Five Things Thursday

Now I understand the Cloud. I signed myself up for a workshop on iCloud at the Apple store. I really thought I knew what it was. Today, I learned that I didn't know as much about it as I thought.

1. The cloud is used to transfer information from one device to another.
2. The cloud is a subscription storage service. Apple gives you 5G for free---which is just about enough to handle photos. If you need more storage, you have to purchase it.
3. The cloud does NOT store information from your computer---only phones and iPads.
4. The cloud allows you to access your computer from anywhere. You can even work on documents that are on your computer without actually being in front of your computer.
5. In order for the cloud to sync with your devices, they all need to have the same internet access. That's why sometimes when I'm traveling, my pictures won't transfer. I won't have that problem again! Yay!!!

Can there be anything better....

...than reminiscing with old friends?

We left St. Louis on January 1, 1977. I was scared and cried a good bit of the way to Charleston, WV. I was a country girl from a big city. I had never been out of St. Louis except a couple times across the river to Illinois. I was leaving with a new baby and my entire support group---I had my mom, grandma, 4 sisters, my cousin, Chrissy and lots of friends to help me if I needed it. I would miss them.

The enormity of the responsibility of a brand new baby---Stephanie was barely 6 weeks old---was overwhelming. Butch was working hard and going to school. As I cried to be leaving everyone behind Butch kept saying, "look Barb, it's going to be an adventure!" And, it was.

WV was a culture shock for sure. We arrived amidst cold and snow. We stayed in a motel until our money ran out. Then we slept on the floor of our new apartment---we shopped at Kmart for blankets and a rug. The moving truck did not arrive for two weeks.

I met Sandy---or I should say, we met her husband, Gary---the complex maintenance man. He brought us chairs from the laundry room and introduced me to his wife. The rest is history. We hit it off. We walked together with the kids. She reminded me of blackberry picking and how I taught her to make jelly. We took parenting classes together.

We were only there for one year. Sadly, after a few letters back and forth, we lost touch. That's why it's even more amazing to me that Sandy found me. I'm so glad to have re-connected! What a surprise and a gift! The internet is truly a magical place!!

Why don't you reach out to someone from your past? Let me know how it goes.

This Doesn't End Well

So, my brand new bike was delivered on Wednesday. I haven't been on a bike (regularly) in probably 45 years. Butch put it together for me. My short legs barely can reach the ground. I told him to lower the seat, but he said it was as low as it will go.

 I bought a helmet at Target. Safety first. Yeah, it looks real cute on. Not really, I look pretty stupid.

Here's my cruiser. It has the fatter seat, no fancy gears or hand brakes---just the old-fashioned regular pedal brakes.


Mindy and Butch went on "the greenway" on Saturday. I decided that I needed to practice in the driveway rather than just get out there. I'm not ready for miles and miles. I have to ease in to it because of my hives---that seat will definitely give me fits---and the handlebars. I'm going to take my time and break it in slowly.

Today was the day that I decided to give it a whirl. As soon as I got on the bike and turned it, the handlebars went wacky. I called Butch out to adjust them.

I have to admit, I was pretty nervous---scared, actually! I got going and kept it slow. I was on my second circle around the driveway when the seat slipped and I heard a piece hit the ground. I fell, but luckily my "padding" saved me.

I told Butch that either I'm too big for the bike or my "putter togetherer" did something wrong. He "fixed" it, but by that time, I just got on the treadmill. I might try it again tomorrow.

In the meantime, I'll let my elbow heal! If I have any more problems---well, at least I'm seeing an orthopedic surgeon on Tuesday for my toes!

New Recipe

A couple of weeks ago, I had a soup at Hillwood Country Club. They called it Chipotle Chicken. It tasted like Chicken Tortilla soup and was so good. As I was eating it, I thought, "I can make this." And I did!! It turned out really good. I put some of it in the freezer, so I'll see if that works too. It's pretty simple.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

2 lbs. pkg. frozen chicken tenderloins

a big glob of celery

parsley

salt

pepper

garlic

chopped onions

Boil all of this together until the chicken is tender. Cool. Chop chicken. Also slice the cooked celery. Add chicken and celery to another pot and the following ingredients:

1 can Rotel tomatoes (I used the original)

1 can petite diced tomatoes

1 can cream of chicken soup + 1 soup can of water

1 can cream of chicken verdi + 1 soup can of water

1 can fiesta nacho cheese + 1 soup can of water

2 cups corn

Mix all ingredients and heat through. Serve with shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips. (I didn't add the cheese on top and it was still delicious). You could add a can of rinsed black beans too.

Apparently I Lied!

When my girls were growing up, I used to say all the time, "No one is going to come knocking on your door to be your friend!" Meaning, they needed to put themselves "out there." We moved a lot. I realize that can be hard on kids---especially teens. This was how I tried to motivate them to join something. It worked.

But, apparently, I lied!! Here's the story---I've already "bragged" about it to the girls.

About a month or so a go, one of the newer ladies at bridge sat down at our table for the round. Afterwards, she asked if she could talk to me. I, said "yes." I thought she wanted to sell me something or ask for a donation. My bridge partner kept asking me what she wanted. I said I didn't know. After bridge that day, the new, younger girl and I sat and talked for half an hour. She started with, "You are so nice. I just wanted to get to know you better." How sweet is that? Remember my "being nice" post? Well, I have a lot of friends and don't really need new ones. But, heck, at my age, who knows?!! Turns out, we have a lot in common.

I have a lunch date with my new friend on Tuesday.

So, yesterday, this happened. A friend I knew for only one year when we lived in West Virginia in 1977 reached out to me via the internet. OMGosh! That is so cool!! We are in the process of setting up a phone date. That's a big deal to me because I hate talking on the phone---except when I can do it while walking and get the steps for it. I've always thought the phone was a huge time waster.

Anyway, I just wanted to set the record straight and apologize to my girls. Apparently, people do come knocking at my door to be my friend.

Okay, I'll stop bragging now.

PS Butch thinks I'm crazy. He doesn't want that many friends!

Five Things Thursday

1. I just found out why I have a problem with mosquitoes. Apparently, they prefer “O” blood! They don’t like “A.” For those little critters, “B” is okay if no “O’s” are around. That’s why Butch only gets bitten when he’s outside without me! Butch, when we’re outside together, all I can say is: “you’re welcome.” Oh, and they like sweaty people too. I don’t stand a chance.

2. St. Louis is #1 for their Cardinal fans. Baseball is the #1 sport there!

3.


4. For my friends from the UK: tea party

5. Criss Angel:  Freaky!

"They Said it Couldn't be Done..."

I stole Steph's Facebook tagline for my title, but it really does sum it up.

 Some photos need no explanation.

Once we arrived, we had to stop at the hotel to drop off all of the luggage. Our next stop was Bed Bath and Beyond to pick up the "pre-order" Stephanie and Morgan had made. While there, Morgan met a fellow classmate. They chatted for quite awhile and then exchanged phone numbers.

Another full car load. Once we were back at the hotel, I suggested that we fill up the "under-the-bed" storage containers with all the clothes from the suitcases---a little less to haul that way. Stephanie carried it one step further (she learned from the master!). They continued to remove packaging and put things away as  best they could---filling containers and iris carts. They even loaded the car that night.

Moving day! Morgan had little room in the back seat. Our assigned "move in" time was 8 a.m. We got there about 7:30 a.m. to get in line. Ironically, without even telling each other that they were going early, the first three cars were us and Morgan's roommates. Like most colleges, they have a great system where upper classmen descend upon your car, unload and haul it all to your new dorm room. Our plan was that we'd drop the first load and I'd go back to the hotel and load up the second. Perfect planning!

As I was moving the iris cart, I discovered this. Every girls needs 5 "extra" phone cases right? Ahem, "NO"---I only own one phone case and it's on my phone!! Truly, I do believe she brought everything she owns!

 Morgan and her room mates outside of their dorm. One girl is from Hawaii and the other from Los Angeles. Due to social media, they already "know" each other. They hit it off right away.

 The palm trees all over campus are gorgeous. It almost has a resort-like feel.

This is the courtyard in the middle of Morgan's dorm. The building at the end is the chapel. The building is a huge square.

This is the lobby of the dorm. It's old and architecturally beautiful. That made me think the dorms must be really nice. Nah, just regular dorm rooms---nothing fancy at all.

Arriving at 9 a.m. wasn't such a bad idea either. This is a smaller school, so the move in was handled speedily and efficiently.

We were not able to go in to the library. Morgan says she plans to avoid it! I told her there might come a time that she wants a quite place to study. This building is just one building away from her dorm.

 Even the sides and backs of the buildings are beautiful.

 This is the back of Morgan's dorm.

There are bike racks all over, but I have to agree with Morgan. This is one hilly campus. Riding a bike will be difficult.

And here we have the room. I couldn't get a good picture looking in to the room as the light was too bright. No air conditioning in the dorms. The temperatures are pretty mild in San Diego, so they will get by fine with a fan. There is very little floor space, but the beds are high so there is plenty of storage underneath.

It was Morgan's idea to put the chests in the closet to allow a little more floor space. Actually, since they didn't want to "bunk" the beds, they pretty much had to put the chests in the closet. Luckily she's tall, so she can reach her stuff. I worked in the closet and could not reach the bottom shelf.

Each girl has a little desk. Morgan has the coffee maker on hers, so she's going to have to be careful if she has her computer sitting out---or her room mates better be careful!

 Another shot of the lobby with antique chandeliers.

 The chapel is old and beautiful. In fact, it's much larger than what I would consider a chapel.

This is Immaculata Church just down from Morgan's dorm. It's huge. It was locked, so we were not able to get inside for a peek.

 One of the classroom buildings.

 The palm trees are incredible. I've never seen any quite like them---all healthy and perfectly maintained.

We followed Morgan's schedule around campus to find where here classes were located. Stephanie and Morgan peeked in windows if the building was not open.

 I could really get in to a place where they have flowers like this (hibiscus) year round.

 The "birds of paradise" were so pretty---and abundant.

San Diego is a breezy place. This was a sign posted on a drive through. One of the reasons Morgan liked the University of San Diego was the fact that it's "on the beach!" Wellll, that's true, but it is quite a trek to get down to the beach. The trek back will be even harder. 

Due to supreme organization, moving in only took about 2 hours. When Stephanie and I realized we were basically finished, we tried to change our flight and come home a day early. It was going to cost $700 to do that. Instead, we decided to spend some time browsing the city. We were able to pick Morgan up at 1 p.m. for a few hours on Sunday. We went for manicures and pedicures---$24.99---gotta' love prices close to college campuses. That price for both is unheard of!!

We wanted to "FaceTime" with Jordan so Morgan could show her----her dorm and school. This text exchange took place.

It made my heart sing!! To think Jordan took a Scrabble game to college with her!! Love it. Scrabble has been a family tradition since I was a little girl---at 6---spelling my little 2 or 3 letter words. 

After we dropped Morgan off, we went to dinner at C-Level on the ocean. We shared some seafood including this plate of buffalo oysters. Soooo good!

The next day, when we got to the airport, they were looking for two volunteers to give up their seats---they were over-booked. Seriously, we could have come home a day earlier and it wouldn't have cost the airlines anything. Now, we GAVE UP our seats for 2 free round-trip tickets! It took us 5 hours longer to get home, but we had "C" boarding passes which was really going to be uncomfortable---middle seats for 3 1/2 hours. Once we got to Las Vegas, I asked about upgrading to an "A" boarding pass since I had paid for that on our previous ticket. "No can do" said the gate agent. But when she realized we had given up our seats, she did bump us up to "A" at no charge---for being so nice!!! All was good!! So we got home a little late---still, we have two expensive tickets for Morgan to come home at Thanksgiving and Christmas. Totally worth it!

And just like that, our "babies" are grown!! Stephanie is an "empty-nester!" I miss the "girlies" already!