Post a good thing that happened in your life today

[Steve Hyde]

9 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

The second day I have awoken to rain. Yesterday I had 2.3” in my rain gauge. Very needed to an area in critical drought. Although my yard man wasn’t able to mow. This rain today is light & soon will stop, so I hope by late afternoon he can tackle the jungle.

 

Best wishes for your surgery, Steve. Once you heal, you’ll no longer have to compete in the “one-legged man in a butt kicking contest.”

You’ll have two good ‘uns again and everyone will have to watch out for Steve!

Betty, you made me LOL. Here’s a recipe I recommend for being so nice. I made it two days ago and it’s now my favourite cake…

 

 

 

[Cecile Marion]

That looks incredible! Did you also trim the cake sides and tops?

[Betty LaRue]

1 hour ago, Steve Hyde said:

Betty, you made me LOL. Here’s a recipe I recommend for being so nice. I made it two days ago and it’s now my favourite cake…

 

 

 

Steve, that’s why I cracked a funny, to make you laugh. Anyone facing surgery needs to laugh all they can, while they can. That cake looks magnificent!

[Steve Hyde]

7 hours ago, Cecile Marion said:

That looks incredible! Did you also trim the cake sides and tops?

Here’s my effort, I made three layers instead of four and made the smaller version using 7” tins. I didn’t trim the sides as I didn’t have the cutter. I’ll get one for next time though. It wasn’t that tricky to make and came out really well. I did cheat on the curd and used a jar from Waitrose. 

 

 

 

Edited July 7, 2023 by Steve Hyde

[Betty LaRue]

5 hours ago, Steve Hyde said:

Here’s my effort, I made three layers instead of four and made the smaller version using 7” tins. I didn’t trim the sides as I didn’t have the cutter. I’ll get one for next time though. It wasn’t that tricky to make and came out really well. I did cheat on the curd and used a jar from Waitrose. 

 

 

 

I can’t hold up long enough to make that creation.  Oh, how I’d like a piece! I like your burn better than hers.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Betty LaRue

[Betty LaRue]

Happy to soon get started on water damage repairs. A man gave me an estimate to cut out the damaged part of the ceiling & replace it, also remove the popcorn ceiling finish, put on knockdown & paint it. All of that is in the basement. Upstairs he’ll fix the hole in the wall of my bathroom from the cabinet that fell. I will paint it & save some on my deductible. He comes to start the work Monday & it will take about 3 days.

I’ve ordered a new toilet & it’s being shipped.

Hopefully, by the end of July everything will be back to normal.

Edited July 7, 2023 by Betty LaRue

[gvallee]

Fun in the Australian Outback. The setting was Bedourie in Central Australia, described as an oasis in the desert. The Bedourie Camel and Pig races felt like an ill-fated event. First of all, because of unseasonable heavy rain, the campsite at the racecourse could not be opened because of flooding and mud. We ended up in a sea of caravans on the outskirts of town. Such a shock after the tranquillity of the Bush!

 

Then, shortly before the beginning of the camel race, the only mandatory ambulance in the 120 soul community was called out! The race was postponed and we had to wait for its return.

 

The pig race was a lot of fun when piglets hilariously answering the trumpet call for all 8 of them to dash into the Apple Sauce and Crackling Race. Rocketing in their fetching coloured singlets through gates and over straw bales, there could only be one winner to push her snout in the swill bowl reward: Pink Piggie! And no, if you had a winning ticket, you could not take the piglet home!

 

Five dollars poorer, we tried $20 with the bush bookies on Pricilla in the first Camel Heat. With a name like that, surely she wouldn't give us the hump?

We all lined up to feverishly spectate at the winning post. The camels gather to proceed past us to the 400m starting line. Suddenly, we notice one camel is missing. The tannoy crackles, "Ladies and Gents, Pricilla has been scratched from the race."

 

Cries of woe. We watch the race, then troop to the bookies for refund. There we learn that our crooked camel had kicked the owner prior to saddling and caused the race scratching for her dangerous behaviour.

 

[Betty LaRue]

27 minutes ago, gvallee said:

Fun in the Australian Outback. The setting was Bedourie in Central Australia, described as an oasis in the desert. The Bedourie Camel and Pig races felt like an ill-fated event. First of all, because of unseasonable heavy rain, the campsite at the racecourse could not be opened because of flooding and mud. We ended up in a sea of caravans on the outskirts of town. Such a shock after the tranquillity of the Bush!

 

Then, shortly before the beginning of the camel race, the only mandatory ambulance in the 120 soul community was called out! The race was postponed and we had to wait for its return.

 

The pig race was a lot of fun when piglets hilariously answering the trumpet call for all 8 of them to dash into the Apple Sauce and Crackling Race. Rocketing in their fetching coloured singlets through gates and over straw bales, there could only be one winner to push her snout in the swill bowl reward: Pink Piggie! And no, if you had a winning ticket, you could not take the piglet home!

 

Five dollars poorer, we tried $20 with the bush bookies on Pricilla in the first Camel Heat. With a name like that, surely she wouldn't give us the hump?

We all lined up to feverishly spectate at the winning post. The camels gather to proceed past us to the 400m starting line. Suddenly, we notice one camel is missing. The tannoy crackles, "Ladies and Gents, Pricilla has been scratched from the race."

 

Cries of woe. We watch the race, then troop to the bookies for refund. There we learn that our crooked camel had kicked the owner prior to saddling and caused the race scratching for her dangerous behaviour.

 

Pricilla wasn’t the lady her name suggested, was she? She should have been named Brunhilda.

[gvallee]

41 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

Pricilla wasn’t the lady her name suggested, was she? She should have been named Brunhilda.

 

I would have spelt it with an 's' but that's the way the bookies wrote it, so who knows. I had to Google Brunhilda. Learnt something. 

Camels can be dangerous animals, if only by their bite, not to mention their kicking.

[sb photos]

Booking a long weekend away in Pembrokeshire Wales for next month. Looking forward to it as I haven't visited that area for around 30-35 years. Looking forward to it.

 

Also finally ordered 2 CFexpress type B 128GB cards for the second slots in my D500's. My firmware is up to date, so no issues with recognition. Have been dithering for some time due to the much higher costs compared to SD cards. Ending up selecting Lexar Professional GOLD Series CFexpress Type B Cards. Not the cheapest nor the most expensive. I know a photographer using them in his D850's without any issues.

[Steve Hyde]

1 hour ago, sb photos said:

Booking a long weekend away in Pembrokeshire Wales for next month. Looking forward to it as I haven't visited that area for around 30-35 years. Looking forward to it.

Very nice. You might not have time, on a long weekend, but a boat trip over to Skomer Island is a day out you’ll never forget🙂

[Rebecca Ore]

Luis found someone who tested the camera bodies with some electronic orange box thing (Luis had photos on his cell phone) and determined that both cameras had the same failure, and that parts weren't available in Nicaragua, so repairs would require a trip to Panama.   Either that repair guy or someone else is willing to buy one or two bodies if one or both come with a lens each or two lenses for the one and he can get them repaired or buy the parts.   I handed the Yashinon back to Luis, but it's possible that the possible buyer won't want an adapted manual lens if he's reselling.   So, I'm debating throwing in the Batis 18mm since it makes no sense on the a6000, and I never particularly warmed to it on the a7 bodies.  If this is a local pro that won't be reselling after the repairs, then shrug.  I bought the Batis used for a bit over $1K, but....   Luis says we can split the money for the sale.   I have no idea what that will be.  The Sony/Zeiss 55mm is now on the a6000.   I've always been fonder of short telephotos (and longer) than ultra wide angles.   The 24mm Sony/Zeiss for crop frame Sony cameras is my favorite lens on the a6000.

 

The a3000 I gave my hotel owner friend is still working.   Haven't seen Sony interchangeable lens cameras in Jinotega lately, but Radio Shack in town sell the entry models of both Nikon and Canon.

 

Good news since the guy didn't tear down the cameras, mess up the screws, and leave both bodies unrepairable by anyone.   Importing cameras here is brutally expensive, so while an a7 isn't much in the US, it's harder and more expensive to come by here.   The Sony Store closed several years ago, so my reason for having Sony isn't valid now.   Managua doesn't have a dedicated camera store, and anything over the Nikon and Canon base models is special order through PriceMart or a trip to Miami.

 

Neither Luis nor I have the money for repair parts and labor.   So if this works for the person making the offer, we're better off than we were.

 

 

 

 

[Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg]

for most recent itinerary, used (10) IHG properties (22) nights;

all paid with points, obtained via credit card, some bought;

several issues came up: 😏__ 😏__ 😏
pool not available, room safes not working, no housekeeping, etc.

got it all resolved this morning via email & some points restored

to my satisfaction -- color me consumer assertive !!

(after all this affects one's travel overhead)

[Betty LaRue]

17 minutes ago, Jeffrey Isaac Greenberg said:

for most recent itinerary, used (10) IHG properties (22) nights;

all paid with points, obtained via credit card, some bought;

several issues came up: 😏__ 😏__ 😏
pool not available, room safes not working, no housekeeping, etc.

got it all resolved this morning via email & some points restored

to my satisfaction -- color me consumer assertive !!

(after all this affects one's travel overhead)

As often as you travel, you have to stand up for your rights or you’d spend too much of your time being miserable. I hate paying for services I don’t receive.

[Allan Bell]

40 minutes ago, Betty LaRue said:

As often as you travel, you have to stand up for your rights or you’d spend too much of your time being miserable. I hate paying for services I don’t receive.

 

I'm with you there. When I arrived she said NO.

 

Allan

 

[Rebecca Ore]

On 09/07/2023 at 09:44, Rebecca Ore said:

Neither Luis nor I have the money for repair parts and labor.   So if this works for the person making the offer, we're better off than we were.

 

The upshot of this was Luis sold the two cameras and one lens for $100, and the buyer wanted another autofocus automatic lens, and I didn't want to part with the Sony/Zeiss 55mm as it works well on the a6000, and really didn't want to just throw in the 18mm with the package, so Luis negotiated another deal for the Batis 18mm which hasn't ever been a lens I cared that much for.  The price was ridiculous, $140 with twenty to Luis for managing the deal (he got all that the camera and FE 35mm f/2.8 lens sold for.  Not really concerned about the prices paid for the two non-working cameras, but not really happy to have to throw in the two lenses.   But I have lenses now that give me a reasonable range on the a6000, including two Sony/Zeiss lenses (the FE 55mm and the E 24mm), and a 55 to 210 E zoom, the 30mm macro, and the Yashinon 50 mm for those days when the street might be rowdy like 2018.

 

Hope the photographer gets one good camera out of the two, or maybe can afford the repairs in Costa Rica or Panama.  I now can afford a taxi to Managua when I renew my residence in September. 

 

British friend of mine says sometimes you take the deal you can get rather than the deal you want.   Now I have to finished captioning and keywording the last upload.

 

 

[gvallee]

What a heavenly atmosphere tonight... The smell of campfires drifting through the camp... the Milky Way shining above us... camels groaning in the background... I'm on another distant planet.

[Betty LaRue]

Good thing mixed with bad. My water damage repairs are underway, but it’s supposed to hit high 90s today & they have my front door propped open with cooling escaping, & bugs coming in.

Bad thing. Part of the damage in my bathroom when the cabinet fell was a gouge in the wall. One of the workmen has been fixing that. I walked in to see how it was going & saw him from the back (thank God) urinating in the toilet.

The toilet is broken & I initially told him that when he viewed damage. Lid closed. Some black water in it where my son wrung out a rag from mopping water out of the tank. Black from sediment. He should have had a clue at the black water he saw. Good thing…he flushed which took “most” of the water out of the toilet that I have to sop out before it is replaced. Some remaining, though.

I’m questioning his brains & I’m quite out of sorts. I have a perfectly good, working big bathroom/toilet off the hall with an open door which he had to walk past to go to my out-of-order bedroom bath. Now I know I have to sop pee water that’s left. 😡🤬Rubber gloves will be used. I also have a nice working bath/toilet downstairs where they are working on the ceiling. So two working toilets & he chooses to use the broken one.

I have a sign on the toilet now. I hope he can read.

My new toilet is shipping, should be here on the 17th unless delayed. I will seal the wall repair myself & paint the bathroom. It’s small. I need to find someone to remount the cabinet once the painting is done.  My son has a bad shoulder & can’t lift it, he can hardly lift his arm, let alone the cabinet.

[wiskerke]

6 hours ago, Betty LaRue said:

<>

I hope he can read.

<>

😂

It's a book.

 

wim

[Betty LaRue]

12 hours ago, wiskerke said:

😂

It's a book.

 

wim

FOR SURE, wim!! 😂

[Bryan]

We had to buy a new laptop for my wife as the one she had was pronounced uneconomic to repair - new motherboard.

 

I spent a while setting up the new machine but came unstuck when it refused to recognise the pin code that I had selected. Did some research and found a workaround by invoking the task manager and typing in the name of the program to be run, but very annoying. Decided to take it back to the shop for their technicians to sort after the weekend.

 

But, as if by magic, it started to recognise the pin code and all was well.  Computers, strange machines !

[Steve Hyde]

Thank you for the messages of support for my recent knee replacement surgery. It all went very well. I was admitted at 7am on Tuesday morning, operated on at 8.30am and discharged the following day at 5pm having passed the physio and care assessments. I have to say I have nothing but praise for the care and support I received from our beleaguered NHS. 

 

Its a long slow process of recovery now. Luckily I'm not in any pain from the procedure, which is unusual, but the new joint is very swollen and I'm getting around on crutches for now. Its six weeks before I can drive so plenty of time for keywording all those unprocessed images in my portfolio. 

Edited July 14, 2023 by Steve Hyde

[NYCat]

Congratulations on the successful surgery. Be sure to do the recommended exercises. You will be forming scar tissue and you don't want that to hamper you in the future.

 

Paulette

[John Mitchell]

1 hour ago, Steve Hyde said:

Thank you for the messages of support for my recent knee replacement surgery. It all went very well. I was admitted at 7am on Tuesday morning, operated on at 8.30am and discharged the following day at 5pm having passed the physio and care assessments. I have to say I have nothing but praise for the care and support I received from our beleaguered NHS. 

 

Its a long slow process of recovery now. Luckily I'm not in any pain from the procedure, which is unusual, but the new joint is very swollen and I'm getting around on crutches for now. Its six weeks before I can drive so plenty of time for keywording all those unprocessed images in my portfolio. 

 

Glad to hear things went well. I had a hip replacement five years ago. I was driving within less than a month, but hips aren't as complicated as knees. Twice weekly physio really helped me recover, especially the swimming pool exercises. Hang in there. It's worth the pain.

[gvallee]

3 hours ago, Steve Hyde said:

Thank you for the messages of support for my recent knee replacement surgery. It all went very well. I was admitted at 7am on Tuesday morning, operated on at 8.30am and discharged the following day at 5pm having passed the physio and care assessments. I have to say I have nothing but praise for the care and support I received from our beleaguered NHS. 

 

Its a long slow process of recovery now. Luckily I'm not in any pain from the procedure, which is unusual, but the new joint is very swollen and I'm getting around on crutches for now. Its six weeks before I can drive so plenty of time for keywording all those unprocessed images in my portfolio. 

 

It's great news Steve! All the best for a quick recovery.