Once again I am having computer problems.. and could not get onto Xanga .. but I kept trying.

My e-mail must be a real mess by now.. I cannot get into gmail.. Debi has been helping today and yesterday.. but... Firefox will still not talk to google or ??? so, it could be a million things.
My internet connection has not been a problem, but getting anything Google sure was. Now I can query Google on all subjects except things related to Gmail.

Computer problems frustrate me no end!

So somewhere in there I am thinking.. Proxy server is, or is not there, or has been captured/replaced by???
 Debi?
I firmly believe that the &*()_**^(9 ..tooth fairy is P.O.ed and done something to my computer.. and I have to either throw salt somewhere or hide a box of chocolates behind the keyboard... There! That is the sum total of my knowledge of computer-eeze... fix it's!
I tried to download a new issue of Gmail and it ( my computer will not allow that or another ISP) 
SIGH!

Has anyone else had this problem?

We are having high winds again ...that's HIGH WINDS!
I have not been able to play outside at all today, no e-mail, messed with the computer for 2 days without success..

A tornado danced across a gold course in Oahu...

We have had to turn the TV sound up because of the noise/roar. We are double insulated, double pane, sealed, nitrogen filled and E coated windows and doors. Normally we have not had noise this noticable since the house was closed up. My neighbors.. they say I'll get used to it...~~~~~i don't think so ~~~~
 
This Friday the13th has been a bugger!

  Didja know that? I am sure you did, if you had just thought about it.

My camera has been giving me a fit with 'Memory card is locked'.
My sometimes fixes were....
*Turn the camera off and then back on.
*Take the chip out and then back in
*Take chip out, Swear at it and return it to the camera
*Locate the camera book and then read said book... recharge the battery. (DUH)
* Recharge the camera battery even though it shows almost full.

They each worked sometimes and nothing other times.

I set about using the chip from the other camera... (and I realized my 4 GB San Disc is MAI) Anybody find it?

I tossed both chips on the table and for the very first time I see the little white slide on it. >>> Add Angels singing praise and glory song here). Every epithany should hear song in the background.

Yes, it is a slide just like our old VCR and other cartridge tapes. It locks! On and Off~

What was were frustrating episodes turns out to be the most useful tool in the bag.. On and Off .
With old cassettes you could only break off the little tab or tape over it for reuse. The little floppy's had the switch
Floppies? Computer floppies in the days of yore...

Here we are.. check out the little white tab on the left
Unlocked and ready to go
       

  Notice those tiny little letters that indicate LOCK and then a down arrow.. ?

This is in the lock position....
    
  But, of course!       We knew that~
            
 

Guess what this is.
     

It is the inside of the center hole down the papaya tree. It appears that it stores water. It looks fleshy, but is it rock hard and heavy. I shoved the lense of the camera down in the hole
Trunks get totally solid nearer their base.

I had tossed the seeds where those trees grew.... to feed the birds.
Obviously some seeds fell into spaces between the rocks and they grew and OMG did they ever produce!
 
Our Papaya trees are getting too tall, too big and too messy. We have several 'stand's and it is near impossible to keep up with the fruit and the trash that falls.

There were three here, two more to go..
 
We have plenty more. I hope we stay inspired until get at least seven of those gone.

Steve is cutting them into managable  'One Man' pieces.. (A local measurement)

In general, we are keeping the 'strawberry' ones.... the ones with the really sweet pink flesh.. We have about 15 of those in full production. That will keep us and the neighborhood supplied. In the background, behind my tiki torches, you can see Peter and Karen's stand of the Oro ( gold flesh papaya).

When ever my neighbors have guests, they'll ask and the answer is "most Certainly" .. Come and get them!
It is a real treat to have guests come and pick them by the armloads. ( we do supply baskets and the extension picker.)

I love the taste of using the larger green papaya instead of squash in an abondigas soup. It has a slightly spicy cinnamon-y taste. YUM! 

I am so glad these are gone. The plan was and is to have lady palm in the space where these grew.
Actually, these were the first to grow here.. I had stopped to pick some wild growing Papaya on the way up here when we were building on the lot.
Papaya, banana trees and all manner of fruit trees grow along the road sides in most areas that get rain.

     The man and his tool.
         

It was well past the time for them to go......  and go they did.
  
  Loading them up for the Greenwaste center.  I couldn't get rid of them fast enough!

Ewwwwwwww!

A week ago today, the Papa (Steve) marched past me without his shirt on. Immediately, I noticed something new.. or at least different....
I thought it was a brown dog tick sticking out of his chest. I was sick~

Immediately, I telephoned the Doctor's office to ask if I could bring him in.. or he'd have to sleep outside.
Oh! He already does that... sleeps on the lanai... but they knew what I meant. (We enjoy a special friendly relationship with Doc and his love his staff.. small town  etc. )

He finished dressing and we went over to the office.. they took us right away.

First thing, Doc looks at it and and pronounces it is not a tick, but since it was fast growing.. "we'll just whip it off and send it in for tests." 

Steve was okay with that..he had little time to argue about the needle fast approaching and slipping under the skin. In a flash the Doctor had it whipped off.
It did not look so big or threatening in that little vial.

Steve claims it was more of a plunge into the chest...thinks it would have been better to have gone straight to 'whip' and swears I was conning him about the tick. "You know what a tick looks like!!!"
 
Honest! It looked like a gruesome tick and I was so sure that when I looked underneath the thing I saw the head embedded in his chest
What do I know..  I never saw a tick from that angle~ ... that and he knows I would not take up Doc's time on a joke.

Anyhow, that was quickly over and fast forgotten. When Doc says don't worry, we don't fret.

Minutes ago, the nurse calls.. I hear screams of laughter in the background..(the office nurses). She tells me that his 'Papa-illa tick" is none cancerous.
Trying to speak through my own screams of laughter, I ask if I can quote them as saying Bubonic Plague is not in his treatment plan at this time..
LOLOLOLOL!
 
The nurse (I am not sure I should say her name)  was still on the line when I hollered the diagnosis out to him. He cracked up!
He saw the phone aimed at him and told us he is going to get even with all of us~

I do have pix, but, because we are friends, I will not post them.
....enough with the bugs!

As soon as I can, I'll be mailing this afghan to the new owner..Lor. She picked out the color to go into her new place. She decided on jewel tones. Her place is all decorated and beautiful, just waiting for this and a few paintings I promised her.
This one is a really dark rich burgandy, a nice heavy weight that will keep her toasty warm on those cold wintery days... and all that love added with each stitch, she may have to open a window~ 

At 1:38 Hawaii time, I trimmed the last if the tassels and announced it finished.  'Let's take a picture".
That done, I was folding it up and guess who had already moved on it.

I am thinking she was trying to lay claim to it. Doesn't she look serious about keeping it?
.....not to worry, I will make her one of her own.
She thinks everything is hers and has to be puppy teeth tasted~

This was me a few days ago,,
  
I had already woven in the 'tails'. ( end pieces where I tied on another skein)
I was sewing the last of the 4 panels together. Almost finished~
YEA!!!!!
Fear not, I will not be lacking any projects. I have more afghans in the works.
I have already started on Dani's. Hers it is a soft white and already I love working on it.

Just in case you have not seen enough of the Daisy...

This is her 'Chunky Monkey'. She likes this toy because she can get caught up in the arms .
She rolls and rassles with it as it it were proactive. She loves to involve everybody in her attacks.
She decides what and when she will bring you a toy. If you ignore her, she'll grab it and push it into your leg. There is no ignoring her. She makes up her own rules to her own games. She is a smart one, alright. Maybe too smart .. hahaha.

This morning I was in a bit of a rush to get some copies of paperwork... for a doctor's appointment.

Great! a paper jam! This HP 6210 printer has been very good about not ever having one before.. in the entire two years I've had it... never had one with my older V40 either...

When I started to investigate and clear the paper.. I saw something that swished past my finger just inside the machine. I almost wet myself thinking it may have been a roach antenna.
I prayed it was my imagination. but, I knew.... it was something. Movement was in a place where nothing mechanical was.
In a flash that printer was disconnected and moved nearer the door where there is light and space that I could kill what ever came out. 

A little more banging and all #@!#$$ broke loose.
The GIANT ONE INCH ANTS !!!!  AGAIN! !  They were pouring out of every hole there was... swarms! Some with eggs. Some with wings and some just desperate to get out of my way.

I literally screamed for Steve (in the garage) to come and help me. We met on the patio... me with the printer in my hands and ants bailing out like water over a dam. We quickly dispatched those we could, the high winds not helping..

After the initial scurry, I went inside to go shower ( Ewwwwwwwwwwwwww ants! ) .

It was then I noticed Daisy was not underfoot... Another scream!  as I realized she was gone. I ran to the street and the grassy front yard. There she was, chasing her imaginary miscreants back and forth across the grass. Just like a normal happy yappy puppy would be.

Just about that time, my favorite church lady appears in my driveway and she sees the melee and knows ..she will not be saving my soul today.
(.or maybe it is my day I should face mecca and ......)

These Giant Ants have not come as a complete surprise today. I had them once before, in a TV ...thousands of them.
They are a common thing here on this island at least. Huge giant ants will move into a warm spot like a TV or a stereo that has the warm 'instant on' feature. Many friends and neighbors have had them in just about everywhere in their homes, including the jacket of their water heaters.

I have seen the (3) guards.. they usually set out guards for the first sign of danger ( people). We have left some go while trying to follow them back to a nest.. nothing. 
Lately, it has been cold and rainy, I knew they were here somewhere...I would see one too often to be an accident. ...  just could not find them.
It has prompted me to clean out places already cleaned ... my linen closet...the desk drawers, all the cabinets and cupboards and washed everything again.

Bugs make me crazy. I was getting jumpy at shadows and even the cursor when I'd lose it.

My computer was the suspect host. When when my computer had that Virus/worm, my computer guy did not find any in there and no trace. I was relieved. I told myself that the ones I had seen once in a while were transients..

Usually, I am not a screamer. However!!!! ,you can bet it is a real panic when I do. It is either my dog or big bug trauma!
This morning's paper jam... the ants, were were back. It was too much~ 
We have been vigilant about spraying the tracks on the door sliders.. an easy way for them to get inside. We spray around the outside of the house regularly at the first of every month.

Right now, the ant site portion ( a roller assembly) of the printer in a sealed baggie with a paper towel sprayed with ant spray. It will stay in that baggie until we have the time to get into town and get the right screw driver bit to remove the screws and get the inside sanitized.
The ants have ugly rock hard nests usually include their saliva (?) and threads, paper dust and leaf/grass material.
I hate bugs! OH! I think I already said that.
  
Although we cleared and sanitized the old TV, I never trusted it like before the Ant invasion happened. I'd be always searching the screen for ants, so TV went to live at with a friend. While we now have a completely new TV, I still catch myself watching the screen for ants.   Sigh~ .      

My Cardio guy should have had monitors on me then.

I have changed my name to Quickdraw... I was pretty quick with the photos of the Grands. I could whip out photos while other grandparents were still fumbling for their photo albums.

With Daisy I am polishing those skills. LOL

Anyway, here are the latest pix.
Daisy loves her toys... this is 'Chunky Monkey'

Chunkey's feet and hands have velcro. With all those legs, arms and tails she has a lot
to try getting the best of this toy.

Daisy gets her best ZZZs on the sofa with her feet up!

This is a familiar pose~ She was probably chewing the tag on the towel
and just exhausted her little self. Nothing is safe from those little teeth. 

The question of my day.. " Are you sure we are in Hawaii?'

This was yesterday and today it was in the low 56's. I hope it is not a trend!  
I know we have no real problems, like the rest of the nation.
I am amazed at what my Zanga friends have had to put up with and their resilience!
You guys are awesome! 

All Hawaii TV went digital on the 15th of January. While we, in my home,  have been enjoying some digital and high def ( but paying extra for it) now all the channels are digital.
Amazing, the difference!!!!  You'll love it when they change over to digital TV on the mainland.
Finally! We are getting what the rest of the modern world has had for years and it is a good thing.

Digital TV is so crisp and clean. Everybody I know likes a nice crisp picture. Me too!  Maybe I have lazy eyes, but when I have to study the screen to see what is going on, it's work.

WHY have we not had it???  My guess would be it was for some money making scheme.. like perhaps some companies need a place to dump their old technology or just maybe the cable companies could not make the additional $$$ by selling special digital and high def to us.. (high def should be free, too).... and there is the local stations to consider. It may have been a cost issue in equipment and technical expertise at the community levels.  
Most full power TV stations have been transmitting in digital signal for some time as well as some high definition... ....mostly because of competition for being the best in the entertainment industry.
 
We have to realize that 80 percent of what is out there as films and programs old technology.. and we'll have to continue blinking our eyes as our TV's try to adjust the screens.
The good thing is the newer programs are digital and there will be much more in future.  

Huge screens??  Not for me either. Screens are now so big that unless you are sitting in an amplitheater, you can only 'see' a small portion of the screen.
I'd much rather 'see' everything that is happening on that screen and leave the huge screens for the people with more testerone than .......

I see a backward step as some people are trying to push out the change over date on the mainland... that they had run out of $$$ to finance converter boxes... Hello!!! DUH!!! .. some of Joe Public waited 'till the last minute to get their coupon and now want us to pour more cash into an outdated system???    
To them I say... Get a new TV and get over yourself!

...the wind and sun damage things well before 'their time' .

But, damage from a very unwelcome feral cat  ... BIG FAT GRRRRR!
That grey cat really wants to take over Dat Bugga's home territory and food.

Before the house was finished, Steve planted Oleander at the side of the garage to slow down the high and sometimes damaging Trade Winds. It works, so it stayed.  We have found nothing as a replacement.

He had been cleaning up the leaf litter under the oleander and using a blower to round them up.
Thoughtfully, he blocked the opening under the gate so that the leaves would not be covering the patio (the space between the house and the garage )
*****Oleander is #1 for toxic and a NO NO! and can kill pets and people.******
 
Steve tucked that piece of cardboard at the end of the sidewalk. Neither of us thought to take it away..

 
 Looks good Steve!

Recently, one evening we were having our coffee and dessert on the lanai ( the porch area under the house roof) and we hear this horrible cat screach! Everybody jumped up and ran.. Bugga for the hills and Steve and I to rescue some cat out of what sounded like a life and death situation.

We were both thinking that that grey cat was doing great bodily harm to another innocent house cat. At the scene, all we saw was a cornered grey cat and his fangs..

He had obviously jumped onto the door and down on the shade of the swing. Already weather beaten, it gave way ~
  
The shade in tatters, cat scratches and wet paw prints bear witness to the crime.   

 Alas! and lost the battle to the cat  
 
These shades are so hard to find that it appears that I'll have to sew a replacement.
On warmer days, this is a favorite reading/knitting/visiting spot. Hours and hours~

... That brings out the Awwwws