"Want" and a "Need"

Do you understand the difference between a "want" and a "need?" Do you really "need" what you "want?" Do you really "want" what you "need?" (Mr. Dickie, 19 Jan 2010)

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I skipped blog posting yesterday while we dealt with about five inches of snow on the driveway and sidewalk. The snow continued to fall afterwards. This morning I went out to remove another inch. Melva didn't have any trouble getting out to the street and the street was clean down to the pavement. When she arrived at work it was difficult to walk from the car to the shop. As always after a snowy day we hope that it will be worth the effort of getting to work.

As of tomorrow we will have used one twelfth of the time we have to accomplish our 2010 goals. Isn't that a sobering thought?

Mr. Dickie
31/Jan/2010 10:51

Music to My Ears

Music can be a source of great healing - as well as the opposite. I try to avoid music that takes listeners to a place of darkness. I seek out music energized by the power of light and love. (Betty J. Eadie, Embraced by the Light, 19 January, paraphrased by Mr. Dickie)

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Yesterday the book I ordered arrived via USPS Priority Mail in one of those Flat Rate Mailing Envelopes. That's not a good way to ship a book. The envelope was inside a plastic "body bag" bearing a message about how much the postal service cares about delivering our mail in good condition. Luckily when the mailing envelope was ripped open the book was only slightly damaged. By the way the title of the book is "Getting the Most Out of RootsMagic Version 4" by Bruce Buzbee the programmer of this very nice genealogy program. The first thing I noticed when I took a quick look at the contents of the book is a section about how to install the program on a thumb drive. I'm hoping that I'll be able to gain an understanding of how to create my own "Facts" after I read the book.

Mr. Dickie

Know Your Limits

You can expect a person to say they can when they know that they can't; or say they will and then forget to do it. (Iyanla Vanzant, Faith in the Valley, p. 336)

It has been said that true friendship begins only when people share a common memory and can say to each other, "Do you remember?" (William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke (DSB), p. 296)

Know your limits, know your values, and be aware of the danger that can come from compromising them. (Melody Beattie, The Language of Letting Go, 4 January)
28/Jan/2010 10:30

The Inevitable

Photo: Mr. Dickie (Another quilt at the Prince George's County Fair -2009)

Because we cannot alter the inevitable, we adjust to it. And we do that not a year at a time, but a day at a time. Instead of eating our heart out because a few aches and pains have attached themselves to our bodies, we determine to celebrate life rather than endure it. Aging isn't a choice. But our response to it is. In so many ways we ourselves determine how we shall grow old. (Charles R. Swindoll, Wisdom For The Way, p. 44)

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There's an article today in The Washington Post about how yearbooks are no longer being published as much as they were in the past. Where will people look for school day memories in the future?

Mr. Dickie
27/Jan/2010 8:02

I'm Still Learning

Refuse to allow yourself to have low expectations about what you're capable of creating. (Dr. Wayne Dyer, Ten Secrets for Success and Inner Peace, p. 9)

Let me not expect easy solutions to my problems. Make me realize that many of my difficulties were created by me, by my own reactions to the happenings in my daily life. I ask only to be guided to a better way. (One Day At A Time in Al-Anon, 6 January)

I accept that things are the way things need to be. (Iyanla Vanzant, Until Today! 20 December)

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My HP Laserjet 1020 is hooked up and working again with the old Gateway desktop computer. Yesterday I printed out two pages of a genealogy descendant chart I downloaded from a county website. The information pertains to the Clegg family of the Ohio River valley. I'm working on a Clegg project. I'm not quite sure whats the point in putting the names of lots of people on the Internet with the word "private" beside them.

I printed out a Gmail message that both of us need to read. It's a test of my new glasses. The font size is 6 or 8. I couldn't see a way to change the font size while printing from Gmail. I'll need to find some way around the problem.

Last night there was another accident on the Washington, DC Metro subway system. Two more workers were killed. The current manager had already annouced his intention to resign. I can't remember what date he set. I suppose Congress will want to investigate, as they always do when they see an opportunity to get themselves on television.

Mr. Dickie
26/Jan/2010 9:50

Computer Maintenance

(Our family at Franklin's on Melva's birthday.)

We should take responsibility for the well-being of every animal we bring into our lives. Before you adopt that puppy, cat, gerbil, bird or fish, be sure you are ready for up to a fifteen-year commitment. (Paraphrased from The Word on Life, Toni Sortor and Pamela McQuade, 22 January)

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Cyndi came for a visit last night. She brought her broken computer and other pieces of computer equipment. Several times lately my computer monitor faded to black for a couple of seconds. We swapped her monitor with the one I'm using. That way I can test to see if I have a monitor issue or some problem with the video card in the computer. She hooked up my HP Laserjet 1020 to the USB port on the desktop computer. I'd forgotten that it worked with this computer at one time. She attached my little silver-box USB hub to the other USB port on the computer. That worked too. I suppose I could have done it myself if I didn't suffer from techno-phobia. She brought more photos taken at Melva's birthday lunch. She copied those to my hard drive and one of my thumb drives. This morning I am good to go.

I sent four snow photos I took of Jim's house across the street to his house via the Internet. He uploaded three of them to his Facebook page. I thought that was lots of fun.

Mr. Dickie
25/Jan/2010 10:47

Beginning of the Day

(Melva with her award winning quilt at the Prince George's County Fair - 2009)

Photo: Mr. Dickie

There is only one way, if you want to live without understanding the meaning of your life: to become addicted to tobacco, alcohol, and drugs, and to live in the world of permanent entertainment. (Anonymous in A Calendar of Wisdom by Leo Tolstoy, 23 November)

Many find that time spent concentrating on a program or plan at the beginning of the day is most fruitful. (paraphrased from Food For Thought, 18 December)

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We continue to enjoy the beautiful display from the three poinsettia plants we have blooming in the dining room. At least three years ago we were given one plant as a gift from our next door neighbor. Melva grew two more plants from cuttings. We have two of those "As Seen On TV" glass globes helping us water two of the plants. A couple of weeks ago Melva gave all three plants a shot of liquid fertilizer.

I'm working on keying some genealogy from a book. It's a project I started on an impulse. It's probably bigger than I want to do.

If you are a sports entertainment fan you won't be able to do anything else except watch television today. We have the Australian Open tennis, two NFL playoff games and two sessions of U.S. Figure Skating. Maybe you'll have to time shift.

Mr. Dickie
24/Jan/2010 10:27