I have been, as I said, cruising the web mindlessly this past week. As a result I've found several new sites that I think are really interesting. I'm going to post the links in my link section as I have time to review them but here is probably the coolest for my writing buddies.
Archetype: The Fiction Writer's Guide to Psychology
Truly an interesting and helpful site. I can't wait to utilize some of the things there. I've been reading some of the articles as well. There is a really cool plot generator and a couple of other generators that look interesting. I plan to use tomorrow to delve into my writing.
I met Doug for lunch today. We discussed his new idea for a story. He presented a piece at our last writers' meeting (he, me, and Cassie). It is a strange story and one I'll be interested to see how he handles. He sent me a note saying the lunch had helped free up his thinking on it. I too find it helpful to toss my ideas at someone and have them point out the flaws. He invited me to his house for lunch on Sunday. I'm looking forward to that. You may recall I went last winter and spent an afternoon with he and his family. I like his wife and it will be nice to talk with her again.
Mike is supposed to come by and cut the grass and Dave will come later and cook out. I suspect it will be a late evening with all the kids. Tomorrow I think we plan to go to the zoo. And tomorrow night Becca and Connie plan on cooking supper for us all.
These are the kind of evenings Jerry would have loved so much. He loved having the boys around with their girlfriends and wives. Sarah would be darting all over and he'd be chasing her if he was feeling well. It is very hard to do these things without thinking this way and remembering.
I've been praying this week. In fact, I had a good old fashioned prayer meeting on Wednesday night. Those of you who do not understand such things, don't worry about it. Those of you who don't understand what a Pentecostal means by prayer meeting, don't worry about it either. But those of you who know and understand will know what I mean when I say there was a mass exodus in which several spectators were trampled. It won't be on the news. 2 Corinthians 10:4 For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;
I am going to plan for next week for my get-away. This week I just had too much to deal with and I couldn't get my head together. And I really want to get to know Mike's friend a bit better. I don't want to be blindsided again. It would be wonderful for Mike to meet someone who was just a really nice person and actually cared about him in the real sense of the word.
So, a busy weekend planned. I must write some since I seem to be feeling better.
Friday, August 6, 2010
Tuesday, August 3, 2010
This May Be the Place
Link
Follow the link and take a look at where I'm thinking about going. It is only a little over two hours from me and I wouldn't necessarily lost a day of work. I could, in theory drive down on a Friday night and come back Sunday afternoon.
You can check out all the stuff there is to see there. And I love caves. There's even horseback riding which I simply love. I'm still not sure though. I have to find a good hotel and I'm really funny about it. Hotels can be really good or really bad. Do I want a pool? Probably. Do I want Wi-fi? Pretty sure I do. Do I want atmosphere and ambiance? Well, it'd be nice. But the last doesn't necessarily and usually doesn't come with the first two.
My biggest problem is going alone. I don't in the least feel excited about going. But this is a really nice area. I just would hate it to be chock full of tourist.
Well, more later. I am considering this weekend or next. Strongly leaning to this weekend.
Follow the link and take a look at where I'm thinking about going. It is only a little over two hours from me and I wouldn't necessarily lost a day of work. I could, in theory drive down on a Friday night and come back Sunday afternoon.
You can check out all the stuff there is to see there. And I love caves. There's even horseback riding which I simply love. I'm still not sure though. I have to find a good hotel and I'm really funny about it. Hotels can be really good or really bad. Do I want a pool? Probably. Do I want Wi-fi? Pretty sure I do. Do I want atmosphere and ambiance? Well, it'd be nice. But the last doesn't necessarily and usually doesn't come with the first two.
My biggest problem is going alone. I don't in the least feel excited about going. But this is a really nice area. I just would hate it to be chock full of tourist.
Well, more later. I am considering this weekend or next. Strongly leaning to this weekend.
Monday, August 2, 2010
Monday Melt Down
It was a long tedious day. I'm exhausted. Currently, I'm sitting in my bed wearing my hideous pink and white tank top set which you will see in an upcoming video and satin p.j. shorts.
I had a mild headache for a bit this afternoon. I forgot to go to lunch. My lunch buddy is on vacation and I just kept working until I realized I had not eaten. I finally got away about 2:30 and picked Mike up to take him to sell plasma. We ate first and I went back to work. But I didn't feel well until I came in and got my shower around 6:00. I got off at five and picked him up. I stopped and bought some flowers for the cemetery, two adorable dresses for Sarah that were on sale at Family Dollar, and a wall clock for my living room. The old one died some time ago and I just keep forgetting to get one. It was only $5 and is rather pretty. I took Mike home and on the way back stopped to put the flowers on the grave.
I never stay long there. Can't. But as I rode through the grounds I am struck again at how very beautiful that cemetery is and I thought again about taking a walk there after work in the afternoons. It is hilly and from his grave to the back gate is just over half a mile by one route but probably half that by another. The routes go all over the place. I have to remember to get Becca's camera and do a video sometime of the routes through there. It is a city cemetery and well maintained. Right now they are working on the entrance closest for me and I'd have to go to the back entrance. But if I stopped before going home it would be light enough and not so out of the way.Of course, this is all supposing I do it. I do not like going there regardless of how beautiful it is.
Now, I'm considering what time to turn off the lights. My mower is still in the shop and I can't cut the grass, which is getting rather high and will soon get me a ticket from the city guys. I am hoping to have it this weekend but I guess self-propelled gears must be difficult to fix. Maybe I'll get a new mower.... ha! But it means my yard is not pretty or pleasant to sit in. And the mosquitoes are not fun at all.
I thought for awhile that I was not going to get home. I felt really bad and needed to lie down. I can't believe how very tied I am. No reason for it. All I did all weekend was sit on the sofa and read mindless stuff online.
I found a site call Futility Closet. Here is the link Link It is fun reading but I sat and read it all day Sunday. I couldn't move and didn't even realize how long I had been sitting reading until I looked around and the room was dark except for the computer screen. Very interesting site, anyway. But don't spend six hours reading it.
I'm going now. In the distance I hear someone calling my name. I believe it is the brownies on top of my refrigerator. They have soft, wee, little voices and sound like gooey chocolate. I believe the baritone I hear is the milk... or maybe the coffee... no, milk.
I had a mild headache for a bit this afternoon. I forgot to go to lunch. My lunch buddy is on vacation and I just kept working until I realized I had not eaten. I finally got away about 2:30 and picked Mike up to take him to sell plasma. We ate first and I went back to work. But I didn't feel well until I came in and got my shower around 6:00. I got off at five and picked him up. I stopped and bought some flowers for the cemetery, two adorable dresses for Sarah that were on sale at Family Dollar, and a wall clock for my living room. The old one died some time ago and I just keep forgetting to get one. It was only $5 and is rather pretty. I took Mike home and on the way back stopped to put the flowers on the grave.
I never stay long there. Can't. But as I rode through the grounds I am struck again at how very beautiful that cemetery is and I thought again about taking a walk there after work in the afternoons. It is hilly and from his grave to the back gate is just over half a mile by one route but probably half that by another. The routes go all over the place. I have to remember to get Becca's camera and do a video sometime of the routes through there. It is a city cemetery and well maintained. Right now they are working on the entrance closest for me and I'd have to go to the back entrance. But if I stopped before going home it would be light enough and not so out of the way.Of course, this is all supposing I do it. I do not like going there regardless of how beautiful it is.
Now, I'm considering what time to turn off the lights. My mower is still in the shop and I can't cut the grass, which is getting rather high and will soon get me a ticket from the city guys. I am hoping to have it this weekend but I guess self-propelled gears must be difficult to fix. Maybe I'll get a new mower.... ha! But it means my yard is not pretty or pleasant to sit in. And the mosquitoes are not fun at all.
I thought for awhile that I was not going to get home. I felt really bad and needed to lie down. I can't believe how very tied I am. No reason for it. All I did all weekend was sit on the sofa and read mindless stuff online.
I found a site call Futility Closet. Here is the link Link It is fun reading but I sat and read it all day Sunday. I couldn't move and didn't even realize how long I had been sitting reading until I looked around and the room was dark except for the computer screen. Very interesting site, anyway. But don't spend six hours reading it.
I'm going now. In the distance I hear someone calling my name. I believe it is the brownies on top of my refrigerator. They have soft, wee, little voices and sound like gooey chocolate. I believe the baritone I hear is the milk... or maybe the coffee... no, milk.
Sunday, August 1, 2010
A Damned Tomb
I feel as if I've started over. Not in a good way, as if I'm where I was months ago, a year ago. I'm very depressed and yes, I'm taking St. John's Wort. Sometimes, depression is not for any reason that can be fixed. I have not recovered from the episode Wednesday night. Not completely anyway. It feels as if I'm standing on the edge of a pit. My inclination is to sit down and hang on before something topples me in. Or maybe it is too late for that.
I didn't go to church today. Aside from my mental state, I am having problems with the arthritis in my back, hands, and feet. My feet feel crushed when I get up. And my hands, particularly my dominate left, feel the same way off and on. I'm using Valtoran on them as well as my knees and back. It does seem to help but it takes several hours and there is no permanent fix.
I don't really know what to do with myself. Take eating lunch alone today. I couldn't wait to get out of the restaurant. Or thinking about going somewhere alone. I was looking at Mammoth Cave as a destination. It's about an hour from here. I used Google Earth because you get such great definition in the map and you can zoom in and it will show landmarks, historical sites, parks, hotels and well, everything. Problem is when I do that and see how very beautiful it is I realize I can't go there. There is no sense seeing anything that you can't share. It is pointless, at least to me.
People wonder why I take my children everywhere, even now that they are adults. It is because the pleasure of seeing someone you care about enjoy something, of sharing that pleasure with them is what makes living bearable. A sunset means nothing if you are sitting by yourself. A forest is just a bunch of foreboding trees if you walk alone. I don't know why people think I can just pack up and go somewhere by myself and expect me to do anything but sleep for days. I can do that here, in my house, free. I do it every day.
I don't want to go anywhere. That hasn't changed. I see very little purpose. I can do everything in a hotel room I do here except here the kitchen is open 24 hours if I want it to be. And if I feel like screaming and hitting the walls I can and there are no complaints. Yes, I have. And I don't have to be nice and smile and pretend I'm a nice person having a great time. I don't have to lie and say I'm fine just to get everyone off my back. I'll give you an example. People call and say "what are you doing." If I tell the truth and say, "Nothing" they don't like it. They don't get it. They expect you to be doing something, reading, writing, walking, talking, working at some mindless activity, watching t.v. I do none of those things most of the time. I do nothing. I'm usually doing what I'm doing right now. I am sitting here and the only thing I've done is sit and stare at the room since I got up at 9:30, read a devotional, prayed for about 30 minutes, read a couple of blogs, went to and came home from lunch alone, played two games of solitaire and wrote this post. That's in 6 hours. I don't know what I did with the rest of the time. I just sat here.
But no one wants to hear me say that is all I've done. I'm doing nothing but sitting on the sofa in the living room looking at the walls and photos. People want me to talk. I have nothing to say, really. They want you to be "normal". To laugh, tell jokes, smile, talk about stuff. I just ate a brownie and am drinking coffee. No, not homemade, out of a box. Yes, with walnuts. Yes, it was fine. Same coffee as usual. Yes, I'm going to attempt church. I feel fine. I don't know what everyone else is doing. Yada, yada, yada, yada. I've had three calls that went the same way. I listened. I hung up and went back to staring at the walls. No, there is no one to talk to, to share a joke, to ask questions, to plan a trip, or most terribly, no one to respond when you say "remember when".
Yes, I lived in a damned tomb.
I didn't go to church today. Aside from my mental state, I am having problems with the arthritis in my back, hands, and feet. My feet feel crushed when I get up. And my hands, particularly my dominate left, feel the same way off and on. I'm using Valtoran on them as well as my knees and back. It does seem to help but it takes several hours and there is no permanent fix.
I don't really know what to do with myself. Take eating lunch alone today. I couldn't wait to get out of the restaurant. Or thinking about going somewhere alone. I was looking at Mammoth Cave as a destination. It's about an hour from here. I used Google Earth because you get such great definition in the map and you can zoom in and it will show landmarks, historical sites, parks, hotels and well, everything. Problem is when I do that and see how very beautiful it is I realize I can't go there. There is no sense seeing anything that you can't share. It is pointless, at least to me.
People wonder why I take my children everywhere, even now that they are adults. It is because the pleasure of seeing someone you care about enjoy something, of sharing that pleasure with them is what makes living bearable. A sunset means nothing if you are sitting by yourself. A forest is just a bunch of foreboding trees if you walk alone. I don't know why people think I can just pack up and go somewhere by myself and expect me to do anything but sleep for days. I can do that here, in my house, free. I do it every day.
I don't want to go anywhere. That hasn't changed. I see very little purpose. I can do everything in a hotel room I do here except here the kitchen is open 24 hours if I want it to be. And if I feel like screaming and hitting the walls I can and there are no complaints. Yes, I have. And I don't have to be nice and smile and pretend I'm a nice person having a great time. I don't have to lie and say I'm fine just to get everyone off my back. I'll give you an example. People call and say "what are you doing." If I tell the truth and say, "Nothing" they don't like it. They don't get it. They expect you to be doing something, reading, writing, walking, talking, working at some mindless activity, watching t.v. I do none of those things most of the time. I do nothing. I'm usually doing what I'm doing right now. I am sitting here and the only thing I've done is sit and stare at the room since I got up at 9:30, read a devotional, prayed for about 30 minutes, read a couple of blogs, went to and came home from lunch alone, played two games of solitaire and wrote this post. That's in 6 hours. I don't know what I did with the rest of the time. I just sat here.
But no one wants to hear me say that is all I've done. I'm doing nothing but sitting on the sofa in the living room looking at the walls and photos. People want me to talk. I have nothing to say, really. They want you to be "normal". To laugh, tell jokes, smile, talk about stuff. I just ate a brownie and am drinking coffee. No, not homemade, out of a box. Yes, with walnuts. Yes, it was fine. Same coffee as usual. Yes, I'm going to attempt church. I feel fine. I don't know what everyone else is doing. Yada, yada, yada, yada. I've had three calls that went the same way. I listened. I hung up and went back to staring at the walls. No, there is no one to talk to, to share a joke, to ask questions, to plan a trip, or most terribly, no one to respond when you say "remember when".
Yes, I lived in a damned tomb.
Some Good Things are Free
Grammy Blicktx had to get a new computer and her Beloved Husband had to reformat. She mentions in her blog today that they now don't have some programs they had and really liked. I thought of when I got my laptop and couldn't use a lot of programs I have. But I knew about a lot of free things that would work on my new system. I didn't think they would be as good as they have turned out to be but I'm sold. I now use MS office only at work for the most part.
If you are not opposed to free stuff but are concerned about their value and problems they may cause, a good place to find them is Cnet.com and PC World, they review them all the time. PitstopPC is a great place to to get information on free items and their drawbacks and they have several free system scans that will find weaknesses in your set up.
Here is the list of items I have on my new laptop that cost me nothing and work as well as the more expensive software. I've had NO problems from any of these items and I've used some of them since before I had my desktop...that's about 5 years.
If you are not opposed to free stuff but are concerned about their value and problems they may cause, a good place to find them is Cnet.com and PC World, they review them all the time. PitstopPC is a great place to to get information on free items and their drawbacks and they have several free system scans that will find weaknesses in your set up.
Here is the list of items I have on my new laptop that cost me nothing and work as well as the more expensive software. I've had NO problems from any of these items and I've used some of them since before I had my desktop...that's about 5 years.
- OpenOffice.org is free and does EVERYTHING MS Office does.
- Avast Anti-virus is free and works as well as Norton... I've been using it five years. Never been down because of a virus since I started. There are several other free anti-virus programs but do look for reviews before installing. There were some in the past that actually had viruses. I've stuck with Avast because of the I've had no problems, it catches bugs, and the reviews just continue to be good.
- Paint.net is free and does amazing things with photos. You can play for hours with this thing. If you've used other photo programs you're ahead of the game.Gimp is another free one on a par with Photoshop. I've never used it because of the learning curve and time involved to learn it. My artist friends may like it.
- E-Sword is free and excellent for Bible work.
- yWriter is free and a wonderful program to help you put a novel together.
- Google Earth - is free and more fun than a barrel of monkeys to play with and it is great for getting directions and maps to places you want to go. The street view takes you to the ground so you can look around the neighborhoods.
- Spybot - great little spyware program I use to clean off my computer weekly. I've been using this for probably 8 years.
- Auslogics has a FREE defrag program that works in about 3 minutes on my huge drives. (That is only a small exaggeration) Better than Microsoft's built in.
- Firefox - free browser
- Xmarks free little browser program to keep your bookmarks sync'd and accessible whichever computer you log in on. I have it on both computers and the one at work. I never have to say... Oh, I saved that link on my other computer!" And it works on Chrome and IE (for diehards). You can open the xmarks organizers and arrange your bookmarks, edit them or delete them, synchronize it with the server and when you are on your other computer, it will synchronize those and do all that work for you!
- Google Chrome - lightening browser - free. Works really well. More improvements on the way. We'll see
- Gmail - best email program if you want to get less junk. It is what I use for all personal email. Virtually NO spam and it goes where it is supposed to go. Also has a desktop offline feature so always can read email later if you can't be on line long enough. I have hotmail and yahoo but gmail wins hands down in the spam/junk department. I now use Yahoo for those places that require an email address but from whom I do not wish to get trash in my inbox. Hotmail is similar but that is for places I actually want to try a newsletter to see if I like it. I am able to redirect my hotmail to my gmail without giving my gmail address away. ;) I love Google in all it's forms! Brilliant thinkers there.
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