Passing time on the way to Pentwater (Receipt Hog App and Flower Boxes)

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It was Pentwater weekend..an 8-hour drive, so I read magazines, checked Facebook, blogged, was on Pinterest and cleared my email.

As I was reading a magazine a friend shared with me, I came across an app that pays you for scanning your receipts called Receipt Hog. The receipts can be from grocery, convenience, drug, dollar, pet or supercenter stores. I’m always trying to save some cash, since everything is so, so expensive (I think I’m still in the 90’s as far as prices go). You take pictures of receipts, you submit them and you earn coins.

There are other ways to earn “coins”, such as completing surveys, playing slots, etc. You then accumulate coins and redeem them for cash, gift cards or prizes. You can download the App here:  Receipt Hog

I’ll keep you updated as to how quickly the coins accumulate and for what I redeem them. Stay tuned.

The weather was a warm 75˚and we realized the next time we come, it’ll be time to close up! Where’d the summer go? Time flies! Hubby built the third (and smallest) planter for our camping spot.

It’s late in the season for flowers, so it’s a bit sparse this year…but wait until next year…they’ll be fabulous.

flowerboxes

The fish were biting in Lake Michigan. An 18 lb. salmon was caught and will be smoked (and eaten), soon.

 

 

Computer Woes (Mac Laptop Sleeve Crochet Pattern)

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So, I haven’t blogged in a while because of computer issues. A virus that encrypted my hard drive, invaded. I then received a Word Pad note stating that I could received the key to decrypt my hard drive, if I deposited 500 Euros into the linked bank provided.

I was devastated! All my photos, work documents and spreadsheets, crochet patterns (many of which were paid) were gone! My husband and children (and Sandy, too) were all Mac fans. I, however, was comfortable with a PC. After being told that this virus probably wouldn’t have had effect on a Mac, I conceded.

One of my son’s childhood friends said that an update from Apple was to be announced the following day at 1:00 pm. He has been hoping to upgrade his Mac Book Pro for a while. If the announcement was hardware-based, he would sell his Mac for $400. I could live with that…the alternative was purchasing a rebuilt Mac for $750…not bad considering the cost of a new Mac.

Well, the announcement wasn’t hardware-based. And so, the hubby and I went shopping. I will tell you that there are few (if any) design differences between the Macs. PC’s are manufactured by many manufactures, so there’s a need to shop and compare. Also, the difference in price was very unsettling, but I was assured you cannot compare a PC with a Mac. So we left the store with no decision made. While I was at work, the husband and two sons decided on a brand new laptop. So, we went from $450 to $1006!

That wasn’t the end of my frustration. Although Sandy assured me that I would “catch on” to the Mac, everything was all so different.

I had to Google often (like right now…how to insert a bullet)

  • How do I make a subdirectory in my folder?
  • Why is the control key not working?
  • How do I scan?
  • How do I print in Black & White?
  • What’s a Command Key?
  • Where is the Backspace Key?
  • My Windows 2-button mouse is backward when scrolling

Old habits are hard to break. I look at the bottom of the screen, when I should look at the top;; What’s a Command Key? My Windows 2-button, mouse is backwards when scrolling and a right-click on your mouse doesn’t do the same thing on a Mac.

On the positive side:

  • It now only takes twice as long to do my church newsletter rather than five times as long on my first try.
  • It’s very light and compact (but I’m squinting at my 13” Mac screen while missing my 15” pc screen).
  • I am assured that I am now hip and cool because I have a Mac (oh, brother!)
  • I couldn’t afford any of the accessories because of the price, so I was able to use up some of my yarn stash and crocheted a cover to (somewhat) protect my new (expensive) Mac. You can purchase the Laptop Sleeve Crochet Pattern on Etsy.

mac_crochet_sleeve

Mother’s Day (Signature Necklace and Made-to-Order Fabric)

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So, tomorrow is the third Mother’s Day without Mom.

Sandy and I are sentimental mushes.  You’ve already seen the quilts that Sandy made.  I’m sure it became a healing activity for Sandy and the finished quilt became a comforting memory for her daughter and me.

This past Christmas, we decided to transfer some of Mom’s favorite recipes on to tea towels for all the girls.  And so the search began.  How do you transfer handwritten recipes onto fabric?  We Googled. We Pinterested. With some methods, the quality wasn’t good; with other methods, we weren’t sure how quickly the images would fade (if the tea towels were actually used); with one researched method, it was suggested we do the transfer process outdoors because of fumes!  Either way, we were going to have to get in the cold car and go shopping (with all the Christmas shoppers) for craft supplies.  And then…we came across a website that would custom-make our fabric.   Spoonflower.com was quite easy to use.  We put the recipes into a pleasing pattern onto one photo, uploaded it, selected the repeat pattern and Voila! Done.  We spent about $35 which produced 10 good-sized tea towels.  We were thrilled with the results and I think the girls were genuinely moved.

So, with all those memories flooding during the tea towel project, I began to think about what I would put in Sandy’s friendship ball…it was my turn.  I’m not a big fan of all the tattoos that are so popular these days, but I decided if I would get a tattoo, it would be one of my Mom’s signature.  Again, Google, Pinterest and Etsy. I stumbled upon an Etsy store that produced jewelry using a signature!  Perfect! I ordered two, (I had to get myself one!) from this Etsy store: Grace Personalized World.  If you type “signature jewelry”, you’ll see a nice variety of personalized jewelry, including some that are stamped with the signature onto a metal shape (a heart would be nice). When they arrived, I was extremely pleased!  Here’s a comparison of Mom’s signature and the necklace:

signature_necklace_comparison

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