Minivan in the Shop

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Black-eyed Susans in our yard, border added with my digital camera.)

"The horror of that moment," the King said, "I shall never, never forget." "You will, though," said the Queen, "if you don't make a memorandum of it." ((Lewis Carroll: Thought the Looking Glass) in One Day at a Time in Al-Anon, 18 August)

Spend time alone in objective thought as you consider the direction of your life. (I Ching (The Receptive) in Acts of Faith by Iyanla Vanzant, 17 August)

Yesterday something went wrong with posting this blog to Facebook. First the entry posted without all of the text. Later I went to Facebook and deleted the entry. Then I did a minor update to the Google blog entry, hoping that it would post again. It didn't. Oh well.

Before we left for a short trip to Rehoboth Beach, Delaware the minivan cut out went I went to buy gas. We were lucky to discover the problem before we left town. This morning I took the car to the Ford dealer. Nowadays you just have to expect that any repairs will be expensive. Since this car has given us long faithful service I try not to get to upset when they tell me what it's going to cost. We've taken so many nice trips in this vehicle. I'd really miss it, if we didn't have the minivan.

Today we ordered a quilting foot for the Kenmore sewing machine that Melva bought a while back. We expect delivery about a week from now. Then Melva can see how well the new machine works for quilting.

Mr. Dickie

Rehoboth Beach, Delaware

Photos: Mr. Dickie

• There is hardly a greater challenge for any of us than to have healthy, happy, and productive relationships. (A Time to Be Free, 18 August)
• ... stop blaming everyone else for the mess you create for yourself. (Teresa Ann Willis, It's All Good! 18 August)
• There's a big difference between giving someone a piece of your mind and promoting their peace of mind. (Mr. Dickie, 15 August 2008)

Did you miss me? We took a short break from computers and blogging. Melva, Cyndi and I went to visit our friend, Iris, at Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Her apartment is 127 miles from our house and about a mile from the beach. We were there Thursday and Friday nights and returned home on Saturday afternoon. Cyndi drove both ways. We took the Toyota Camry because the Engine Light came on when I went to put gas in the Ford minivan. What good luck to have the problem before leaving home.

Friday night we went to a free concert at the beach bandstand. The four piece rock and roll group, The Jaime McLean Band, from New York City gave a very nice concert.

We sent shopping at all three locations of the Tanger Outlets. There are 130 stores if all are occupied. The ladies spent an hour on the beach and Cyndi also went to the pool where Iris lives.

On the way home we stopped at Crazy Harry's drugstore to look for some bargains. I was surprised when we got inside. Since our last visit, the chain was bought by Walgreen's.

I found time to finish reading "Facebook for Dummies" during the trip. I skipped over the chapters about using the site for business. I discovered that I will have to find out what "Active X control" is if I want to be able to use the best way of uploading photographs to Facebook.

I took seventeen photos. This morning I used the Picasa software to move the photos from the camera memory card to the my thumb drive. Then it was easy to include two of the shots in this blog. I couldn't do that before Cyndi gave me the digital camera for Father's Day. Modern technology can be fun, when it all works together. I hope you are having fun with some of it.

Mr. Dickie.

August Days

Photo: Internet

• If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else. (Marvin Gaye in Acts of Faith by Iyanla Vanzant, 14 August)
• Relief from the burden of compulsions frees our potential and grants us distance from the pain of our lifestyle. (Body, Mind, and Spirit, 15 August)
• Don't wait for an earthquake or a flood or a blizzard before you begin to discover what you have in common with someone who appears to be different from you. (Terry Ann Willis, It's All Good! 11 August)

I'm trying to read the book, Facebook for Dummies. It seems to me that the book spends too much time announcing what is going to be described later in the book and too much time dwelling on privacy and security issues. Much of the text seems redundant after a while.
I posted a photograph of one of Melva's quilts to my Facebook album. It wasn't long before I knew that the photo had been viewed by Melva's nephew in Panama. He added a comment to the photo. That's neat.

I was "out of action" for much of yesterday afternoon. I had a headache that I wasn't able to relieve for several hours. That's never much fun.

Something went wrong with my Picasa photo albums. All of the images on my thumb drive disappeared. I have no idea what I did right before this happened. Good grief! The photos are still on the thumb drive. Picasa just doesn't know they are there. There are 624 photos which seems to be too many to deal with at any one time. There's always lots to learn. And don't let me forget to say, and to remember. It seems like the "to remember" part is getting more and more difficult. It's not a good feeling.

Mr. Dickie

The Thin Man

Photo: Mr. Dickie in front of an azalea at the corner of the house. How'd I get that thin?

A grudge is a contraction of the heart, a holding back from positive feelings. When we hold a grudge, it stands in the way of love and happiness flowing in and out of our lives. (M.J. Ryan, Instant Health and Happiness Boosters, 13 August)

I have a responsibility to cherish this life God has given me and to live it. I accept this responsibility and consider it to be a blessing. (Colleen Zuck, et al., Daily Word for Healing, p.l 156)

It took two attempts yesterday before I was able to check out a copy of the book, "Facebook For Dummies." I couldn't get my act together. At the second library I couldn't find the book. I maintained my presence of mind and asked a librarian for help. She went downstairs and got the book for me. The book had been returned to the branch but not to the shelf. This has happened before and I remembered. It was interesting to learn about how Facebook came to be created.

Last night Cyndi and I were in touch on our computers using Instant Messenger for the first time since she got high speed Internet on Saturday. I'm still using a phone line connection. Now she will be able to send me an IM when she wants me to free up the phone for a phone call.

I'm quite thin in this photograph. I wish I could report that I am still at that weight. I can't. I've got some eating issues that aren't under control.

Mr. Dickie

Secret of Living

Photo: (Melva - Cyndi and Dick with Christmas Poinsettia that bloomed in our house.)

One secret of living successfully in a multi-cultural society is to respect differences while preserving our own distinct character and traditions. (Vanceburg and Silverman, Family Feelings, 11 August)

Write a personal mission statement. Record it in your journal. (Mr. Dickie after Stephen R. Covey, Daily Reflections For Highly Effective People, 12 August)

I will not look for perfection in another person until I have attained perfection myself. (One Day at a Time in Al-Anon, 12 August)

I'm having lots of fun with blog writing and with posting photographs to the blogs and to Internet photo albums. I don't care whether others are reading the blogs or looking at the photographs. It's enough fun just to make the information and the photographs available.

I haven't had such good luck with the Groups I created. There's not much interest in joining either the family group or the genealogy group. I was hopeful that both groups would promote the exchange of information. So far neither group has enough members to make it interesting. Maybe folks are shy about putting any information on the Internet. Both groups are private which I suppose means that only those I accept as members can see the information. I say "suppose" because, as we all know, often what we are told now-a-days turns out to be false.

The feed of information from this Google blog to the "notes" in my Facebook worked. I like that idea. It insures that there will be something new on Facebook every time I post to the Google blog. There is one problem. Many of my Facebook "friends" speak Spanish as their first language. Well, at least they can look at the photographs if they don't have the time to deal with all of the English.

Mr. Dickie

More About Facebook

Photo: Internet

• When I truly release any disturbing situation into God's care, I am taking a step in faith toward receiving harmony and establishing peace - for myself and for everyone involved. (Colleen Zuck, et al., Daily Word For Healing, p. 145)
• ... I can live my life for inner peace and not for outward appearances. (Courage to Change, 9 August)

Yesterday I discovered that the "Notes" in Facebook can link to this Google blog. I set up the process. Both photographs and text appear in the Facebook. Much to my surprise the last twenty-five Google blog entries I'd made appeared in Facebook. A list of the "titles" appeared with my Facebook page with the latest entry at the bottom of the list. From now on everytime I post something to this Google blog I expect Facebook to detect the new posting and add it to my Facebook information.

I also learned that there's a Facebook For Dummies book. I checked the online library catalog. A copy is on the shelf at the nearby branch. When they open at noon I'll go to check it out, if I can remember.

Mr. Dickie

Thomas Point Lighthouse

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Thomas Point Lighthouse, now at the marine museum at Solomon's Island, Maryland)

True spirituality is not a religion - it is a state of being. (Mary Hession in Thinking Outside the Church, by Jennifer Leigh Selig, p. 225)

Loving is a blessing, a gift we give ourselves. (after Iyanla Vanzant, Acts of Love, 5 August)

God's healing light and love flow through me now. I am being healed - mind and body. ... The response to the healing power of God is renewed life. (Colleen Zuck, et al., Daily Word for Healing, p. 142)

Today's photograph is of a silkscreen image of the Thomas Point Light which has been mounted in a large embroidery hoop. It hangs on the wall in one of our bedrooms.

Are you writing a WebLog? It's lots of fun. I particularly like how the Google Blog works. I also use the Google Picasa photo handler. The two work well together. I'm still learning. There are a few more things I'd like to try. For example, the slide show at the bottom of my blog page is provided by Google. I'd like to create one of my own. Being able to easily share some of the photos I've taken or that someone else took adds to the fun.

I advertise my blog in the closing I add to most of the Email messages I send out. I haven't learned how to count visitors to the Google blog yet so I don't have any idea whether anyone else is reading it or not. It really doesn't matter since I am getting a lot of personal enjoyment out of creating the journal entries. Don't hesitate to leave a comment if something catches your interest.

Mr. Dickie