June 2023 Recap

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One day I was browsing Facebook and there was an ad for special edition Goose Creek candles featuring Strawberry Shortcake characters. I immediately thought of my cousin and sent her the link. She quickly responded “way ahead of you” and sent me a screenshot of an order she had placed for all of them the day before. Then a week later a package arrived at my house with these inside. My cousin is so thoughtful!

Joe and I were hanging out on the patio one evening when I spotted a rabbit amongst the basil my neighbors grow.

I was on my morning walk with Wookie on June 5th and texted Joe.

Me: Awww man the lighting out here is perfect for picture taking. I’m pulling you out of work. I’ll get the red sports car and disguise.

Joe’s reply: Do you have a kiss for daddy?

The funny thing is I had no idea this was the date from the movie until I saw this meme. What are the odds?

Some weird nature related wizard started letting me see insects & birds after I wished to do so out loud. It happened four times where I’d tell Joe I’d really like to see x thing and then not five minutes later, it would appear. It was really freaky! I have a hard time of believing in God (or any gods for that matter), but I did say he could turn me into a believer if he got rid of my tinnitus entirely by the end of the month. Sadly, it didn’t happen, so I remain a skeptic.

Donated items to my friend – including board games & a bunch of candles she said her daughter would like (I don’t plan on buying candles anymore because I’m worried about the harm they do to our lungs).

Heard that a new A&W restaurant recently opened in the area. Now, the last time I ate at one many moons ago I was not impressed, but we decided to give it a try since it was on the way back from a bird sanctuary we wanted to visit anyway. We ordered a root beer cream freeze (it’s like a cross between a float and a shake), corn dog nuggets, and a chili cheese dog. We also grabbed some Portillos fries on the way home. Everything except the freeze was disappointing. I suppose the silver lining is we won’t be tempted to eat at either place again anytime soon.

Met a fellow photographer at a park we frequent and became Facebook/Flickr friends which is cool.

Intended to go to the DMV to get the REAL ID that is now required to get into Fermilab’s grounds (they have some nice nature areas I want to photograph), but could not find my birth certificate anywhere. Took advantage of Joe having the morning off anyway and visited Cantigny Park to get loads of lovely flower photos. I wish it had been a more peaceful visit, however. After a little mulling over, I sent them a message via Facebook:

I’m not trying to be THAT person, but I came early today to enjoy a rare morning off with my husband and it was anything but peaceful with staff members walking around with loud leaf blowers and kicking up dust. I’m not sure why they can’t do that before you’re open to the public, but I’d like to avoid it in the future because it ruined an otherwise pleasant visit. Therefore, if you could tell me what days/times your staff normally walks around with the leaf blowers I can avoid the park during those times. Thanks.

That was on a Friday right before 5 pm so I wasn’t surprised they didn’t respond, so on the following Monday after 7 pm I sent another message:

The above wasn’t a rhetorical question. I would like to know the schedule for the leaf blowers, please.

Still no response (other than an automated one stating they’d respond during business hours, even though to this date they never have). Ok, then. I see how much they care about their visitors. I guess all subsequent visits will be via the Museum Pass I can get at the library instead of paying them. I just hope I can avoid those goddamn loud leafblowers!!!

I was able to get a photo of the birth certificate my mom has and use that info to request my own copies. We’ll see how long that takes!

I had my annual wellness exam with a new doctor because mine left the practice. She’s… ok. I don’t dislike her but I don’t love her either. She ordered bloodwork which you have to fast for, and I knew this ahead of time, but made the mistake of making an 11 am appointment and wasn’t sure I’d last. I called the office to confirm they do have a phlebotomist on staff and they assured me they do not and that I would have to go next door to immediate care to get my blood drawn. I assumed that would take too long mid-day and would just come back a different day when they first open. Well, that was a mistake! Not only did I find out from the doctor there is a phlebotomist on staff, so I wouldn’t have had to wait, but when I did go to immediate care a few days later I was behind 8 other people who arrived early as well. The wait ended up being slightly over a half hour which still wasn’t bad, but it would have been zero had I not eaten on the call center person’s advice. Note for future reference, I guess.

Joe’s great aunt (his late father’s sister) passed away and we attended her funeral and wake. On the way home we stopped and picked up Culver’s because we were hungry and it seemed like a fitting tribute since she loved that place. In fact, the last time we saw her was when Joe, me, she, and Joe’s dad went out to Culver’s for lunch.

May 2023 Recap

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Visited Lilacia Park to see the blooming flowers and test my new camera. The lilacs weren’t in full bloom yet, but the tulips certainly were, and I prefer them anyway!

Prior to that we visited Cheap Kiss Records (cute, but not that impressive) and a place called Kuppies Bakery where I had the yummiest banana muffin. There was a small coffee place next door (Funky Java Coffee House) that makes a great latte for a reasonable price too.

Created a time-lapse of the zinnia seedlings we planted in a pot in April as they reach toward the sunlight; then planted them outside the following day.

Zinnia Seeds Timelapse

Went to Murphy’s Farm to get flowers for the patio because they are always a good quality at a great price.

Afterwards we stopped at the Ukrainian church to pick up some pierogis and stuffed cabbage. We’ve only been talking about going there for years and never doing it. The food was good!

Was watching Ted Lasso when I spotted a familiar typeface and paused it to see Trent was wearing a Cure shirt. This was the best you could see as there was never a scene where it was fully visible.

Received the Monin syrups we had ordered.

The white peach syrup is going to be used to re-create the gone, but never forgotten, Chick-fil-A peach tea lemonade I’ve been craving since they so cruelly removed it from their menu years ago.

Got my annual hair cut. Not even joking. I am so bad about getting it cut I usually do it once a year when it starts getting warm outside. It came out very uneven which was disappointing because I like the woman, but I won’t be going back. I think she was in a hurry to get back to her visiting friend (she does hair from her basement; my friend is her cousin). Oh well.

Tried Butter Chicken for the first time. We got it at Costco and loved it!

Sold some undeveloped property that Joe’s mother “gifted us” years ago. We never wanted/asked for this financial burden, but didn’t want to hurt her feelings by selling it when she was alive. Let this be a lesson to everyone – it’s not a gift if it’s going to cost someone time/effort/money (unless they asked for it).

Was sitting on the couch one afternoon when I suddenly realized all the birds were going nuts outside, so I went to take a look. Apparently a sharp-shinned hawk had gotten hold of a bird and they were pissed. I was able to grab my camera and get a clear photo after stepping onto the patio.

My friend and her dog came to visit! We’ve been to her house several times over the past few years, but she hasn’t been to my place since before the pandemic. She usually has dogs she is sitting which is why she doesn’t leave her house often. She got to try our favorite place – Just Kabobs – and loved it, just like I thought she would.

On the way to a park to take some photos we spotted a Cooper’s Hawk less than a block from the house. I scared it when I got out of the car, but was able to get this photo of it in the tree.

We went to my parents’ house the day before Memorial Day to celebrate the holiday. We played badminton in the backyard which was fun.

Visited Lincoln Marsh in Wheaton for the first time. Not only was it a bust, but we got eaten by mosquitos on the way out of the forest area. I’ve never seen that many of them in one place! We will probably go back at some point, but will be applying the bug spray liberally.

Took this cute photo of a female cardinal on my neighbor’s grill.

Almost cracked my Apple Watch on a doorway. Luckily the screen protector saved it.

Canon R7

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So after having the same camera for 15 years (Canon 40D), I decided to upgrade to a mirrorless camera and went with the Canon R7 because I heard fantastic things about it’s autofocus system and ability to track animals such as birds.

I ended up getting the kit with the 18-150mm lens from ABT who delivered it via their own truck the same day. Talk about service! I guess that’s what you get when you spend almost $2000. Yea, this thing cost more than our refrigerator!

(Incidentally Joe received his new Google Pixel 6A the following day so we’ve just been spending money left and right. So thankful we can afford to do these things because we socked away money when we were both at the height of our respective careers).

I wasn’t able to get out to test the new camera until a couple of days later, but I used that time to look at people’s suggested settings because there is so much more to this thing than my old camera. Many more buttons and dials too. The main thing that I miss is the little screen at the top of my 40D. With this new one you have to use the LCD viewfinder or the screen on the back which eats through the battery more, although the battery is still capable of handling multiple outings before needing recharging.

I bought an adapter not too long after so I could put my old EF 50-250mm lens on the camera. While not bad, it was kinda heavy. I mentioned to Joe that I was drooling over the RF 100-400mm lens which with the camera’s crop sensor is the equivalent of having a 160-640mm lens. He encouraged me to order it, and after a little hesitation, I did. It’s much lighter, and performs well too. Between the reach and the 32 megapixels of the camera, I’m able to get some great bird shots I never could have dreamed of otherwise, like this American Redstart which is a tiny bird that was pretty far away from me.

This photo was taken with a high ISO so it was very noisy, but I also decided to subscribe to Adobe’s photo editing software package which includes a very powerful denoise feature that cleaned everything up wonderfully. Isn’t technology grand? I was still using Photoshop 7 from twenty years ago so it took me some time to acclimate to the changes but now I love it. Still not a fan of Lightroom, however. It’s the photography version of iTunes where it tries to create a library of your photos. I have my own organization method and don’t need that.

Anyway, I’m still learning the best settings for the new camera but there’s no doubt it’s made photography fun and interesting again.  It’s also opened my eyes to all the creatures, mostly birds, that I never noticed before. Plus I’m getting more daily exercise than ever before. That’s a win win win!

 

 

This Site

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In case anyone is wondering why the site looks different it’s because my host updated all accounts to PHP 8 last month and broke my site, which I hadn’t noticed until recently since I only log in once a month or so. The front-end still worked, but I couldn’t log into the admin page. Basically the theme I was using is no longer compatible with the latest PHP & WordPress version. I also had to delete all the other themes I actually liked because they too were broken. Sigh.

In any case, I’m currently using a theme I don’t love but at least works because I cannot seem to find another one that looks how I want and also doesn’t break something. I had found one earlier this morning that I thought would work until I realized it took all of my old entries and turned them into one single paragraph, ignoring the spaces between the paragraphs.

I am struggling to understand the way WordPress works these days and have to use a plugin just to access their classic editor. The new visual one is actually more confusing to a person like me. I don’t want each paragraph or image to be it’s own “block”, nor do I like that I have less control over elements because it thinks it knows better. Why can’t we have a version for people who know HTML and CSS? Or at least USED to know, because lately it seems confusing even to me and I used to build my sites from scratch. Use it or lose it, I guess.

April 2023 Recap

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Recently tried Zevia again. We got a black cherry flavor and Dr. Zevia. Neither are very good. I wish I liked it more. I drink water 99% of the time but crave soda occasionally. (Still sad that Culver’s went and switched from Pepsi to Coke).

Tried Chick-fil-A’s new watermelon mint lemonade which was ok but not great. I really miss the peach tea lemonade they used to have years ago. I will never get over them taking it away from me.

Decorated the fireplace mantel for Easter with some faux flowers I found in the garage that I hadn’t used in years, plus a new ceramic bunny I found at JoAnn’s. Would have liked two, but it was literally the last one left and they weren’t expecting any more.

My mom invited us over for Easter but I ended up cancelling two days before because I was having the weird nerve pains all over my body again. It lasted several days but eventually went away. Ironically, I ended hearing from both her and my brother Easter evening because their landline stopped working (they use Facebook Messenger to communicate since no one in the house has a cellphone). I spent the next week getting the run-around from AT&T just to locate the right department to issue a repair ticket so they were without phone service for 8 days.

Bought a new camera (more on that in a separate post).

Found my old pedometer and figured it was time to chuck that thing in the trash. My Apple Watch is all I need to track my steps and I love it.

Organized my not-so-much junk drawer because once in awhile it needs to be redone. It’s always pretty organized, but there was stuff in there that belonged either somewhere else or in the trash.

Decluttered the garage and tried to see if any of my friends wanted the stuff I would like to get rid of, but didn’t get any takers. I am not sure what to do with stuff. I don’t enjoy listing things for sale because people are so freaking annoying to deal with, but I also don’t like donating to Goodwill or Savers anymore now that they’ve raised their prices to take advantage of people. I would feel better if I could give to someone in need directly. So right now all the stuff is sitting in boxes in the garage. Sigh.

Heard they brought back an old school Kool-Aid flavor called Sharkleberry Fin and decided to try it.

I’ve never been a fan of Kool-Aid, so it’s no surprise I wasn’t impressed.

Started researching window replacement companies because ours needs to be replaced.

Spotted a sharp-shinned hawk hanging out in a puddle in the street in front of my neighbors house.

Fortunately I was able to run downstairs to grab my new camera to get this shot. The zoom is 150mm which is the max on the lens that came with the camera, plus I was behind a dirty window, but I still feel fortunate to have gotten a photo at all.

Decided against participating in Record Store Day this year even though Show by The Cure was available. For one, it’s a picture disc which I hate. I want a nice jacket, not one with a hole in it! Secondly, it would have been $40. I’m starting to question why I’ve continue to collect Cure vinyl at all. It’s not the same as the 90’s where you could find a used copy for a few bucks. Lately the choices seem to be rare used stuff that’s over $100 or new reissues that are $30-$40. Playing vinyl isn’t exactly convenient, either since only so many songs fit on each side. Longer albums tend to be double vinyl so you have to get up four times just to listen to an album. Besides, what’s going to happen to all this stuff when I’m dead? I dunno, I just feel like I should put that money toward something I’ll get more bang for my buck with, so to speak, like camera equipment. I really want a bigger telephoto lens for my new camera, for instance. I’d use it quite often during the warm months.

We planted some zinnia seeds in an egg carton and small pot so we could get them going a little earlier this year. I love zinnias, but they take forever to bloom and I’m impatient.