Never say Never

But I am coming close..as in never another Christmas in Nebraska. I miss seeing my granddaughters while they are kids...too soon grown up. The oldest is 10 and still fun with the little one 4. Next year eleven and five with time flying.

Well, the old hard drive is really making some noises these days. Just hope it hangs on for a few more weeks. I would like to keep the old computer for doing a few OS 9 applications but we'll see. I wonder how much I can get transfered to the new "baby".

Dinner at the nephews was nice as always...anytime you can get someone elses cooking it is a good thing in my book.

Absence of Birds

There has been a dearth of birds this fall. Nothing at the feeders for months. Finally, this a.m. there are several species flying around. I am wondering if it is because of the above normal temperatures. I think I will check how much feed is in the box and maybe stock up a little. Last night the weather people were discussing the long range forcasts for this area. They are anticipating even a mild (to a degree) January but look out Feb. and March.

Twas Nice

I did get a "Mom" sitter in and went to Lincoln to finish what little Christmas shopping I had to do. Took care of a couple online but needed some gift cards, etc. It was really nice to get out for four hours.

Looks like the next week may not be too bad either, weatherwise. Think one town in the area had 7 or 8 days of 60+ degrees in December. Most unusual. Now, the oldtimers think Jan., Feb., and March will be super tough. I do know they need moisture or next year will be a tough one for the crops. Personally, I can handle cold rain but that's it.

Success!

I ended up running uptown to get the "only" bag of Kingsford charcoal left..just hated paying such a high price but that is the high price you pay being in such a small town.

Anyway, the prime rib turned out really good. I wish I had pulled it off 15 minutes early though as there was one really rare piece that I coveted and my nephew snagged it. The horseradish sauce really tasted good too. Now just have to get the rest of the rock salt out of my oven. Hope I didn't screw up by not dumping it first. Everyone arrived right on time. Oh, yes, could not find my meat thermometer. Hopefully did not leave it in Texas but that is a possibility..hmmm...road trip!!

Fingers Crossed

Have the prime rib in the DO covered in rock salt. Thought I still had good charcoal but guess not so trying to use some crappy stuff.

Hope the kids are late coming out. I hate rushing around with people watching when I am trying to cook.

Hey, I know...will open the wine pretty darn soon!!

Research and More Research

Checking out different computers, printers and digital cameras. It's enough to boggle the brain cells for a minute or two...yeah, more like months.

Will probably take the plunge sometime in January. Also trying to figure out the rest of Christmas. Being the first year I have spent both holidays in Nebraska is kind of tough. Everyone asks if I am going home for Christmas. Wish it was so.

Made it Back

but took a couple of trys. I see they have not involuntarily switched me over.

Made some pumpkin bread today that turned out pretty good.

Going to kick back and watch the Big 12 game tonight.

Well, I do believe the Feng Shui is working. One of the things I needed work on was someone locally to help with Mom so I could get out once in a while. I did run down to an auction held here in town and lo and behold, a gal who was a couple of grades ahead of me in high school walked up and asked about Mom. She told me she is just starting to do a little elder care and the price is less that the Home Health people. So, now to check the weather and plan at least a half day in Lincoln.

May Not

be able to make it back here. Had problems signing in and they are pushing to use the new version but with the problems I am having with the computer, don't think I can use it.

I am planning on upgrading to a new computer after the 1st of the year. Just too many limitations on this one and not being very computer literate do not want to try. When I had this one in the shop last year my 128 mb RAM chip had failed. I had that installed right when I got this computer. My old iMac 350 went on the fritz and the authorized repair shop in Corpus Christi could not get it fixed. It was finally sent to Apple and their engineer/techs. They could not fix it either. They finally reluctantly agreed to replace it. (I had gone without a 'puter for 90 days and tax time was coming up) By then the 400's were out and that is what they replaced it with. So I upgraded the RAM right away. I may have had it in the shop once before until last summer. I had downloaded the firmware update I needed before switching to OSX. Once I downloaded it, the computer wouldn't run. I was told it was the RAM chip so had it replaced. By then, the CD/DVD drive was hardly working. Get a CD in and it would not eject. I finally could force it but you could barely see the edge and had to use tweezers to get it out. So, next step was trying to find an external CD/DVD drive. I finally located one after much searching only to find the minimum speed was 450..mine was 400. I am sure there is something out there I can use but with the new technology and Apple going to the Intel Dual Core machines, I think it is time.

I also have problems with Java and Cookies and as I have mentioned before, no support for IE. I do have Netscape 7 but even it has problems at time. I cannot go to Firefox or Safari since I can't upgrade my OS!