Month: September 2012

When it rains, it pours; Weak or no signal

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It would appear that our household is on a roll with the technology glitches. Not only am I having issues with Windows 7 64 bit OS, but I’m having Direct TV issues also.

A few days ago, the flatscreen television in our family room, I’m not sure how big it is, I know it’s over 60″,brought up this lovely error message,

Weak or no signal

My first reaction was it has to be the HD Direct TV box. However, being the dutiful customer that I am, I called Direct TV and told them about the problem. Naturally they ran me throug list of tests of things that I’d already done (thanks to my online search). When those didn’t work, hey also suggested a new HDMI cable. While they would have supplied me one for free, I decided to stop by the store (after dropping off my daughter at school this morning) and purchase an additional cable. I connected it, and really wasn’t surprised that our Direct TV is still not working. I’m telling you, it’s the HD Direct TV box!

The customer service rep was polite, and now I’ll have a technician will be visiting our household next Friday to fix this issue. I’m not upset that I’m without Direct TV, I can go days, weeks, and in some cases months without watching television… and if I really feel the urge to watch something (I’m sure I won’t) there’s always the television in the basement. I take that back, last week my daughter and I did watch some nature shows. Those were quite fascinating. But as for regular shows, I rarely watch them. I find most of thee shows I’ve seen aren’t good, and in some cases a bit trashy. Which makes me wonder… when did I turn into my mom! 😉

Things are starting to slow down, so perhaps I’ll have a chance to post some crafts; crochet, knit, paper, etc, that my daughter and I’ve made over the past week.

Microsoft 7; slow internet connection and download speeds

Aynaria 6 Comments

The past few weeks I’ve been reacquainting myself with Windows 7 operating system.

The version we have is the Windows 7 Home Premium, 64 bit operating system. We’ve had this desktop computer for about a year… but it’s not my go to computer. That would be my 17″ MacBook Pro.

So much has changed since I received my MCSE, A+, and N+ certifications several years ago. I won a free N+ book — I figured I might as well study and take the cert.  All the certifications, I did for personal enrichment.

Anyway what caused the increased attention with this desktop computer is the sudden change in the computers internet and download speeds (down to about 26kbps), it’s moving at a snails pace. Yeah… definitely not fun for someone who’s used to screaming fast speeds. At least I’m not alone, from my online research it seems that some other Windows 7 users have experienced a sudden drop in their speeds also. I tried a lot of the suggestions but they didn’t work. I even tried reinstalling… nope that didn’t work either. Connecting the modem directly to the computer saw a jump in speeds, so I do think it might be the router.

The upside of this is I’ve ordered a few Windows 7 books… who knows I might update my Windows certifications. 😉

More Preserves…

Aynaria 3 Comments

Over the past few weeks, I’ve easily canned over 100 jars of preserves, all from produce growing in our garden.

You should see the storage area in our basement. It’s lined with rows of canned preserves. Jellies, jams, and butters are in the spotlight soon to be joining them will be a variety of pickles; cucumbers, beans, and peppers. Of course I’ll be canning numerous vegetables too. Vegetables are typically low acid foods. Those that aren’t  pickled will need another method for canning than the  hot water bath method. It’s time to pull out the pressure cooker. But let’s not get hasty…

Today I canned some more fruit and herb preserves using the hot water bath method for canning. I made some more grape jelly and there was also mint jelly too.

What I enjoy about fruit preserves is that they can be added to more things than your traditional fare; toast, biscuits, turnovers, tarts, etc., Preserves can also be added to other dishes too such as vegetable dishes, toppings for risotto, a whole host of rice and bean dishes, and of course… they also make a lovely glaze for a variety of meat dishes — if you aren’t vegetarian (or in my case vegan).

The beauty of making your own preserves, is you can get creative and make your own recipes. I like the fact that our preserves aren’t loaded with a lot of unnecessary junk that our bodies really don’t need, and since they aren’t overly sweet they taste more like the fruit in its natural state.

Monster High Doll: Meowlody; knitted and crocheted ruffle dress

Aynaria 3 Comments

The past few weeks have been extremely busy completing clients projects, fall gardening, canning, back to school, soccer practice, and numerous other activities that had to be accomplished. But I’ve still managed to weave my fiber arts into my busy schedule.

The featured dress below, was made last evening while my daughter and I were watching Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring. It was created for one of my daughter’s Monster High Dolls. Meowlody. Meowlody is one of my daughter’s newest Monster High dolls. Meowlody is sold along with her Werecat twin sister Purrsephone, as a package deal. Since these dolls are new, I haven’t had a chance to make them too many things besides some cable knitted shawls.

 

Meowlody, my daughter’s Monster High doll, is looking stylish in this This knitted and crocheted ruffle dress.

 

The above dress has a knitted body, and I added a crocheted ruffle trim to the top and bottom part of the dress. Years ago, I designed and sewed a dress similar to this. It was featured in a local fashion show. Meowlody’s twin won’t be left out of the fiber creations, since I’ll be making something for Purrsephone later today. Since I didn’t have an appropriate lightweight yarn, this dress was done with worsted weight yarn, and I used my size 4 Knit Picks circular needles.

In the future I will knit outfits with a lighter yarn, and nothing above a size 0 knitting needle. I was planning on going to a local yarn store, after church today, but I’ve opted to stay home. Later this week I’ll purchase an appropriate lighter weight yarn for her Monster High dolls. I most likely will purchase the items online. The one drawback of purchasing yarn online is you can’t touch the yarn, because of this, I always rely on others reviews before purchasing.