Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Playing with New Toys!

Front Yard Picture Collage


The problem with weekends is they go by too quickly!  It's not like I had a lot going on, either!  But, the days flew by!

Friday night, I stayed up all night, till 5:00 a.m., playing new word games (crosswords, etc.) that my daughter downloaded for me!  On Saturday, I slept in!

Saturday was another windy day.  I cleaned part of the kitchen: wiped down the counters, cleaned the microwave, and washed the doors of some of the kitchen cabinets and the door of the dishwasher.  I ran the dishwasher, too.  Daughter installed the new wireless internet device that the phone company had sent to replace the one that we had because the phone company is switching to 5G services.  I am very thankful that she was home to set it up, because I would have been lost trying to figure it out!  She needed to call the phone company to activate it and there was a bit of back and forth to get it to work properly, but, now, the new system is working.  We kept the old phones, but, the system box (for a lack of a better word for it) is new.

After that, she very kindly set up the new cell phone that the phone company had also sent, free of charge, to replace my old cell phone, also due to the change in service from 3G to 5G services.  My old cell phone had been on its last legs, so to speak, and I had been wanting to replace it, but, we were waiting until the Covid numbers improved to risk going into a store.  But, in this case, procrastination paid off!  I received a replacement phone, which is better than what I had, free of charge!  There are a couple of new things I need to get used to, including unlocking the phone with a passcode prior to using it, but, my daughter assures me that it is for better security of the devise.  The biggest plus is I can now take and send photos to myself, without having to text them to my daughter and having her email them to me in order to upload to the computer!  I tried it, today, and that's when I discovered that I can make collages with my phone!  How exciting is that?!  

We had the leftover fish pie for dinner on Saturday and ham sandwiches for a late night snack (yes, we stayed up till quite late, on Saturday night, too!)

Sunday's adventure was setting up the voicemail feature on the home phone!  Daughter had to call the phone company, again, to get help with setting it up, and we realized part of the problem was we hadn't turned off the answering machine built into the phone base!  One of the nice things with the way the new system works is, we no longer have to listen to the messages as they are being left on the voicemail which is nice when the callers are unsolicited marketing calls.  The bad thing is, I can no longer use hear the message as they leave it and pick up when I heard who was calling!  Now, I have to check the phone number and pick up if I recognize the number, or else, play back the message to know who called.  A minor inconvenience; I just have to make sure I regularly check to see if the new messages indicator light is flashing!

Sunday was another relaxed day, but, I printed out the check in form to take to the lab for Monday's (today's) blood test, made sure I had the lab test order in the file folder, and got my bag ready for the appointment; took the recycling and kitchen trash out; checked the mail; cleaned the bathroom and Dancer's litter box; cooked dinner (chicken curry, sauteed cabbage and the handful of spinach leaves that was still left, and rice), did the dishes, and practiced the piano (lessons are scheduled to start on Tuesday).  I also gave myself a mini pedicure, soaking my feet in the plug-in bubbling massager thing and applying lotion, afterwards (no polishing of toe nails, however).  

Today (Monday), I went for my blood test at noon.  They are for my regular follow up appointment with the oncologist on Friday.

In the afternoon, I took the above photos of the various plants in the front garden.  The top photo in the collage is part of my succulents bed along the side wall. 

At 5:00 p.m., I logged onto the online painting class.  I discovered that a lot of the paints that I have are dried out!  So, if I plan to continue taking these classes, I might have to buy new paints!  But, I managed to work with what I have; however, I didn't try to rush and finish the painting, today.  Even the instructor admitted that they had to cover a lot of ground in one hour.  The video will be available on line after 24-48 hours, so I can go back and work on it.  Today, I mostly worked on the background and I am finally happy with my blending skills!  

Afterwards, I did two loads of laundry and practiced the piano for a bit.  Neighbor S had called earlier today to ask if I can do the lesson tomorrow, instead of Thursday, which means I don't have the extra two days of practice time!  

Lunch had been a salad; dinner was leftover rice, chicken curry, and cabbage (I had to cook more cabbage, actually), with zucchini chutney.  

Later in the evening, we put in another grocery order, which I will pick up, tomorrow afternoon.

Today, I am grateful for:

- New replacement phones, free of charge
- Daughter being home and able to install them
- Medical insurance to cover the costs of routine blood tests
- Free online painting classes
- Being able to order groceries online

Today's joyful activity was finding out the collage feature on my new phone!

Plans for tomorrow (Tuesday) include:

- Picking up the groceries
- Piano lesson
- Paperwork

How was your weekend and Monday?  What are your plans for Tuesday?

27 comments:

  1. I'm so glad the phone worked out and that you were able to have daughter help you set it up. I love the collage. Isn't it amazing what phones can do these days?

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    1. Thank you, Sharon. I have a feeling that there will be more collages appearing on my blog from now on! :D

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  2. Great collages. Enjoy your new phone - I am still learning to use mine properly and I have had it 2 months now! I have a passcode and fingerprint recognition. It is VERY cold here today

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    1. Thank you, Angela. It will take me some time to figure out how to actually use the phone features - today, I discovered that I need to do something to set up voicemail on my cell phone! It keeps asking me for a passcode...
      Stay warm! It is sunny and in the mid-60s, here. :)

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  3. Yeah to all your new technology "toys". Yes the whole photo capabilities with your new phone are so exciting - like your collage. I can see you doing lots of fun things with this for Eileen's monthly & winter photo searches.

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    1. Thank you, Mary-Lou. I'm slightly intimidated by all this new (to me) technology, but, I suppose, I'll figure it out, eventually. You must be psychic, because, that's exactly what I was thinking, this morning, when I was outside, taking some "Starts with G" pictures for Eileen's monthly challenge! :D There will be collages! :D

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  4. New electronics are always fun especially if there's someone there to help set them up. :)

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    1. Having someone help you with setting it up and showing you what you have to do is absolutely important! I get intimidated by it all and my brain just shuts off!

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  5. I can see more collages in your future which will be fun for your readers.
    I'm glad your daughter was able to get everything all set up with your new technology. And how fortunate you were to get a new phone. You've mentioned you needed one, that was good timing.

    I've done a couple more grocery pickups at various stores. I'm so glad I decided to give it a try because it is really a nice and convenient way to shop during these times.

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    1. Ha, ha, you, too, are psychic, Debra! Yes, there will be more collages! It will be especially helpful with garden photos, I think. I'm very glad my daughter was here, with me, and she was able to set things up for me. Otherwise, I probably would have called the phone company and asked them to send out someone! The new cell phone was much needed! I was planning to buy one, but, when the phone company said they will replace it for free, because they were switching their services, I was very happy!

      Glad to hear that you are finding the grocery pickups to be nice and convenient. Safe, too! My pickup went well, today; one substitution, which was fine with me.

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  6. That's marvelous having new phones free of charge an having your daughter set them up for you, I'm sure that would be beyond me.
    The collage is lovely, that will be great fun for future photos.
    Staying up all night playing word games is not something you want to make a habit of, alright now and again I imagine. I hope your blood tests results are fine for the routine appointment with your oncologist. I have to have some blood tests soon for my six monthly infusion but no need to see my oncologist. They don't do routine appointments here as my oncologist told me I don't need to see her again unless I need to, fingers crossed that won't be necessary.

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    1. It really was nice to get the free new phones and a blessing to have daughter set them up for me! If not, I would have needed to call the phone company and request a technician to come and set it up because I would have made a proper mess of it!

      I will definitely be making more photo collages!
      I will try not to make a habit of staying up all night playing computer games! :D

      I have routine check ups with my oncologist every 3 months, although, often, I am seen by the nurse practitioner and not the doctor. The blood tests monitor the cancer markers (on the look out for numbers out of the range for normal), and various other things that were impacted due to the chemo and radiation. Every 6 months, however, I receive an injection for bone health, because I have osteopenia (precursor to osteoporosis). I will join you in keeping fingers crossed that you won't have any need for a return visit to your oncologist.

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  7. Sometimes procrastination works in your favour as is evident by the delay in replacing your mobile, only to receive a new one from the phone company ... how lucky. I like the mosaic ... will we be seeing a lot of those in the future?

    I hope the blood results are good and that your Friday appointment goes well.

    Do you have much more to do on your painting and will we get to see the finished result please?

    I've spent the morning with a friend and have been emptying the music room this afternoon so there is enough space to move the old piano out of the room, ready for tomorrow's delivery!

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    1. Sometimes, procrastination does work! :)
      I'm glad you liked the collage; I was hoping I would be able to make more collages, but, it might have been a one time thing because now, I can't seem to figure out how I did it the first time!

      I have to do the actual subject (a vase of flowers) to the painting! I spent the entire hour doing the background! LOL. I might finish the painting tomorrow. I will definitely post the finished painting to show (along with my palette cleaning painting! :D)

      Sounds like you have had a fun morning and a productive afternoon! Hope the old piano will be collected, today.

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  8. I bet all that felt very fulfilling! Have fun with the new phone! Your collage is lovely. How nice to see flowers smiling in the sun while it's close to freezing here.

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    1. Thank you, Lady Ella. I am still learning about the new phone! I was so happy to discover the collage feature, yesterday. Then, earlier today, I forgot how to make the collage! But, I think I've figured it out, now. I just have to continue to make collages until I memorize the steps! It is in the mid-60s, today, and sunny. You'd be interested to know that I didn't need to wear a coat when I went out, yesterday and today! :D

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  9. That sounds very full! I'm glad that you got a new phone, and a pass code is a really good idea for security. Bear set mine up. I think that phones and stuff are getting more and more complicated that it gets away from people. The collage above looks amazing.

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    1. Thank you, Lyssa. I am easily intimidated when it comes to electronics and gadgets! My daughter seems to find it intuitive and says she just presses buttons to see what happens. I have a feeling that were I to do that, I'll end up with the microwave ringing instead of the phone every time someone calls! :D I was happy to find the collage feature on the phone, quite by accident! Then, I forgot how I got to it! But, I managed to find it, again, so, there will be a couple more collages in the future! :)

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  10. There's nothing like word games to keep you addicted! Here's one you will enjoy and you can only do one a day: https://www.powerlanguage.co.uk/wordle/
    Great that you got a replacement phone. All these things take a while to set up. I wonder what the people who lived in the Middle Ages would think of what we have to deal with? The plants are lovely. I'm looking forward to seeing your latest painting!

    I had a trip to my optometrist today and was so glad that it was a sunny dry day to drive there. I did a field test. Then I went for a few groceries on the way home.

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    1. Thank you, Bushlady - they were talking about Wordle, yesterday, during the painting class! I hadn't heard of it before that! I am trying to figure out the new cell phone! I need to figure out (with daughter's help, of course) how to set up the voice mail function!

      Glad you had a sunny day for your vision test. Getting the groceries on the way home was good planning on your part. :)

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  11. The collage is very nicely done! It really highlights the lovely plants in your garden. I expect I'll need to update my cell phone soon, as it's older and probably won't work with 5G. You're fortunate you got it free. Maybe if I procrastinate more, that will work for me, too! Best, Celie

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    1. Thank you, Celie. Maybe contact your phone company and find out if they are switching to 5G and if they will provide free phones. I received a letter, notifying me of the change and the free phone offer (I could have chosen to opt out of it, but, I decided not to).

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    2. Opt out of getting a new phone from them, that is, not the type of service!

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