A Slow Cold Morning

The 2" of snow predicted never showed up. Most of the snow was north of I-70 as usual. Still the house was cold when we got up this morning. The temps outside were not that bad, especially since we know that warm days (60's) are just a couple of days away.

This photo of the field that I usually post as a starter photo is facing west and yes, I take a photo of that every morning. It's interesting to see the changes of weather when all of those photos of the past year are lined up in sequence. The photo toward the tall power tower in back of the field faces NE ... those look like snow clouds this morning and luckily moving in the opposite direction from my house.

The hounds have been low energy so far this morning. They slept late, were excited for breakfast of course but after that not much ... even when they were outside. They have not even 'requested' going outside like they normally do.

The Nikon D3200 has worked perfect today, both lenses ... so the mystery continues. I can tell there isn't going to be much going on here today. The field is too wet from the rain yesterday to the hound walk. I have lost interest in the Area 51 book and haven't read it for days if not a week. I am basically hiding out on the internet reading ... or playing Mahjong, the best 99 cent app I've ever bought. I rarely buy apps.

Although my LG flip phone is working out well and saving me about $37 per month, I still at times think about going back to an iPhone. I miss the camera and the note program. I have tried a smaller camera as the replacement but I am not sure if the 10 year old (already) Nikon 3100 QuickPics takes photos as good as the iPhone 5s that I had. I still use the note program on my iMac and it of course synchronizes with my MacBook Air laptop ... then I print the specific note to take with me if I am shopping.

I guess we are talking 'convenience' with the iPhone ... I had always used it more for the other features besides just a phone. June is my upgrade month so I have plenty of time to decide.

Even with freezing temps, I guess the warmer temps last week made these start to bloom. It will be interesting to see if they survive the freezing temps last night and today.

My 'burn pile' was nothing after burning last spring. This pile of sticks and a long tree limb have all come from the yard this winter. I may need to let them dry out over the summer and burn next fall. Now there's a major retirement decision. I still have to pinch myself at times when I realize again just how nice this retirement stuff is.

Hounds were fed a late lunch. All three were out and back inside in a matter of minutes today.

It's a quiet day here in 'the tropics' of Southern Indiana.

Day Off From Pulling Weeds Today

Well it took longer than the weather forecast but the rain finally shows up a little after 8pm tonight. It was suppose to start last night at 1am and radar showed major storms to the west that looked as if we had no chance of missing them.

The two storms moved around us. By the time I hit the road this morning around 10am headed to Bloomington, it was blue skies and sun, with thunderstorms predicted at 2:30pm.

Those thunderstorms didn't happen, those storms on radar moved around us again.

Since I had another sleepless night I decided I'd take my first siesta in a while after putting the groceries away and feeding the hounds. Besides, I had declared the day off from pulling weeds.

Based on the fact the weeds that are left are in compacted, hard gravel mixed with dirt instead of just rooted in dirt ... that was my excuse to wait for the rains. Hoping the rains would soften the ground a little bit. Plus I needed to restock my groceries and use Heidi's $3 off coupon for her new Earthborn grain free food.

I had a surprise when I handed the cashier the coupon ... she handed me another coupon to be filled out and used immediately so I had $6 off on a 5-star rated food. In the meantime Earthborn has already emailed me a $3 off coupon for September.

Since Heidi is the only hound eating this food, she has quite a bit food left of her 28 pound bag. I will continue to buy a bag per month and stock up. I am really happy with the improvement of her coat. Still, about the time I am starting to see some improvement on her skin rashes either from the change in food or the K9 cream I've been applying, I check and she has chewed skin back to red and raw just a few minutes ago.

I'm at a loss for ideas on this. I am seriously considering an offer from a person that commented a few posts ago and take her to a vet a couple of hours away in Illinois where the vet's specialty is dermatology. She works for this vet and has witnessed some pretty amazing results the time she has worked there.

I am still positive it's an environmental allergy and not food related.

Anyway after buying her dog food, I drove down the block to Lucky's Market. It's fairly new in town, has very few stores across the USA but has great prices on fruit and produce with sales on Wednesdays plus additional ones on Friday. A lot selection of organic that is priced reasonable.

While weeding the other day I was thinking about going back to a basic phone from my iPhone 5S. Not sure why but I was serious enough about it to call Verizon and talk to them about my options. I felt I could use a basic phone for calls and emergencies on the road while using the iPad Mini for my data for weather, maps, campground searches ... things I do on the iPhone.

Of course I found out from my trip in June, Wifi spots are few and far between where I was. So I would need to buy a data package from Verizon. After looking at the different packages and the $35 package for a basic phone. After adding the costs I would need to use the basic phone/iPad Mini combo, it would be more expensive than what I have now.

Then I thought of everything I use the phone for when I am away from my home computer. What about all the photos taken when not traveling with my Nikon? All good features and well worth the single line package I have from Verizon.

As you see I am grasping for things to write about tonight, so I am going to close for the day and leave you with a few photos from the past or from my file that may not have been blogged before.

For starters when I starting thinking I am getting tired of hot weather ... weather that I like, I think of this photo from March 2014, last spring.

When I think it would be great to buy and travel in an older RV like a Class A or Class C ... I think of this photo that took place about a week or two after I bought the Class C Coachmen in September 2013.

This was taken last September 2014. It looks about the same as today, only the field has not grown back as high yet.

Pulling weeds for sure tomorrow. Mid 70's, some sun and close to finishing the job.

Day: 0 hours
Total Hours Pulling Weeds:  16.5 hours

Not a Lot To Blog About

One thing that has changed since I retired in April, the hounds get to go outside a lot more than when I was working. They also seem to like to go outside at the same times day and night. Just recently Heidi has been going outside every time the other two go outside and that's a good thing. Just this past summer she rarely got off of her dog bed on the floor and usually that was just to move to the couch.

But she is evidently feeling better now because not only does she go outside even for short trips, she is barking at 4pm every day to be fed.

It may take some coaxing to get her to get off the couch and go on the daily walk but once she starts the walk, she insists that she be the leader of the walk and will do anything to keep in front of Sadie to maintain the lead.

Little does she know that Sadie could care less who leads. Sadie is only conscious of what scent is in front of her nose and yesterday it was good I had her on a leash, the deer scents were stronger than normal.

Winston on the other hand is getting older and consequently is needing to go out more times than this time last year. I can tell that his aging process seems to have increased this past year and in a way that is a sad thing.

He will also put his nose to the ground as soon as he steps outside. He is stubborn, will not listen if a scent has him busy and is slow in everything he does. He is on his own clock and will not move faster no matter how much I voice commands.

In this picture around noon today he is enjoying a cool 65°. His favorite position is laying on the concrete in the sun and will spend hours sleeping, at times so long that I forget that he is outside.

Sadie have has never liked having her picture taken. I was able to when she was just a few months old, but after that she would turn her head or take off running. She definitely does not like the camera.

In this case I took eight different photos trying to catch her looking at me and every time at the last split second she would turn her head.

She might not like cameras but she LOVES outdoors. She loves going outside, will stay out for a while or there will be times that she will want to come back inside two minutes after wanting to go outside. She never barks but will just stand still until I come outside to find her.

She will even sit sometimes in the field not moving, thinking she is stuck or her rope is tangled up. The funny thing is, she is not on the rope that is anchored. The one time she was attacked by the neighbor's dog, she just sat down and didn't move while the other dog was moving around her in circles barking.

All of these photos were taken today around noon with an iPhone 5S.

It's another beautiful day here in the 'tropics' of southern Indiana. It was all weekend actually and it is the norm for this time of year, yet it's strange seeing all the different kinds of weather hitting other parts of the USA, the fires in California, flooding in Arizona and tornadoes yesterday in Michigan. Still very nice here and one of the reasons I hardly have the urge to travel in the fall seasons in the Midwest. Plus it's football season.

Saturday was the normal college football marathon. What can I say, I'm addicted to that sport even though there are still things outside the game I don't like about it. I am hesitant to say what I don't like about the current game because it also spreads into the NFL, and society in general. It would take too long to type and discuss all the different aspects of some sad situations and wold only lead to more discussions on subjects I am tired about hearing in the news.

I'll talk about the games only and not the news outside the games.

My local team (IU) had a major upset at Missouri Saturday. They have a little split personality in them the past couple of years, meaning they can play great one weekend and next weekend they might look like they have never played the game. I'll take the win on Saturday though. Those type of wins are very very rare in football.

I only have one tv but flip back and forth to different games during commercials. I also have my remote set up to a set of sports channels on DirecTv. It's amazing how many games are televised at one time. I don't want to see all of the games but a lot of times there are a couple of games going on at the same time, so I'll record one and then watch it later IF it turns out to be a good game. My Saturday viewing starts at noon eastern time and ends after the late Pac12 game usually around 1:30am Sunday morning. I'm a night person, so there is not a problem with the late finish time.

Sunday I watched only a couple of NFL games. The local Colts games and then a Super Bowl rematch where Denver was in Seattle, a game that went into overtime. Great game to watch.

Some might be asking what do the hounds do during all of these football games? They sleep most of the time which is their normal daily activity. Throughout the day they will have me take them outside, more trips during the day since I am retired. We can usually fit those requests to go outside during commercials and we still do the daily walk either at game halftimes or between games.

Their daily routine is not changed just because I am watching football. It's good they have the room to spread out during the day, each hitting their favorite sleeping spots and those spots do change during the day. That is one thing I think about deciding whether to buy a trailer or not ... the available room. The interesting thing is their sleeping spots are the same every day and change by what time of day it is.

Heidi is feeling much better. She is actually going outside every time the other two hounds go out, where she wasn't during the summer. She hardly got off of her dog bed during the summer, only getting up to move to the couch to continue her sleeping marathons. She takes her time deciding whether to go on the daily walk but then will insist she leads the way once the walk starts.

With all the news about Apple's release of the iPhone 6 and the OS upgrade to 8.0, I am seeing today in the blogs I follow that 8.0 seems to be too frustrating so they are showing people how they can revert back to OS 7.2. I usually wait before upgrading operating systems on my phone or computer and I think I'll still follow that until the bugs are worked out. It's tempting but I'm sticking with the 5s I bought in June. I remember when I decided to renew my contract and upgrade my phone, I had decided not to wait for the iPhone 6. I wasn't sure I would like the size of it.

Really, I have no desire to be carrying a small tablet all the time when I am out and about. In fact I have been tempted recently to selling my 1st generation iPad, my iPhone 4 and my new iPhone 5s ... then going to a cheap flip phone to use for emergencies and making the few calls I make every month. When I thought about that, the only thing I could gain by selling the 5s, is part of the cost of the phone. I would still have to have the same monthly plan with Verizon, so I would not be saving anything there. I might as well keep the 5s.

Reading Rick's blog this morning, I started thinking if I should go back to a Google+ account. Unlimited storage for iPhone photographs is a pretty good deal. I have plenty of room on my iMac, so storage is not an issue for photographs, same with my 16Gb iPhone. I have 1,000's of photos on my iPhone and have barely used the amount of storage available. I still remember the reasons I stopped my Google+ account before and still feel the same way about it.

Rick did bring up an interesting point when he was talking about cameras. He said with digital photography and posting photos on blogs, it really didn't make a difference if those blog photos were taken by an iPhone or a bigger digital camera. Recently I've been thinking of buying a bigger digital camera to get back into photography as a hobby. It's been almost 20 years since I had a larger camera and interchangeable lenses. The only other camera I have besides my iPhone is a Nikon CoolPix 3100, that I bought years ago for my online sales business.

Many times I would have to use a tripod with that camera because I was not able to hold the camera still enough when I used two hands. Would it be that way if I were to buy a larger Nikon? I think a larger camera would be easier to hold and less chance of blurred photos that the CoolPix has at times.

That's about it ... nothing really going on ... and I apologize for the lack of excitement in this post. It's just part of the laid back lifestyle outside a small rural town. I'm spending less time on the computer recently, looking and reading about different cameras, and on occasion trailers and camping equipment. I have thought more about traveling this winter. I still don't see traveling is possible with my three hounds and two hands.

Change to Verizon and a New iPhone 5s

iPhone 5s

After 11 years with AT&T (Cingular) cell phone service I decided to make a change to Verizon once my AT&T contract had expired. My contract expired this past March but I had been waiting to see what the new iPhone 6 was going to be like because I was eligible for a new phone either transferring to Verizon or renewing my AT&T contract.

I may regret not waiting until September 19, 2014 for the release of iPhone 6 but based on what I do with a phone and the size of the phones, I decided to make the jump now to Verizon and the iPhone 5S. Comparing the two, I wasn't sure I would like the larger size phone and I knew I would not like the price. I will still have many of the upgraded Apple features in the fall with my iMac and this phone.

I have a lot to learn about this new phone but the few new things I have figured out are really nice since moving from an iPhone 4. One of those is the fingerprint security and unlocking process plus voice texting and emailing. I soon found out I needed to check and make a few corrections before sending the voice email but overall it recognized what I was saying very well. I have read the more you talk the more it will have to build it's database, thus less errors earlier.

In the past I have thought of just going to a basic flip phone, pre-paid, to use just for emergencies. It would save some in monthly fees but with all of the features you get with a smart phone I think for me it's money well spent to stay with the smart phone. The few people that I know that have made that change either have gone back to a smart phone or plan to.

It was probably harder to cancel my AT&T service than it was to activate and set up my Verizon service along with the new phone. I find it strange that AT&T would let you sign up for auto pay and any new accounts using your debit or credit card online ... but "for security reasons" you had to call them to cancel. Of course that phone number to call to cancel my Landline and Internet service was linked on their web page for canceling service.

I knew the real reason for calling was they would up sell me with a lot of new offers to keep my account open. I practically had to beg them to close my account. Like I told the customer service rep over the weekend when I was checking out U-verse for phone and my internet, "I have an AT&T tower in plan view, two fields away and cannot get a strong signal standing inside my house, were my friend standing next to me with Verizon was getting 5 out of 5 bars on their phone." What's up with that?

Since I am not in the area to receive U-verse, I had no other plans I could use with AT&T. With the possibility of traveling out west or even moving out west, Verizon was highly recommended by those that travel full time or live in those western states.

I followed the process to erasing all personal data and all my files from my iPhone 4, closing the account. I had thought of selling it to Gazelle but after looking at their eBay store and seeing the prices they were selling the iPhone 4 for on eBay, I decided I would sell it myself on eBay and make an extra $100.

Instead of discussing all the features of the phone, I'll leave that to you to look up on Google.

I will say for those that ever thought about making the change from AT&T to Verizon, I can already tell the difference in their customer service on the phone. NO comparison between the two companies. Verizon has their act together when it comes to customer service over the phone. So far the cost of the new iPhone 5s is worth the money.

Overall I am very happy this morning with my change in cell phone service.

Monday - Internet and Phone Deals

You Can Feel the Humidity

I can confirm that summer has arrived in the 'tropics" of southern Indiana. The humidity feels much higher than the percentages I see online, 70% plus. Although I remember last winter when I was shoveling snow at -9 degrees I was willing to trade for days like these. Now the hounds and I find it harder to go outside during the day.

I did get some yard work finished over the weekend and also talk to the farmer on Sunday as he raked the hay before baling it into the big rolls. My fears of damaging his equipment were not warranted. He was just going around the rope metal anchor he knew I had because he didn't wan to cut my rope, that I later cut by accident with my metal blade weed eater. I was able to cut all the hay that he didn't and he was able to pick it up and bale it. I also did a little trimming on my overgrown area where I would like to build a backyard campsite.

I have to admit, there is not a lot going on and I wonder if anyone that reads this blog and is retired ... do you ever get tired of just normal days of activity? Day after day after day? It all goes back to that question, am I in a rut and bored or this is just life and I am low keyed content?

I have accomplished things inside though. I have researched new phone and internet service. I am also in the process of uploading my photos to Google's Picasa as a backup. That is a long process.

With the hot temps outside and the hayfield that is now cut ... the hounds and I have completed two daily dog walks in two consecutive days. By the time we finish the 20 minute cruise through the field in the early evening, the hounds are more than ready to get back inside where it is so much cooler. I have also noticed they don't go to the door as much wanting outside with the higher temps now.

Maybe they are not bored but just smart and want to stay inside where it's much cooler.

First issue I needed to get fixed is my internet service. Due to my location I have had two choices. A local company that uses the AT&T phone lines for DSL or  a new provider for Satellite Internet. I have been with the local internet company now for 8 years and have had no complaints, great speed for DSL, until recently. This past January my provider told me they were raising my monthly rate $10, which is their wireless rate without giving me wireless service. Long story short is, after recent discussions with them the real story comes out, wireless is what I pay for but is not offered in my location.

I am now one of their last customers with DSL service. They are no longer the direct company that corresponds with AT&T for connection repair. They now have to call in my request for repair and then that request is passed through TWO DIFFERENT middlemen. The strange thing is and I have told them in those words, that once they raised my rates to wireless service, my DLS has had problems keeping the connection along with a longer time to download webpages or photos. Coincidence? They would never answer that until this past week, when one of the technicians on the phone told me they no longer offer DLS service, they pass it off.

Ah ha ... now I finally got my answer.

Also, due to my location and the amount of trees between their wireless antennas, I cannot get their wireless service that I am paying for. ($39.99/mo). When I discussed their future plans at the luncheon on Friday, it sounds as if I am on my last small thin thread for internet service with them due to available services. There will not be any kind of wireless system installed that can give me a good signal through the trees. They tried a system designed for that with a 50 mile range and had problems due to the barometric pressure.

That leaves me with just one option. Satellite Internet. When I did a search on company names "reviews" ... those reviews vicious! It sounds like nothing works and all the satellite providers do is take your money. Why do I see so many satellite internet dishes around this area then if they are so bad? My neighbor tells me that he has had zero problems with Hughes Net connection and service.

So after some review between Exede and Hughes Net, I have decided to go with Exede (WildBlue) Internet Service. Much faster speed and comes out to the same price as what I am currently paying for an AT&T Land Line and my providers DSL service. They have been voted #1 two years in a row for delivering speeds they advertised. They also have their systems used by the military in field ops.

After 10+ years with AT&T cell phone service I am making the change to Verizon. When cell
phones first came out, in my location AT&T (Cingular) was all that was offered. Yet when I was stuck on I-25 just north of Truth or Consequences NM with a blown VW engine, I couldn't get a signal to call anyone. The only we got a hold of a towing company is that he saw us from the other side of the freeway as he was taking a car to TOC. He came back to get us. It was over 100 degrees that day.

Anyway Verizon is the plan, 4G service in my area and a lot more coverage out west for when I travel. My contract was up with AT&T months ago and I've been going month to month with them with a phone upgrade also due. I was going to wait for the iPhone 6 to come out but after further research the iPhone 5S is all I will need right now. So I decided to change my service now instead of waiting until the fall.

I updated my costs to my financial spreadsheets to see how these two changes would affect my monthly net income before I called to make the changes. Very minimal change for the monthly fee. It's almost a 1 for 1 swap dollar wise and I'll have better service. The only additional fees are for the new phone, new wireless router and activation fees that are paid now.

In closing I will say the past couple of weeks I have felt I need to get more things accomplished each day instead of sitting around reading, internet surfing and napping. It no longer feels like I'm on vacation, like it did the first couple of months I was retired. I keep wondering if this is the life I will have day after day? Sure, it's better than the alternative and much better than having a job you don't like. I just feel at times I need to be doing more.

Can anyone retired that is reading this chime in with some comments? Thanks

Also a bit of financial news here at home ... my monthly costs for groceries have increased a lot since I have added more fruits and veggies in exchange of not buying junk food .... go figure.

Life is good.