WE NEED ALL THE HELP WE CAN GET!

Hello there! I hope you are all well! It's a rainy, windy day up and down the coast of Maine. The ice and snow are disappearing fast. Before I looked out the window this morning I had intended to shop today at our store here on the Island even though I need a day out in Ellsworth to get some items in Home Depot. I REALLY need to get out of the house. Maybe next week. My son gives his grandmother every year, for Christmas,  a very generous gift card to be used at our Island food store and it buys our groceries for about 3 months or so! So I really can't justify buying our food elsewhere until it is used up. Our store is quite sufficient to fill our needs. However, Mom really likes Wal-Mart's blueberry muffins. I buy a bunch of them and put them in the freezer. She has been out of them for awhile. Last night she said she would love some peanut butter fudge so I will make her some today or tomorrow. There is a reason I never make it! I love it also... I have no self discipline! My friend, Mary, here in the Cove, made me a batch of chocolate fudge  for my birthday. So delicious! It was gone in three days.😏

❤Happy Mail❤

  My Christmas present from Roger finally arrived! Here it is:


An Apple iPad Pro with an iPencil, case, screen protector and lens protector. Wow, what a gift! And I love it! So, I will be getting used to it this weekend and hope it's user friendly. My present tablet that I use for most things is an Amazon Fire tablet. I like them but this is the fourth in as many years due to charging port issues. So, I wanted to make a change but thought it wouldn't happen for awhile since I just got my iPhone during the Summer. I think Roger has been feeling sorry for me being so isolated here on the Island. Or maybe he is tired of me complaining about my tablets. When they die I lose a lot of bookmarks, photos, etc.  Do any of my readers have an iPad Pro, and, if so, how do you like yours? Any pros or cons? It's a little daunting navigating through the Apple i's!


Focusing On the Little things

I follow a lot of Blogs as I'm sure most of you do also. I try to read most postings on my Blogger Reading List and those I subscribe via email.  But, mostly, I am a lurker.  From time to time I try to leave comments on every single one of them just to let the blogger know I am there inside their bubble, that I like and appreciate them in my life. It's an added bonus if they respond in kind. However, sometimes I read a tidbit that smashes my brain into gear and I have to ponder it for hours on end. 

Do any of you read HOOTIN'ANNIES blog? Recently she had a posting titled "The greatest thing since sliced bread". She included pictures of cans of food with flip or pull tabs on the  tops. Yes! I so agree and I, also, am willing to pay extra for them.  I can't tell you how much I dislike can openers! Many of you will no doubt roll your eyes when I say they have been a thorn in my side for as long as I can remember. The electric ones just don't behave for me and the hand crank or manual ones are not much better and nowadays are painful to use thanks to arthritis. As they say, it's the little things that can drive you crazy. An advantage to flip tops is that you can save the  "flips" (tabs) for donating to charities. My oldest granddaughter collects them for her sorority charities.

 I have tried different gadgets and have found Grippers, those round pieces of rubber that help you keep a grip on bottles and jars, to be helpful. But, when struggling with a bottle, I usually slip back into my mother's favorite of beating the edges of the cover with the handle of a table knife to  "take the pressure off".

So, I tried to think of other " little" inventions that I  really like...remote controls came to mind. I am definitely old school, I know.😏 

Do you have any suggestions or wishes or thank you's to manufacturers for improving our daily lives in little ways? 


I have a fox I named "Foxy" that visits me and he or she is so cute! I have been wondering how Foxy is since the neighbors, somewhere nearby in the cove, let loose a series of gunshots  several nights in a row a few weeks ago. And I haven't seen him or the raccoons since. He came around as a Kit in the Summer of 2019, if I remember correctly,  and would hang out under the bird feeders eating black oil sunflower seeds.  I have taken various photos from my kitchen window and shared some of them with you. As he grew he stopped coming during the day and would be seen occasionally at dusk. Last night I turned on the outside light before going to bed and there he was coming up on the deck and looking straight at me. I hurried to find a snack for him and threw it out. I didn't turn off the outside light but did turn off the inside light. I made myself as invisible as I could behind the curtains of the door window. A minute later he dashed up, looked up at the window, grabbed the food and ran. I choose to believe that was Foxy! I went to bed and finally had a decent night's rest for a change. One less thing to worry about I guess.😌


The only new pictures I have taken from my kitchen window lately are these...





Not the best due to a grey day. I was surprised to see Mr and Mrs Mallard! I thought they had gone south since I hadn't seen them since returning from Pennsylvania. A nice surprise!💖


What I have accomplished this Week

The week has been a washout! I used my spare time to stay out of the living room where I crochet and where Mom watches TV. A lot of news coverage. I just can't stand to watch it. So hurtful and hateful to see, not only the violence but also the crucifixion of our President. I am much better off staying in my room reading. I may never watch the news again! I read: 

The Nantucket Inn, Nantucket Neighbors, and The Restaurant by Pamela Kelley

And I listened to:

The Crowded Grave by Martin Walker

YouTube: 

Regular Vlogs and two documentaries:


 Cocos Island:the mysterious island in the Pacific

Legend of Atlantis: Drain the Ocean


So there you have it!

Take good care of yourselves,

Susan

💕



Thank you, Lord, 
Amen

Comments

  1. I love this post it covers so many things, I am old school myself, 70 this month, so you can tell I am really old school.
    The fox photo is beautiful as are the deer and duck photos, it is amazing what a beautiful array of animals God has given us to enjoy.
    It is true the news nowadays is horrible, its a shame that he has been crucified since before he became President, we are the laughing stock of the world, its a shame that the next four years are going to be trying times for us all.
    Have a beautiful week-end

    Catherine

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  2. I forgot to tell you how lucky you are to have a new IPAD mine is five years old ugh.

    Catherine

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  3. Hello! What a wonderful gift! You will get much use out of it. I am not watching the news either. It is so disheartening. I enjoy my visits here so. It is always cozy and warm. Oh, funny you should mention the cans! Just yesterday I went to get Flynn some lunch and grabbed a can of Campbell's soup. I looked at it and could not believe I had to get a can opener out! LOL! Have a cozy evening.

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  4. Oh, you are going to love that iPad. Mine is not a pro, but I use it all the time. I do have a pencil with it and love that as well.

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  5. Reading this post was like sitting down at the kitchen table with you, Susan. I enjoyed every bit of it. And nodded at the ending. The happenings of the past two weeks have made me consider taking a serious break from the news. On a happier note... I look forward to reading about your iPad. My sister has one and has tried to convince me that I need one, too. I don't know if she has a Pro, but she surely does love her iPad for taking pictures and then creating montages (or whatever they're called). Maybe if I'm ever blessed with grandchildren I'll make something like that a priority. I hope you have a good week, friend!

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  6. Aren't you lucky to have such a wonderful gift from your husband. I had a new iPad for Christmas too, but not an Ipad Pro though. Mine replaces my iPad mini which I've had for quite a few years. I have a Mac too so definitely an Apple fan. I absolutely love seeing your wildlife photos, you are a very fortunate lady to have these animals visit you and thank you for taking care of them x

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  7. Mick bought me an ipad for my 50th birthday and I love it, I'd never had a tablet before but I couldn't do without it now, I use it all the time. Oh, I agree with you about tin openers, I much prefer those tins which have ring pulls. What a beautiful photo of the fox, I always enjoy seeing your wildlife photos, you're so fortunate to have such a variety of animals visiting you.

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  8. You really had to mention peanut butter fudge. I haven't made it in years for the same reason as you. Pretty sure today I will break the drought. Thanks,--- I think.
    The picture of the fox stirred me. Once I rescued a fox that some people had raised from a baby but had it chained to a tree like a dog. I bought it from them and would have turned her loose but she had no fear of man and would be shot in no time. I built her a very large enclosure with several large trees. Was surprised how she loved to climb the trees and dig tunnels. Not perfect but better. Love that picture of that one in the wild as she should be. Sure hope it was Foxy that you saw again.

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  9. I am with you on the news...we watch a bit of it. I cannot talk about it or I would upset you even more. I bet that is the same fox that came. They don't forget. I would be thrilled to death to have one come to my house. As it is, I enjoy a squirrel. I have birdfeed I am putting out off and on. All that gets it for the most part is starlings. I used to get so many birds...nuthatches, chickadees house finches, red-bellied woodpeckers and the Hairy and Downy woodpecker.

    Now, the starlings gobble it all down before they get a chance to get anything much. Well, I have seen one house finch and one Red-bellied Woodpecker. It is disheartening to put it out and them get it all. I would not mind some...I always throw some on the ground, too, for the squirrels.

    I could sit here and type all day...but I best get up and decide what we are doing for breakfast...

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  10. Hi Susan, We no longer watch MSM news. We stream You tube with some favorite channels there for our news. I figure unless you totally never leave your home, walk past a newsstand or magazine rack or play your car radio, I still hear it. I plan to keep busy in a project on Inauguration Day. I refuse to watch.

    You live among such natural beauty with God's creations coming for a visit. I would love that.

    I appreciate all technology. Except I am not in favor of them censoring etc which is why I deleted my Facebook and Twitter. But I love computers and try to keep up with it. So many in my age group, don't and you get left behind awfully quick if you don't keep up with the new trends in technology.

    I need to try harder to not let myself get down, these days. Your post uplifted me and for that, I thank you.

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  11. I do everything on my Ipad though it’s not a pro. Love it and wouldn’t use anything else.

    I find this time of year hard on the spirit. The muted light and so many grey days make me sad. I try to get for a walk when it’s sunny but though days are few and far between. The Covid news doesn’t help either.

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  12. You will like your ipad, I like mine but don't use it for much except when traveling which we don't do anymore. I call my daughter on it when she is crafting...hands free she can talk while creating. I hate the can opener also...I find that sometimes heating up a stubborn lid under hot water will loosen it up...that is my tip for the day! It always happens with my molasses:)

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  13. I too enjoyed this post, Susan. Kudos to Roger for such a wonderful gift and nice that he included those extras. All of my tech things are Apple from cell phone to desktop and my tablet is the iPad Air, smaller then the Pro. I also have the pen il, but regretfully do not use it a lot, but my husband used his all the time and really likes it. Most times, I am too lazy to take it out of the case.

    Like you, I also try to read fellow bloggers posts on at least a weekly basis. Many post far more often than myself now and it can be hard to keep up daily. That said, I try to read as many as possible in time available.

    The story about Foxy was nice and I hope that he did revisit, and if not perhaps a new visitor who will return. Also nice to see your deer visitors.

    The snow is all gone here as well, except for some stockpiles of plowed snow from a mid Dec snowfall. I hope we get more soon because it is winter.

    I do not watch the news, but check the headlines each morning online for less than 30 minutes. The world is in much turmoil and watching it too much can be so disheartening and upsetting as well.

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Thank you so much for your lovely comments! And if I do not always leave a reply please know that I read and treasure each one.💖

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