Tag: Nature

Functioning Technology

I’d had my doubts that all my issues with my computer would be solved simply by replacing the power cord. I never knew that a laptop with a bad power cord could impact the speed of your internet connection to the point it was worse than trying to connect through dial up. Apparently that is absolutely what happens if your laptop recognizes that your power cord is bad and attempts to preserve battery through lowering performance. Now I know and I’ve given you a little tech tip for the day.

Thankfully, I’m now back up and running and I no longer feel like I’ve been banished from the world. The short time away did give me some time to think (not always a good thing) and I’ve decided that since I don’t have any review obligations (no open requests or NetGalley books due) through the end of the year, I’m going to just read to read until after the new year. If I manage to pick up something that strikes me as something I just really need to talk about, then I’ll post a review. For now, I’m going to take a reviewing break.

Part of the reason for this is all of the stuff that will be going on around the holidays. I really don’t want to go into the season already stressed with the pressure of trying to get too much done. It wouldn’t take much for me to just not want to put in the effort to do the fun stuff right now and I really don’t want that. I’ve still not been able to completely shake the crankies lately. The last thing I want is to make it worse.

We are also in full on “focus on college” mode with MC. He has been invited to interview for the top scholarship at his #1 school choice (and most likely where he is going to go even if he doesn’t get the scholarship), which I am crazy proud of, by the way. That means I have to take him to get a suit in the next week, something he has never even come close to wearing, so that is going to be so much fun. The kid that has spent his life in jeans and t-shirts with video game characters on them is going to have to wear a suit. He is probably more nervous about that than the interview itself.

I was a little frustrated with the information in the invitation as it also specifies it is a day for the parents to come, but doesn’t give any kind of timing or agenda, only the day. You have to RSVP that you are going to the interview and how many parents will be coming. Since it is a Saturday, it means that I’ve got to balance BG’s dance schedule with the interview schedule, but I don’t have a schedule for the interview day. It is also her last rehearsal before her Christmas program and she can’t miss it. There were too many unknowns for me to figure out if I could drop her off and still make it to MC’s thing (yes, the school is that close), we opted to just have Hubby go with him. I really hate it because I want to be there with him as well.

We don’t see too many conflicts with the kids activities and events often. The times we do, it stresses me the hell out and makes me feel like crap because I feel like I’m having to choose between my kids. When OC first started high school and we started paying attention to when graduation was held, I nearly had a panic attack over what would end up happening a few years down the road because, for a while there, graduation always fell the same day as recital. Thankfully, our district has pushed graduation from Saturdays to Sundays, so we will not have that as a problem this year. We will just have an extremely FULL weekend with Friday rehearsal, Saturday Recital and Sunday graduation.

Yes, I’m getting a bit ahead of myself and starting to already stress over it a bit, but when I’m having to think about all the college stuff now and MC hasn’t even graduated yet, my brain is just going to go there.

Can you tell I’m going to be kind of a mess through all of this?

 

It Started With A Rainbow

I was less than 5 minutes from walking out the door to take BG to her assistant class when I glanced out the back window and saw this amazingly bright rainbow. I was shocked because it wasn’t raining and hadn’t been, but the clouds managed to toss enough moisture in the air to create one anyway.

Of course I grabbed my camera, which was the reminder I needed to take it with me, just in case. I am so glad I did (and I really need to remember to take it with me EVERY time as I’m not going to always get a rainbow smacking me upside the head as a reminder).

Red Tinged Sunset Clouds
Red Tinged Sunset Clouds

The start of the sunset tossed some interesting clouds my way, but that isn’t what was so stunning about last night’s sky. It was this phenomenal ombre look to the sky itself after the sun dropped below the horizon.

Ombre Sky After Sunset
Ombre Sky After Sunset

It was such an extreme fade that it made it really difficult to get it to actually register correctly on the camera. Closer to the horizon on one setting would get blown out too bright and another setting would make the darker bluish purple get too dark, so it was fun trying to get it balanced just right for both ends of the spectrum.

Ombre Sky After Sunset
Ombre Sky After Sunset

I think I managed to capture it enough to be worth sharing, though they still aren’t nearly as stunning as what I saw sitting in my car last night. Sitting there with my window down and my camera hanging out the window had to have been slightly concerning for anyone in the offices or restaurant nearby. I kind of looked a bit like a PI stalking some cheating spouse or something. Or, I would have if I’d had my big zoom lens attached instead of my smaller wide angle lens. Oh, well. The people in those business will probably be seeing lots of that over the next several months.

Fall Colors

About all that is left of these gorgeous colors are images and a few flying around the yard. We still have quite a few leaves on our tree, but they’ve started to dry up in preparation for their final drop. The majority of the trees in our area are now bare.

It really hasn’t felt like much of a fall. We’ve only had a few fall like days and the rest have felt like deep winter. That feeling is only added to by the fact that I now have most of my outdoor holiday decorations up. I still have a few left to do today and that part will be done. I’m standing firm on the fact that they won’t go on for at least a few more weeks, though.

Stunning Striped Sunset

Last night’s sunset has convinced me I need to keep my camera bag with me when I take BG to dance. The entire sky started out in these amazing orange/gold stripes across a vibrantly blue sky when we were leaving the studio.

Blue, Red, Pink, and Orange Striped Sunset
Blue, Red, Pink, and Orange Striped Sunset

I watched those colors shift and darken over the 20 minute drive home and would have pulled over and pissed off other drivers just to get a chance to take a shot of what I was seeing. I was so worried I’d lose all color by the time I got home, but lucked out in getting some of the most brilliant colors of the night, though in a really shitty location, so I didn’t get a good wide shot of the whole sky.

Blue, Red, Pink, and Orange Striped Sunset
Blue, Red, Pink, and Orange Striped Sunset

As soon as I put my car in park, I ran in and grabbed my camera. I managed to get a few good shots from the front of my house.

Blue, Red, Pink, and Orange Striped Sunset
Blue, Red, Pink, and Orange Striped Sunset

I will now have my camera bag with me when I take her to dance. At least the early classes anyway.

My View Today

And it is stupid cold. If it weren’t windy, I could be out trying to photograph frozen bubbles. It is snowing heavy enough that it was a challenge to get a pic of my front Maple that wasn’t blurry. I didn’t quite manage it.

Snowy Fall Maple
Snowy Fall Maple

I’m hoping the snow stops soon and gives the streets a chance to melt off because MC drove to school today and he has never driven in snow. It wouldn’t bother me if he were a few short miles from home, but we live really close to the farthest edge of the district, which means a good 20 minute drive on 50+ MPH highways and a few side roads. We did tell him to take the bus home if it was still bad when school lets out. Now we get to see how well he listened.

Oh, and a bit of a brag moment… MC got accepted into his top 2 colleges. We are now in wait and see mode on any scholarships.

Yes That Is Snow

We got a little snow last night, which is unusual enough. The fact that it is still there today is even more so. It also doesn’t look like we are done with it just yet because they are calling for more tonight and again on Halloween.

I’m really hating it for a number of reasons, but a big one is the fact that our poor dog Izzy is already struggling. We had to get a harness for her so we could help her up the stairs and back in after she goes outside. Her back legs are either experiencing extreme weakness or severe arthritis, but it makes it really hard for her push off with them to get up or climb steps. The early cold and now snow is going to make it even harder on her. Between that and struggling to get her interested in eating… she is just having a really hard time. It is a little better for her when the temps aren’t too cold and it is dry so seeing this so early just makes me mad on her behalf.