back and am usually there very close to the 2 minute mark. With the dinger operational, I would forget (until someone yelled - mom, the microwave is calling you).

I guess dingless made me more accountable or something. And it is very nice to have no dinging. Every kid agrees.

26,000

Middle has a Fitbit.

She has had many fitbits. On 4th, 5th or 6th one in fact. (We only paid for the first One. Best Buy with extended warranty. They die within a year for her. Best Buy replaces and starts warrantee over each time. One time they gave her a new one plus $20 because the price had gone down. They have upgraded her a couple times because the models have changed. It is the gift that keeps on giving.)

Youngest had one. BIG MISTAKE - We bought it at Target. They refer us to the manufacturer when it dies. They would only replace one. Very sad. Hers die very similar schedule to middle's. She is currently without. She does not use it as much as middle does. (She has an android phone, so that might be part of it.)

Moral of that story, only buy at Best Buy. (check to see if this is still in place before you buy, though).

Back to middle. She really uses her Fitbit. Steps. Sleep. Incoming texts and phone calls.

And on Sunday, at the home and garden tour, she says we walked 26,000 steps that day.

When we went, I was not (at all) sure I would be able to do it. So many stairs.

One thing that helped was bad weather and low turn out. So we did not stand in many lines. We could just keep walking.and it is very distracting. You want to go up and down the stairs to see everything.

And there was one stop/tour that was very far from the others and we drove to that one.

So I did fine. I did not even think about finding a chair. I did not even consider skipping any of the houses.

I have no idea if it is junk or a valuable thing that is floating around the house, no idea

Oldest and youngest, home for a visit, sorted thru a box of weird electronics stuff, so helpful.

The winter I had surgery, 2013, oldest went thru a massive pile of cords. Like every stray cord in the house. Sorted, labeled, discarded, kept. He got it into one bin. With a lid. And the bin was not full. With a shelf for it in the garage. It was a bin that could live on, practically. And has.

This sort project was every weird “electronic” thing in the house, I had it all in a box. I have collected as we have sorted thru the house. A controller from this. Remote from that. Discs. Tapes. Cords. All kinds of orphan things. They sorted. Middle was their running girl. Garbage. Donate. It goes with this or that. A lot of stuff, sorted. Box now empty.

Fabulous.

This is not elegant, but it is super functional

That (below) is the corner of my bed.

The head of the bed is up on post concrete blocks which I got at Lowe's. We had to take the castor off the legs of the bed to fit in the space made for the post. I highly recommend the blocks to anyone with issues. Makes a huge difference. I put felt pads down in the holes so the leg is not scrapping against the concrete.

I had to look it up because it was bugging me. The block is concrete. Cement is used to hold all the materials together to make the block.

I also got a power strip that plugs into the wall socket sideways, so it has a very thin profile. It is plugged into a socket behind my bed and the strip is mounted to the wall next to my bed. That keeps my cords high. So I can have a device plugged in on my nightstand or in bed with me. And the cords do not get tangled and the strip does not flip around.


Example of sideways plug - the black one (not the gray one).

And that power strip is attached to my wall using Command strips (where you pull the tab to release it from the wall when you want to disconnect the whole thing years down the road). I got the mega weight command strips. There is a strip on the top of the power strip and on the bottom of the power strip. I did not want to mount it to wall with screws. This way I can move it. Or can take it down as technology evolves.

My iphone is the top cord. My ipad is the next cord. An old cell phone is the last cord, so I can always call 911 from that phone if somehow my iphone is not there.