Cop Car's Beat

A wonderful few days!

Pizza John's:

Our whole family was able to get together for a few days, last week. As we had done in 2019, we gathered at John's Pizza, our favorite local casual eating place. The only downside was that it had been but a couple of weeks since the female half of the founding couple had died. Our server was one of her granddaughters. We had a wonderful time there, then adjourned to our home - at which venue no one thought to take photos. 

From one end of the table, the first two photos feature Bogie (light grey tee) and clockwise around the table, Elder Brother (EB), WichiDude, Rachie, Dudette, Wonderful Granddaughter (WGD), Next Generation 1 (NG1), my empty chair, and Hunky Husband (HH).

The next photo, from the other end of the table, features Dudette (grey sweater), WGD, NG1, HH, Bogie, EB, WichiDude, and Rachie.

The third photo features WGD, NG1's empty chair, my empty chair, HH, Bogie, Next Generation 2 (NG2), EB, WichiDude, Rachie, and Dudette.

The next photo features NG1 (white tee), my empty chair, HH, Bogie, NG2, EB, & the shoulder of WGD.

At home:

The next evening, after HH went to bed, Elder Brother (EB) and I sat up talking in my den. I took the opportunity to snap a few candid photos of him. Those are EB's favorite birding binoculars in his hands. From here, he drove to a couple of favorite birding places in Kansas from whence he proceeded to a couple more favorite birding places in Texas before heading home to Colorado. For a guy who suffered cardiac arrest in 2015 (he had a defibrillator implanted) and who is age 86 he tolerates long drives exceedingly well.

The three younger generations went out of their way to assure that EB, HH, and I did not over-extend ourselves. Bogie went so far as to pick up eight bags of mulch for me and prepare the area (pull weeds and fluff old mulch) before doing the mulch spreading.

Mystery visitor - pretty

This little moth caught my attention as I was putting my tools away following my nearly-two-hour session at weeding, this morning. The moth is resting on sedum plants. I note that I didn't bother placing the measuring stick right-side-up, but trust one may read the numbers enough to deduce that the moth is, indeed, small.

The moth reminds me of a Mother's Day card from Bogie that is a bouquet of butterflies. The card involved a lot of intricate cutting and planning ahead (something I frequently fail to do!) since it folds flat for shipment through the mailes. 

In addition, we were honored with a visit from Dudette and WichiDude, yesterday, who hand-delivered a couple of sweet Mother's Day cards (one from daughter, the other from granddaughter). They brought barbeque beef brisket for our dining pleasure and took away a small (but heavy) box of books that I had culled from our collection. All-in-all, a great day for Hunky Husband and me!

It's Iris time!

The root beer-colored iris in the back, left, of the first photo is usually the first iris to bloom each spring. I wasn't watching closely enough to know if that held true this year, but if not, it was neck-and-neck with the ruffled irises that are champagne- or orchid- (at the right of the photo) colored.

The second photo shows the patch in which I originally planted the ruffled champagne- and orchid-colored irises - purchased from WalMart, no less, perhaps 15 years ago, 

I still have a few descendants from my mother's irises - such as the yellow irises (and purple buds) shown in the next photo.

The hostas are doing well, too...

...as are the mystery bushes/plants that Bogie and I have been trying to identify for several years. I first, mistakenly, thought the original bush was from the basil that I had planted one year. Since then, I/we have gone through sage and a couple of other titles. Perhaps, one of these years, Bogie will get to see them during warm weather when they have blossoms to help us. The bush in the photo is from a start from the original bush - along with another start that is near the ruffled champagne- and orchid-colored irises.

 

Grumble, grumble - ground cover, my foot!

Is the hatred of pulling weeds universal, or am I the only lazy person around? A weed that Bogie has identified from my photos as probably being speedwell is trying taking over the world at our house. The speedwell is pretty, while abloom, but not so much at the later stage. The rain that we've had the past couple of nights make it "easier" work for me - perfect for me to go out early of a morning, before sun and heat get too intense, to put in whatever time I can stand pulling those little suckers. Yesterday, I put in three spells of weed-pulling - 60, 40, and 20 minutes, respectively - and put in only 40 minutes this morning.

The first photo shows a portion of the foundation planting area in front of the house, with speedwell rife. The second photo shows a nearby area that I cleared, yesterday - with the sparse amount of sedum that survived the onslaught. (It's easier to throw out sedum plants with the speedwell than to be too picky, at times.) One can see that the speedwell is past the blooming stage. Its blooms are tiny and blue. The yellow blossoms in the photos are those of sedum. FWIW: The area in each photo is about as much as I can clear in 40-60 minutes.)

Spring Photos 2022

All computer systems are GO. Computer Depot, from whom I've purchased a couple of laptop computers and who came to mind when I was faced with using our public library computers to download the tools that I needed, made short work of restoring Hunky Husband's and my computers. I finished setting up HH's computer before dinner last evening and finished setting up this computer about an hour ago. While I was at it, I upgraded HH's Windows to 11 (he had still been running 10) and made a boot thumb drive for this computer. I don't understand why it is made so difficult, but I spent hours (not exaggerating) going 'round and 'round trying to figure out how to download Windows 11 and the Office 2019 suites that had originally been installed on the machines.

HH's computer was down for only four days, but I grew exasperated with his asking me when he would get his computer back. Poor guy asked several times each waking hour. One reason I went ahead and installed Windows 11 on his computer was that I knew there was no way that I would get his desktop to "look" exactly as it had looked before, so took the plunge figuring that the differences between 10 and 11 would be no more bothersome to him. (It turned out that it was less bothersome to him than the fact that I couldn't figure out how to make the file icons on his desktop the same size that they previously had been!) HH saves all files to his desktop. I don't know why, but he likes it that way (I had a boss at Cessna who did the same thing.)

Turning to some of the pleasures of spring, I present some of the photos that I've taken this month - since the April Fool's Day joke that my computer played on me. The first photo shows the largest patch of Phlox among all that have grown up from the starts that Bogie sent me several years ago - from her home in New Hampshire. I don't know where the little pink tuft of Phlox originated, but they are surely also descended from Bogie's stock. Note the smaller patch of white phlox visible just left of center at the far side of the lilac-colored patch.

Late last spring, I had a new Oklahoma Red Bud tree planted away from Adam's newish fence, the protection of which had led to my having our largest, prettiest red bud removed the previous Autumn. The new tree isn't very large, but it produced beautiful blossoms this year.

While the red bud tree is in the back lawn, there is a Flowering Crabapple tree that was planted in the "deep back" of our lot - planted in May 2020. That tree, too, is small but beautiful.

In the above photo, note the bountiful crop of dandelions that has presented itself this spring. The following photo shows the wildflowers blooming in the "deep back". Note the two different shades of Prairie Violet blossoms (which show, much better, in the enlarged version). Pretty weeds are truly prolific this spring.

At the side of the driveway are a Texas White Bud tree planted in April, 2019, and a few volunteer Red Bud trees. They are looking truly fine.

Not looking so truly fine this year and nearing the end of its lifespan is our little North Star Cherry tree. Until now, it has provided copious numbers of cherries to some of our neighbors (and to our family). Last year, I had ordered and paid to have a new cherry tree planted elsewhere in our back yard. Alas, the weather did not cooperate. It stayed so rainy that we finally gave up. I've not been to the nursery, this year.

At the base of the poor, struggling cherry tree are bush cherries that were planted at the same time as the tree. They keep coming back after being severely pruned every few years. (The yellow-brown detritus is tree leaves entrapped among the bases of the bushes. I've removed many leaves, but don't have the patience to do a great job.)

I used to have a huge compost pile for leaves and cuttings. Over the years I found that I had tossed many hand, gardening tools out with the green stuff that I was adding to the pile. I rarely found those tools. In the past couple of years, I've discontinued that pile and taken out the trees near it. Every few months another hand tool emerges. I found this pair of inexpensive pruners three weeks ago. I didn't try to revive the poor things. 

Miscellaneous

I was somewhat surprised, this morning, by two things: 1) HH and I had each had a good night's sleep, and 2) the radio station to which I "listen" all night (it helps me ignore my tinnitus and HH can't hear it) announced that it was snowing in Wichita. Surely enough, upon arising, I found that the world had developed a white blanket - and that big, fat snowflakes were (and are) still falling. Just yesterday I had heard a report about how, on average our temperatures are rising but that the occurrence of freeze-thaw cycles was increasing. The white blanket, once again, made it easier to see clumps of daffodils and narcissi.

A few years ago, I planted rings of daffodil bulbs around our newly planted pink-flowering dogwood trees, one ring of which is shown in the next photo.

Solution to a pressing domestic problem (possible TMI warning)

For the past 30 years, HH and I have followed the examples of our two sets of parents by maintaining separate bedrooms. No, we don't hate one another, but we are practical people. HH suffers from being cold nearly all of the time and I suffer from being too warm most of the time - in addition to which, we are both fitful sleepers who may gasp or snore. Separate bedrooms work and we've always known where to find one another in case of a low-hanky/panky warning light's illuminating.

But...things change. With that in mind, every few years I've given HH the option of sharing a bedroom. The answer had always been "No, thanks." until last Fall. Last Fall, mindful of HH's changing states of mind brought on by progression of his dementia, I asked again. He replied that it would "comfort" him to have the closeness. So I started spending my nights in his bedroom. What to do about the hot/cold difference? I sewed one of HH's heavy cotton/wool flannel sheets to one of my cotton broadcloth sheets, with the seam running down the centerline of each. The next photo demonstrates the placement of the sheets on the bed. As placed on the bed, HH has one layer of my sheet and two layers of his sheet over him while I have but the single layer of my sheet.

Depending upon the temperature, there is usually (at 72 degrees F in the bedroom) a light quilt atop the sheet that is shown. As the weather warmed up (it was 77 degrees F in the bedroom night-before-last), I sewed two of my sheets together in a similar fashion. With the newer sheet, HH has three layers of sheet while, again, I have a single layer.

This is a good compromise. I am usually a tad too warm, but not so warm as to be daunting, and HH is not freezing. (In my own bedroom, usually at 68 degrees F during the winter, I slept under but one sheet most of the time - two, when the temperature dipped a few degrees.)

Spring is Bursting Out

This (below) is the last little bunch of phlox that I set out a few years ago - some generation sprung from Bogie's starts that she sent me about 12 years ago. The die-back in the center of the clump is obvious, but I don't know whether it is from dogs that have been walked down our street or from the really low temperatures that have visited us every so often over the winter.

Below is the only survivor of the three Autumn Joy sedums that I set out several years ago. I think the placement is too damp for them.

Lastly comes a clump of weeds. Bogie has probably identified them for me in the past, but I don't recall. They are pretty, so I'm letting them stay in the little space where the Autumn Joys are failing to thrive.

I mowed, yesterday, for the first time since 11/6/2021. There was more chopping of leaves involved than was there mowing of grass, but front and back lawns look so nice, now.

ADDITION of 3/26/2022 - Photos of weeds from May, 2008

Bogie, I didn't waste my time trying to find photos of creeping speedwell in my blog, but I did find a photo from my photo files from 2008. There were photos of Weed #1 and Weed #2 - showing similar color, size, & shape of blossoms but neither of which I had gone back to ID.

 

Bogie, I did find the original posting that I had in mind. It is here.

Choosing onscreen buttons to click - (Pet Peeve #19)

Original Posting of 2/27/2022

In the photo, below, there are a lot of gages, dials, switches, and buttons, but there probably isn't one of them that I couldn't figure out with a moment to ponder. (I'll grant you that past experience and training make this so and if my pondering isn't productive, I have a friend on whom to call - eh, Stu?) They are unambiguous to me - I know which switch I need to flip/push/turn and what will happen when I flip/push/turn it.

Compare the above display to the onscreen display, below. The display, below, is clean, uncluttered, and has few toggle buttons* on which I might click. I've seen similar displays hundreds of times, as I'm confident have most of you. So why can I not interpret the meaning? Why do I not know whether each item is in a "disabled" or "enabled" state?

This lack of comprehension on my part is undoubtedly an error in the wiring of my brain. My brain readily accepts the task of interpreting a toggle button that has both options listed and a means of indicating the button's current state, but faced with the above toggle buttons, I am flummoxed. I don't know whether the label indicates the current or desired state - until I've studied the heck out of it. (And, even then, I'm not sure.)

Confession: It took me decades to be able to visually determine the state of the electrical circuit controlled by a rocker or push-button switch on an appliance when the options were labeled as shown, below. What in the world do "O" and "|" mean? It's a mystery to me. Yes, sometimes I feel like a complete, gibbering idiot; but I'll wager that I'm far from alone.

How did this all come to mind? I was getting ready to write about having solved a household problem...which led me to thinking of "Hints from Heloise" that was a feature in our local newspapers for years and years - 'way back when. I searched on that title and was amazed (goodness knows why) to find a Hints from Heloise website - that promptly assaulted me with a demand that I allow it to use cookies. Hoo, boy - that set me off on Pet Peeve #19.

 

ADDITION of 3/25/2022 - Toggle Button

This (below) is how I wish to be led by the hand. (From an email from Apple - available here.

___________________________

* A nice explanation of the difference between a "toggle switch" and a "toggle button" is provided in The Full guide to UI [User Interface] design at Toggle switch design.

A toggle switch operates in changes in the system. Think dark/light modes on the iOS settings, or a privacy mode in a navigator. The toggle switch represents a decision that can affect all screens of the app or device – this means that switches deal in system states.

Find a grand variety of toggle switches on the Justinmind UI kits page!

In contrast, a toggle button refers to a change that only takes place on that screen. Think flight dates and search filters. Toggle buttons are meant for contextual states.

Kicking and Screaming

I'm being dragged, kicking and screaming, into the third decade of the millennium. In February, 2007, preparing to go on assignment to the FEMA Region VII Emergency Operation Center (Kansas City MO) for the American Red Cross, I stopped into the local Sprint store to buy a cell phone. Yes, I was ready to join the 21st Century. My trusty Compaq pocket PC had lost it's mind and, besides, HP (who bought out Compaq) had never seen fit to add phone capability to it. On a disaster, it had turned out in my previous (it was my first) assignment, a cell phone was darned nearly required. I bought a TREO.

The TREO had a lot to recommend it, to me, starting with the fact that its operating system (OS) was Windows. Many people don't care for Windows, and I've (over the years) had a lot of beef with it, but my familiarity with it and its ubiquitous presence on so many computers made it my choice of OS. Another factor was that I could pay for a service plan that was for phone service, only. I saw no need to get on the Internet, being quite satisfied with only synchronizing the phone with my desktop computer.

In 2009, in a fit of frugality, I dropped Sprint in favor of joining Hunky Husband on Verizon which he had been using for several years. I had to buy another phone, and opted for a TREO identical, physically, to the Sprint TREO (this was in the days before laws required that original service provider allow cell phone owners to jail break them for use at a different provider.) At that time, HH ditched his flip phone to buy a TREO like mine.

Over the years since 2009, HH has had at least three or four (or more) different models of cell phone, his most recent being an iPhone SE.

Verizon has told me for at least three years that they would be dropping service for 3G cellphones such as my TREO, but I held out. Finally, they set a deadline of 12/31/2022. Since HH is developing less and less capability of coping with his iPhone on his own, I broke down and bought a matching iPhone SE (with slightly more recent software), yesterday. Actually, HH bought it for me - he has wanted to do that for 10 years or so and my 84th birthday looms.

My hope and plan is to become proficient enough with the iPhone that I can actually be helpful to HH when he forgets how to do something on his - or, as happens not infrequently, when he can't figure out what happened and what he needs to do.

When I put my old TREO in with the other "dead soldiers", I was reminded that I should take a run to the Wichita e-Cycle yard.

One assumes that people recognize charging cords and batteries when they see them, so I'll skip right over them for comment.

The three identical phones are the TREOs: 1) mine from Verizon, Spring 2009; 2) mine from Sprint, Feb 2007; and 3) HH's TREO from Verizon, Spring 2009. In about 2013, I had dropped my Verizon phone (one more time) onto the concrete garage floor and it would no longer ring. I used HH's TREO from then until today, although I had to use my Sprint TREO for charging the battery because the power input plug to HH's TREO was broken. In addition, I scavenged the back closure from my Sprint TREO when I lost the back to one of the other TREOs.

You might recognize my HP camera that went belly up about a year or two ago, and which I replaced with a slightly newer, but used, version. The camera in the photo was purchased from Sam's Club in 2004. Next to it is the iPAQ H1910 PDA that I purchased in 1995. It served me well until after I retired in 2004. I loved being able to carry Excel, Word, and Power Point files with me.

What I had been missing

Only because we received a little snow overnight did I notice, this morning, that our Daffodils had broken ground sometime in the past few days. Does that mean that I'm too late transplanting a small crepe myrtle bush that came up last summer? (I don't know whether it propagated from seed or the root of one of the three nearby bushes that have been there for 20 years. I have, in general, pulled up seedlings all over our yard that I know had to have come from seeds.) It'll probably be okay if I get right on it. I've just not decided where to plant it.