Deb Ward, GWS, OWS, PWS, WSI - WATERCOLOR/WATER MEDIA - My passion is teaching adult “beginners”. Weekly classes in my home; workshops; classes for Cincinnati Recreation Commission. My work is nationally recognized and published - see “Featured” on my sidebar. I’m a Signature Member of Georgia, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Indiana state Watercolor Societies, Cincinnati Art Club, past-President of Greater Cincinnati Watercolor Society. Contact info below under “Class Information”

Sunday, August 9, 2009

CATCHING UP!

After a week of illness and a week to recuperate and get back into the swing of things, I’m still catching up – which is why I’ve been slow to blog.

Sunny Update
As you can see – Sunny is getting big (above). And that’s him with his mom and his other moms around the water trough! (below). They do like their umbrella, too!Computer Woes
I’m in the process of buying a new computer – and I’M AFRAID! But my computer is old – in dog and computer years it is ancient – and has been running v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. I’ve decided it’s better to update it on my time and terms rather than wait for it to die suddenly and then I’m really in a jam.
I always hear the horror stories, and I know I’ll have to go with that Vista thing and then all my Word documents will be different. And I must have access to all of my pictures, so I’m a little afraid of that process. And then, will all my “favorites” still be there? How does that stuff work?
Why do they have to change things that work just fine? “New and improved” – I did NOT ask for that!

This and that . . . .
Yesterday, a beautiful sunny, although unbelievably hot day, I spent a few hours driving with 10,000 or so of my closest friends on what we refer to as the “Cin-Day Corridor” – the miles of I-75 between Cincinnati and Dayton, OH.
And that’s when I felt YOUR pain. (Yes, YOUR pain!) Because I realize that even if your roads need fixing they will not be fixed, not this summer anyway. “Why?” you are asking? Very simple - there will be no orange barrels or concrete dividers in your area of the country with which to close down your roads. Because every single orange barrel and concrete divider in the country is located in the above mentioned “Cin-Day Corridor”.
Yep – they are rebuilding the road, and the ramps. And, did I mention they also built a new outlet mall. Which opened yesterday. And which was apparently only open for that one day, judging by the cars attempting to exit both Northbound and Southbound to reach it before it suddenly disappeared – managing to block all of the right lanes and part of the middle lanes to do so. Once again, great planning by the “powers that be”. Always open the new mall before completing the exit ramps to said mall, and, of course, wait until the entire roadway for miles in both directions is completely torn up. That’s a great day to open the new mall, don’t you think!
And this gets me to thinking of some other odd things we here in the Cincinnati area take for granted. We have a “Big Mac” bridge!!! (It’s actual name is the Clay Wade Bailey Bridge, but since it’s got huge yellow arches it’s got a nickname!)
We also have “sun delays” during the morning rush hour. That refers to our western citizens heading east on sunny mornings. Apparently we are the only city in the universe that has these, and because of a “sun delay” you can be late for work and everyone will understand! “Sun delays” can also account for a large percentage of accidents, since you can claim you did not see that car approaching because of the sun blinding you. (Most of those accidents are not fatal, although maybe some of them should be???!!!!)
We say “please” when we mean “what” or “huh?” We say “excuse me” when we really want YOU to get out of the way!
And apparently we are one of the top cities in the nation for road rage (something I’ve had for years and which now has a name!) Maybe it has something to do with sun delays and the Cin-Day Corridor!

Don’t forget the Giveaway!
RULES FOR THE GIVEAWAY:
1 - You must leave a comment on my blog – don’t worry – I have the comment moderation active so if you don’t want the world to see it, just me, that’s fine; just mention that in the comment and I won’t post it.

2 - Each comment you leave will equal 1 chance to win – (so vote early and vote often – ha, ha). I will pick a winner on September 1 by putting slips with your name in a “hat” and drawing the winner (i.e. if you leave 5 comments on my blog between now and then, there will be 5 slips with your name that could be potential winners!)

Good luck!

9 comments:

Vicki Greene said...

Sunny is such a cute little fellow! They missed a few orange cones and stripped barrels here in Florida but I will be glad to send them on to you - lol. Good luck on you computer change over. I like you sense of humor!

Ginny Stiles said...

Oh Deb, I have really missed your comments on MY blog recently. But reading your blog today I get some sort of feeling for what's been going on. Sorry to hear you've been sick! Bummer. I sure hope you are all mended now!. I loved Sunny. He's very paintable. I usually sell all the painting I do of cows! They have such adorable faces! Oh computer woes. Oh dear. When my laptop got old I decided to go for a REALLY big change rather than face Vista. I went with an iMac! I LOVE it. I decided on a desk top. It was like "coming home" because eons ago I learned to first compute on an old Apple! If you haven't made your final decision, you might consider it!

Kathy Wirth said...

RE computer woes: GET A MAC! I lost my Windows computer due to a power surge after last September's windstorm. Fortunately, I had an external hard drive backing up all my files daily. I finally listened to my daughter and SIL who have insisted for years that we should "GET A MAC". I did, and have been so happy with it. The key is to get Microsoft Word for the Mac installed. You won't even notice the difference in working with your files, except it won't be crashing all the time, and virus worries will be a thing of the past.

debwardart said...

Kathy and Ginny - Gee, never considered a Mac??? We shall see.
Ginny - if you paint him be sure to "blog" him so I (and my husband, the proud "rancher") can see!
Vicki - so they missed a couple! Well, you can keep 'em down there.

Chris Beck said...

My vote is for a Mac too!! I've never had anything else and wouldn't want to switch. Easy to use and very reliable.

Enjoyed your ramblings!! Don't you just love the "well-coordinated" public projects that seem to take place every summer? Here they're closing one of the major bridges all Labor Day weekend!!

debwardart said...

Hi Chris - glad you enjoyed my story! Guess there's never a good time to close a road, but there must be "better than other" times!

Gaylynn said...

Deb, sorry you got caught in that mess you called the "Cin-Day corridor". Since all my family lives in Montgomery Co. I have no choice but to travel said roads several times a year. I get the frustration.
As for a computer...if you stick with a PC, Vista has not been bad. It is when you try to add it to an older PC that you have problems. An external hard drive backing up all you files helps with the transition from and old to new PC. My husband uses Macs at his school and that is what I used to learn about computers. If I had my druthers I would use a Mac. I know he got me a PC laptop because it was cheaper than a Mac laptop. But, between you and me I would have rather had a Mac desktop. I like my laptop because I can use it in any room in the house and it travels, but on the average it actually leaves my home 6-10 times a year. Maybe my next one will be a Mac.

Joan Sandford-Cook said...

Sorry you have been poorly and good luck with your new computer.

I've had a number of computers in my time and although it makes your brain work hard to start with, every time it was so well worth it with all the new technology, speed, space and efficiency. If you are worried about transferring data/images, why not copy them all onto a stand alone back up system first or discs and it will take away all that worry of losing precious things.
Loved the detail of all your local road problems - sounds just like England in a bigger way - though of late our Councils don't have any money to repair anything so we bump over ruts and holes!!!.

debwardart said...

Gaylynn - another vote for a Mac! Going up the "corridor" Saturday to see if I've been accepted in the show - maybe see you there.
Joan - seems all economies are struggling right now. Looking forward to more paintings and travelogue from you!