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Dealing with the Death of a Spouse
I have had to face a difficult task in recent months and it is dealing with the death of a spouse. As this hasn’t been the easiest of times, I wanted to put my thoughts down to help people try to plan for the unexpected. I am no expert, but these are just some things I have encountered that I feel if I write them down and share them with people, it might make their life a little easier.Have a will and a power of attorney. I have spoken with so many people that do not have a simple will. This has been a life saver and has helped ease the burden!
I was the one that had set up all the bills and for some unknown reason I had put them all in my husband’s name only. Make sure you put your bills in both of your names. It makes deleting a name a little bit easier.
Don’t put up with anyone’s crap when they say you need to have multiple items that declare your spouse has indeed passed away. I didn’t put up with anything. I did find working with PayPal was one of the most difficult tasks. They want everything including your firstborn. (Yes I’m being facetious!) After several telephone calls and trying to submit all of the documentation they demanded I again called them and got someone that said I needed to submit even more documentation. At this point I had had it and asked the nice person what I could do to get these things changed. I told him I had bent over backward trying to please them and no one else, including the life insurance and stocks, wanted as much as they did. He got the name changed without any further documentation.Make lists! This is an overwhelming process and making a list and marking things off and adding things as you think of them helps. It helps to see progress and as I would mark off something on the list I would feel like I finally got something accomplished. I don’t feel like it is a bad thing to add something to the list. The way I would look at adding an item is it is one less thing I have to remember. If it is on the list it will get done when I get to it. (I’m still keeping lists, it still helps after 2½ months.)
Don’t expect to get everything done at once. That will never happen. You still have things you have to do on a daily basis and all the other stuff gets done when you can. It would be nice if you could just blink your eyes and everything would be taken care of, but it doesn’t happen that way. I had some neighbors tell me their mother is still trying to get through things 2 years after the death of her husband.
Don’t let people tell you that you shouldn’t make any major decisions before a year after a spouse’s death. Life goes on and so do your feelings and needs. I am living in a huge home and it was big before Dan died. We had talked often of selling the house and moving to something smaller, maybe even moving to a new state or country. This was an easy decision for me and one that was almost instantaneous. Nine weeks after Dan died I had to put our 14 year-old dog down. It makes the house even that much bigger.I also found out shortly after Dan’s death that I needed to do something about the automobile situation. My car was 22 years old and having air conditioner problems and was stalling. We had talked about getting it repaired right before his death. Dan’s car was going on 11 years. I needed a car that could haul things and Dan’s car could not do that. Again, if I had listened to the people that said don’t make any major decisions for one year, I may not have the transportation I need.
Go through things at your own pace. Do not let anyone force you to get rid of anything until you are ready. Every so often, when time permits, I tackle another drawer in the office or a pile of things. Don’t get me wrong, my family has been more than helpful. Without their help I wouldn’t be as far along as I am. But they gave me the space I needed to get things done at my pace. No I still haven’t gone through the clothes, but that will come when I’m ready.
Understand that you have to start thinking on your own. After so many years it can be overwhelming, but you have to do it. I often think, would Dan have done it this way, or if Dan were here we would do this. I have had to do many things I had no desire to ever do in my life. It’s amazing to realize how many things your spouse took responsibility for. I always knew he did these things, it just amazes me the time and effort it took. I never wanted to do the hardware stuff for technology, that was Dan’s job, he liked doing it. I don’t, but I have had to learn. Just a few days ago I was griping at my brother that if he had bought the MacBookPro when Dan was alive I wouldn’t have to deal with trying to help him out, Dan would be doing it.This fantastic quote came across my e-mail today from Abraham-Hicks and it puts the way I feel about death into the best possible terms. I hope this will help others.
We're not wanting to be insensitive to what so many of you are feeling, but we are very much wanting you to put this death thing in the proper perspective: You are all going to die! Except there is no death. You're all going to make your transition into Non-Physical. It is time to stop making your transition into Non-Physical sound like a subject that is uncomfortable and begin acknowledging that it is something that happens to everyone. This death thing is so misunderstood that you use it to torture yourself never-endingly and just absolutely unnecessarily. There are those who feel such fulfillment of life and such Connection to Source Energy, who understand that there is no separation between what is physical and Non-Physical; who understand that there is not even a lapse in consciousness, that "death" is a matter of closing one's eyes in this dimension and literally opening one's eyes in the other dimension. And that, truly, is how all death is, no matter how it looks, up to that point.. The re-emergence into Source Energy is always a delightful thing.
--- Abraham
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
Why Do Men Think Women are Inept?
I have been wondering of late, why some men think women are inept at mechanical details. In the past few weeks this has happened to me three times and I’m getting a bit tired of it.
My Father used to work six days a week and Sunday was his only day off. My Mother, being the saint that she was, always let my Dad go golf on Sundays because he worked so hard. She always told me however, “Don’t expect your husband to do any of the work around the house or to fix anything, "Do It Yourself!” So that is what I have been doing all my life.
As it happens, I married a man that was not mechanically inclined. He didn’t like doing that type of work and so therefore I have done it all. I used to tease Dan that he was not allowed to use power tools. We have a canister vacuum cleaner and one time when I was out of town he decided he was going to surprise me and vacuum the house. He ran over is toes. He loved using my power tools, but I always had to be there to make sure he was safe.
When I wanted something I would ask for it for Christmas or my birthday. I have asked and received a few drills, augers, an awl, a Little Giant ladder with all the accessories, and numerous other tools that I needed to get something done around the house. I have fixed the sprinkler systems on two (2) houses, installed a dishwasher and disposals, chopped wood into kindling, repaired my husband, Dan’s car, when he went over a parking block and the front fender popped out, plus many other things.
A couple of weeks ago I came in from working in the yard and went straight upstairs to take a shower. To my surprise it was cold! That was one of the quickest showers I’ve taken in a long time. The frigid water was a bit perplexing as we just installed a new hot water heater 2 ½ years ago. I finished with my shower and went downstairs to see the basement flooded around the hot water heater. I called the company that installed the hot water heater and they had someone come right over. It was a young man in his mid to late 20’s. When they installed the new hot water heater they also installed a thermal expansion unit. This is about a one (1) gallon tank that sits above the hot water heater. When this young man, I’d like to say boy, but then that would tell you my age, looked around he found the blue bolt on this expansion unit had loosened itself. He comes over to me and said it needed to be checked every once in awhile and then he proceeds to say, “righty tighty, lefty loosy.” This made my blood boil, but I bit my lip and didn’t say a word.
I am also having my house painted. Our front porch faces south and gets the beating sun on it all year long. When it snows the snow sits on the top railing as well. Because of this I have had to completely sand then prime and paint the railing once and I was working on it again, thinking I would be painting the house myself. But I decided to have the house painted because I just didn’t have the time. The painter was asking me if my husband had sanded the railing. I looked at him with this rather stern look and said, no I did it and this is the second time I’ve done it.
So today, the same painter wanted to plug in an extension cord so they could play music and he went to the backyard outlet. I get a knock on the door and he said, this outlet doesn’t work, have you used it. I said I use it every week when I mow. He thinks the light needs to be on, which it doesn’t. I told him, quite possibly it’s because you guys just power washed this side of the house and the outlet is wet, but I’ll go check the breaker. It wasn’t the breaker but I did plug it in the house so they could have their music.
So for all you men out there that think all women are inept at anything mechanical, be forewarned. I’m not going to be so nice the next time some man assumes I don’t know anything!
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
My Father used to work six days a week and Sunday was his only day off. My Mother, being the saint that she was, always let my Dad go golf on Sundays because he worked so hard. She always told me however, “Don’t expect your husband to do any of the work around the house or to fix anything, "Do It Yourself!” So that is what I have been doing all my life.As it happens, I married a man that was not mechanically inclined. He didn’t like doing that type of work and so therefore I have done it all. I used to tease Dan that he was not allowed to use power tools. We have a canister vacuum cleaner and one time when I was out of town he decided he was going to surprise me and vacuum the house. He ran over is toes. He loved using my power tools, but I always had to be there to make sure he was safe.
When I wanted something I would ask for it for Christmas or my birthday. I have asked and received a few drills, augers, an awl, a Little Giant ladder with all the accessories, and numerous other tools that I needed to get something done around the house. I have fixed the sprinkler systems on two (2) houses, installed a dishwasher and disposals, chopped wood into kindling, repaired my husband, Dan’s car, when he went over a parking block and the front fender popped out, plus many other things.A couple of weeks ago I came in from working in the yard and went straight upstairs to take a shower. To my surprise it was cold! That was one of the quickest showers I’ve taken in a long time. The frigid water was a bit perplexing as we just installed a new hot water heater 2 ½ years ago. I finished with my shower and went downstairs to see the basement flooded around the hot water heater. I called the company that installed the hot water heater and they had someone come right over. It was a young man in his mid to late 20’s. When they installed the new hot water heater they also installed a thermal expansion unit. This is about a one (1) gallon tank that sits above the hot water heater. When this young man, I’d like to say boy, but then that would tell you my age, looked around he found the blue bolt on this expansion unit had loosened itself. He comes over to me and said it needed to be checked every once in awhile and then he proceeds to say, “righty tighty, lefty loosy.” This made my blood boil, but I bit my lip and didn’t say a word.
I am also having my house painted. Our front porch faces south and gets the beating sun on it all year long. When it snows the snow sits on the top railing as well. Because of this I have had to completely sand then prime and paint the railing once and I was working on it again, thinking I would be painting the house myself. But I decided to have the house painted because I just didn’t have the time. The painter was asking me if my husband had sanded the railing. I looked at him with this rather stern look and said, no I did it and this is the second time I’ve done it.So today, the same painter wanted to plug in an extension cord so they could play music and he went to the backyard outlet. I get a knock on the door and he said, this outlet doesn’t work, have you used it. I said I use it every week when I mow. He thinks the light needs to be on, which it doesn’t. I told him, quite possibly it’s because you guys just power washed this side of the house and the outlet is wet, but I’ll go check the breaker. It wasn’t the breaker but I did plug it in the house so they could have their music.So for all you men out there that think all women are inept at anything mechanical, be forewarned. I’m not going to be so nice the next time some man assumes I don’t know anything!
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
Rising Cost of Medical Insurance
We have been notified that my husband, Dan’s medical insurance is going to be increasing by about 70% starting next month. We have been paying over $373 a month for pretty poor insurance as it is. He has a $5100 deductible that has to be met before the insurance company even considers paying for anything. They have informed us they are increasing his medical insurance premiums to over $630 a month!
So I asked our insurance agent what the problem is. I have to say, she has not been the best insurance agent but I’ve stayed with her. She said, well it’s a combination of Obamacare and Colorado laws mandating coverage for everyone. The kicker here is Dan has to be covered for maternity!
I am not on this insurance policy. In fact, I have not had medical insurance for at least three years. I am trying to understand what makes these insurance companies think Dan could get pregnant? Are there some really unique experiments out there that Dan is going to participate in and become pregnant? Is there anyone else thinking, “huh?”
If anyone in the United States did not think this was going to be the result of Obamacare, then you have been living in the dark ages. Nothing is free. Someone has to pay for the people that cannot afford to have insurance..
We have been self-employed since 1990 and have had to cover ourselves and our employees ever since. As a small company, insurance was not always such a burden. When we first started our business, insurance was relatively inexpensive. But over the years with mandates from the various governments, insurance rates have skyrocketed!
I have informed Dan that if something happens to me, please just let me die. I can’t afford to be kept alive!
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
So I asked our insurance agent what the problem is. I have to say, she has not been the best insurance agent but I’ve stayed with her. She said, well it’s a combination of Obamacare and Colorado laws mandating coverage for everyone. The kicker here is Dan has to be covered for maternity!I am not on this insurance policy. In fact, I have not had medical insurance for at least three years. I am trying to understand what makes these insurance companies think Dan could get pregnant? Are there some really unique experiments out there that Dan is going to participate in and become pregnant? Is there anyone else thinking, “huh?”
If anyone in the United States did not think this was going to be the result of Obamacare, then you have been living in the dark ages. Nothing is free. Someone has to pay for the people that cannot afford to have insurance..
We have been self-employed since 1990 and have had to cover ourselves and our employees ever since. As a small company, insurance was not always such a burden. When we first started our business, insurance was relatively inexpensive. But over the years with mandates from the various governments, insurance rates have skyrocketed!
I have informed Dan that if something happens to me, please just let me die. I can’t afford to be kept alive!
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
Easter and Potato Salad
I’ve been thinking this week how late Easter was this year. Easter to our family means we can start having potato salad and pasta salad for the year. It was always a tradition with our Mom that the first big bowl of potato salad was served on Easter Sunday. She also would make ham, pickled eggs, which none of us kids would eat and still will not eat, some type of vegetable, homemade rolls and some type of cake with some type of coconut icing that none on us kids seemed to like. We had all of the Easter basket candy to eat so I’m sure we didn’t really want any cake at that point anyway.
Suffice it to say, we are very delayed in beginning to have potato salad and pasta salad for the year. It’s kind of like not wearing white shoes until Easter and never wearing white shoes after Labor Day. These were just things that one did not do as we were growing up. It must stem from our West Virginia background.
On top of not having potato salad until Easter, the recipe of our Mother’s potato salad is special. But she did not give any of us the true recipe because it was just trial and error. There were no measurements, nothing written down. My daughter, Page, hates this. She wants so much to make potato salad but my recipe has no measurements and when I do make it and she watches I just say, it’s all about how it tastes. I think she growls every time I say this. I am listing the ingredients below, but I can’t give you any idea as to how much of what goes in there. I just taste until I get something close. We think the secret ingredient to Mom’s potato salad was “LOVE.”
So this year with Easter so late I was wondering what made it so late in the first place. I don’t recall Easter ever falling this late in April. I thought it had something to do with the Christian calendar with Lent, but actually had no idea.
I had to do some research. The timing of Easter actually is a mixture of ecclesiasticism and astronomy, which was worked out by the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.
Easter must follow the spring equinox with regards to the pagan tradition of spring festivals. For convenience the Council set it for March 21st even though it can fall on March 20th.
Easter must closely follow a full moon in order to light the way for the pilgrims to travel to the festivals. The Council arbitrarily set the 14th day as the day for the Jewish Passover “paschal month” (in the Jewish calendar it is the lunar month when the full moon occurs after the equinox) as the day of the full moon.
Easter must follow the Jewish Passover to avoid conflicts.
Easter must fall on a Sunday.
The full moon this year was March 21st and the next lunar month would begin on April 4th. Therefore Passover was April 18th and Easter is then the next Sunday or April 24th this year.
Only once in the past 100 years has Easter fallen so late and that was in 1886. It will not fall this late again in this century. The earliest possible date Easter can occur is March 22nd. The last time Easter occurred this early was in 1818 and it will not occur this early in this century.
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
Suffice it to say, we are very delayed in beginning to have potato salad and pasta salad for the year. It’s kind of like not wearing white shoes until Easter and never wearing white shoes after Labor Day. These were just things that one did not do as we were growing up. It must stem from our West Virginia background.
On top of not having potato salad until Easter, the recipe of our Mother’s potato salad is special. But she did not give any of us the true recipe because it was just trial and error. There were no measurements, nothing written down. My daughter, Page, hates this. She wants so much to make potato salad but my recipe has no measurements and when I do make it and she watches I just say, it’s all about how it tastes. I think she growls every time I say this. I am listing the ingredients below, but I can’t give you any idea as to how much of what goes in there. I just taste until I get something close. We think the secret ingredient to Mom’s potato salad was “LOVE.”So this year with Easter so late I was wondering what made it so late in the first place. I don’t recall Easter ever falling this late in April. I thought it had something to do with the Christian calendar with Lent, but actually had no idea.
I had to do some research. The timing of Easter actually is a mixture of ecclesiasticism and astronomy, which was worked out by the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.
Easter must follow the spring equinox with regards to the pagan tradition of spring festivals. For convenience the Council set it for March 21st even though it can fall on March 20th. Easter must closely follow a full moon in order to light the way for the pilgrims to travel to the festivals. The Council arbitrarily set the 14th day as the day for the Jewish Passover “paschal month” (in the Jewish calendar it is the lunar month when the full moon occurs after the equinox) as the day of the full moon.
Easter must follow the Jewish Passover to avoid conflicts.
Easter must fall on a Sunday.
The full moon this year was March 21st and the next lunar month would begin on April 4th. Therefore Passover was April 18th and Easter is then the next Sunday or April 24th this year.
Only once in the past 100 years has Easter fallen so late and that was in 1886. It will not fall this late again in this century. The earliest possible date Easter can occur is March 22nd. The last time Easter occurred this early was in 1818 and it will not occur this early in this century.
Potato Salad
| Potatoes | Onion Salt |
| Eggs | Celery Salt |
| Onions | Celery Seed |
| Pickles (Pickle Juice or Sugar) | Mayo |
| Salt | Mustard |
| Pepper | Milk |
| Garlic Salt |
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
Simply From Scratch Carrot Cake
As my family can tell you I am not much of a cook. I don’t particularly like to cook. I use the crock pot a lot! It’s my best friend in the kitchen when it comes to cooking. When I do try to cook something that is considered gourmet, something out of my comfort zone it usually ends in a total failure! My comfort zone, by the way, is simple back home cooking, biscuits and gravy type of food.
However, I do love to bake! I love to make cakes, cookies, a secret family recipe of fudge, pies, bread, anything that I can find that stimulates my creative side.
Every year on my family members’ birthdays they always get the cake, pie, or whatever, of their choice. My sister Andi likes german chocolate cake, my daughter Page usually asks for a chocolate cream pie, my husband Dan has changed throughout the years.
This week Dan has celebrated his 62nd birthday, I asked him what he wanted for his birthday cake. (That’s a generic term for me because everyone knows whatever type of dessert they want they get.) His favorite used to be chocolate cream pie or coconut cream pie. It is now carrot cake. This used to also be my Mom’s favorite and I would make it for her birthdays.
None of those box cakes or pie crusts from the grocery store for me! No, I have to make everything from scratch. It just makes me happy!
Years ago I found one of those booklets at the grocery store checkout stands called “Simply from Scratch” by Pillsbury. To tell you how long ago it was when I found this booklet, it cost $2.25. Is there anything out there now that costs $2.25?
It’s not birthday cake without ice cream! My daughter, Page, has been telling us about Blue Bell ice cream for about two (2) years now. Page’s former supervisor, Colleen Nicholas, told Page how great Blue Bell ice cream is and every time she would go to Flagstaff, Arizona they would try to find it. Dan searched on the internet about a year ago to see if there was any place in our area that carried Blue Bell. At that time we couldn’t find a store that carried it. However, we went into WalMart this past weekend and found some so we decided to try it. The flavor brought me back to when my Dad would make homemade ice cream. What a delight this ice cream is! There is nothing better, except my Dad’s homemade ice cream.
Below is the recipe for the carrot cake, not the ice cream. I have had to change the icing recipe because Dan likes a layer cake and I have to increase the icing so there is PLENTY to go around. The more the merrier. (I told him this year I didn’t want to know what it did to his blood sugar.)
Carrot Cake with Creamy Supreme Frosting
2 ½ cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon, if desired (I usually add extra)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups shredded carrots (I usually add more than 2 cups)
8 ¼ oz. can crushed pineapple, well drained (They don’t make this size anymore so I just get the small can.)
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped nuts
We don’t particularly like the raisins and nuts so I don’t add these.
We also live at high altitude, above 3500 feet so:
Increase flour to 2 ¾ cups
Decrease sugar to 1 ½ cups
(This time I actually forgot to adjust the recipe for high altitude and the cake came out so moist. Dan told me to forget to adjust the recipe from now on.)
Creamy Supreme Frosting
(This is what the recipe calls for.)
8 oz. package cream cheese, softened (As cream cheese now comes in soft I buy that.)
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons margarine or butter, softened (I always bake with butter. Julia Childs would be so proud!)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup coconut
½ cup chopped nuts (Again, I don’t add these.)
Here is the Creamy Supreme Frosting recipe with the ingredients increased .
1 ½ cups package cream cheese, softened
3 ¾ cups powdered sugar
8 oz. butter, softened
4 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups coconut (or more)
1 cup chopped nuts (I don’t add these)
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 13x9 inch pan. (I use two (2) eight inch rounds.) Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside. In large bowl, combine sugar, oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla and eggs; beat well. Stir in flour mixture; mix well. Stir in carrots, pineapple, raisins and ½ cup nuts. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool completely. (I bake these for 45 minutes and then usually have to add about 5 more minutes, but I don’t want to over bake.)
In medium bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, margarine and 2 teaspoons vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in coconut and ½ cup nuts. Spread over cooled cake.
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
However, I do love to bake! I love to make cakes, cookies, a secret family recipe of fudge, pies, bread, anything that I can find that stimulates my creative side.
Every year on my family members’ birthdays they always get the cake, pie, or whatever, of their choice. My sister Andi likes german chocolate cake, my daughter Page usually asks for a chocolate cream pie, my husband Dan has changed throughout the years.
This week Dan has celebrated his 62nd birthday, I asked him what he wanted for his birthday cake. (That’s a generic term for me because everyone knows whatever type of dessert they want they get.) His favorite used to be chocolate cream pie or coconut cream pie. It is now carrot cake. This used to also be my Mom’s favorite and I would make it for her birthdays.
None of those box cakes or pie crusts from the grocery store for me! No, I have to make everything from scratch. It just makes me happy!
Years ago I found one of those booklets at the grocery store checkout stands called “Simply from Scratch” by Pillsbury. To tell you how long ago it was when I found this booklet, it cost $2.25. Is there anything out there now that costs $2.25?
It’s not birthday cake without ice cream! My daughter, Page, has been telling us about Blue Bell ice cream for about two (2) years now. Page’s former supervisor, Colleen Nicholas, told Page how great Blue Bell ice cream is and every time she would go to Flagstaff, Arizona they would try to find it. Dan searched on the internet about a year ago to see if there was any place in our area that carried Blue Bell. At that time we couldn’t find a store that carried it. However, we went into WalMart this past weekend and found some so we decided to try it. The flavor brought me back to when my Dad would make homemade ice cream. What a delight this ice cream is! There is nothing better, except my Dad’s homemade ice cream.Below is the recipe for the carrot cake, not the ice cream. I have had to change the icing recipe because Dan likes a layer cake and I have to increase the icing so there is PLENTY to go around. The more the merrier. (I told him this year I didn’t want to know what it did to his blood sugar.)
Carrot Cake with Creamy Supreme Frosting
2 ½ cups unbleached flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon, if desired (I usually add extra)
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
1 cup oil
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups shredded carrots (I usually add more than 2 cups)
8 ¼ oz. can crushed pineapple, well drained (They don’t make this size anymore so I just get the small can.)
½ cup raisins
½ cup chopped nuts
We don’t particularly like the raisins and nuts so I don’t add these.
We also live at high altitude, above 3500 feet so:
Increase flour to 2 ¾ cups
Decrease sugar to 1 ½ cups
(This time I actually forgot to adjust the recipe for high altitude and the cake came out so moist. Dan told me to forget to adjust the recipe from now on.)
Creamy Supreme Frosting
(This is what the recipe calls for.)
8 oz. package cream cheese, softened (As cream cheese now comes in soft I buy that.)
2 ½ cups powdered sugar
6 tablespoons margarine or butter, softened (I always bake with butter. Julia Childs would be so proud!)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup coconut
½ cup chopped nuts (Again, I don’t add these.)
Here is the Creamy Supreme Frosting recipe with the ingredients increased .
1 ½ cups package cream cheese, softened
3 ¾ cups powdered sugar
8 oz. butter, softened
4 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups coconut (or more)
1 cup chopped nuts (I don’t add these)
Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour 13x9 inch pan. (I use two (2) eight inch rounds.) Lightly spoon flour into measuring cup; level off. In medium bowl, combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; set aside. In large bowl, combine sugar, oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla and eggs; beat well. Stir in flour mixture; mix well. Stir in carrots, pineapple, raisins and ½ cup nuts. Pour into prepared pan. Bake at 350°F for 50 to 60 minutes or until cake springs back when touched lightly in center. Cool completely. (I bake these for 45 minutes and then usually have to add about 5 more minutes, but I don’t want to over bake.)
In medium bowl, combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, margarine and 2 teaspoons vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in coconut and ½ cup nuts. Spread over cooled cake.
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
What is ISO and where can you find it on your digital camera?
Every camera is different when looking for the settings you want for each photograph. I will be using the Canon 5D Mark II DSLR and the Panasonic Lumix DMC-TS2 point and shoot. These are both representative of most camera types and you can usually find the same settings on your camera by looking for similar information.The ISO setting refers to the film speed. Even though we don’t use film cameras much anymore, the ISO setting has the same function for digital cameras. ISO determines the sensitivity to the light. ISO speeds vary on each camera. My Canon 5D Mark II starts at 100 and can go up to 6400. The Panasonic Lumix goes from 80 up to 1600. There is an automatic setting for each camera. If you are in a hurry and want to get the photograph right away, use the automatic setting. Digital cameras do a fair job of automatically selecting the ISO for the type of photograph you are taking. However, if you are trying to set the shot or you are taking several photographs at an occasion and are going to be in the same situation, manually set your ISO to the film speed that will be appropriate.
The general rules for ISO settings are:
- Use an ISO of 100 or 200 when taking photographs outside.
- If you have a cloudy day or early evening ISO settings between 400 and 800 are best.
- Night time shooting requires a much higher ISO and you would want to set your cameras ISO to 1600.
So now you are probably asking, so why not set your cameras ISO to 1600 and leave it at that. The higher the ISO the more grainy your photograph will be. Therefore you need to use the lowest possible ISO setting.Another question that is often asked is where can I find my ISO settings?
On the Canon 5D Mark II and other DSLR cameras on the top right there is a LCD screen and several buttons in front of this screen. One of the buttons says ISO. Click this button and the ISO number will appear in the LCD screen. You would then move the Main Dial in front of the buttons and LCD screen to the appropriate ISO setting.
With the Panasonic Lumix and other point and shoot cameras you need to have your camera set to the Normal Picture mode where the dial looks like an outline of a camera. Click the menu button. At the top of the menu on the LCD will be some diagrams. Go to the one that will say Auto or ISO. Then you just move the arrow key to what ISO setting you desire.
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
Changing Perspective
There are times in a photographer’s life that taking photographs is more of a hurried thing. We normally like to take our time and frame our shots in the viewfinder. Less work at the end of a shoot!
However, there are those times when you have to hurry up to take a photograph. Below is one such instance. I was darting in and out of traffic, trying to frame the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe at 5:30 p.m. The sun was setting, the sky was a marvelous blue and the shadow from the front tree was just right.
But as you can see, the vertical lines of the cathedral are angling together at the top of the photograph. In some cases the photographer may intentionally want this effect. Here is a photograph, not intentionally taken this way, but it does serve the purpose. This photograph was taken in the majestic Redwood forest in California. The redwoods are dense and the sky peaks through the towering giants.
So how does one go about changing the perspective without having to purchase expensive software? There is a less expensive way, but you still have to purchase software.
I use Photoshop Elements 9 (PSE). Open the photo you want to change the perspective in PSE, click Filter and go down to Correct Camera Distortion. A window will open with the photograph in a grid. On the right hand side of this window are the controls for vignette, Perspective Control and Edge Extension. Under Perspective Control is a toggle for Vertical Perspective, which we will be working with in this photograph. Move your toggle switch to accommodate the way you want to reposition your photograph. When you have the vertical lines the way you want them click OK.
You will be taken back to the original window and your photograph will look like trapezoid. Next step is to take the Crop tool and crop the photograph to your liking.
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
How To Use a Simple Flip Video To Generate Referrals
This is got to be one of the most ingenious ideas I have come across in a long time. I read it on this weeks Joeann's Tuesday Tips! The video is called "How To Use a Simple Flip Video To Generate Referrals." This video is an interview by Michael Kiska aka "That Interview Guy" and he is interviewing real estate agent Shannon King.
Merry Christmas!
I know everyone is extremely busy this time of year. With shopping, baking, wrapping presents, decorating the tree, there doesn't seem to be enough time to sleep. Late nights and early mornings don't stop even at Christmas.
I just wanted to share a short video to bring some Christmas joy into your hearts. I hope everyone is finding someone to snuggle close to this year!
Merry Christmas! Here's to a Fantastic 2011!
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
I just wanted to share a short video to bring some Christmas joy into your hearts. I hope everyone is finding someone to snuggle close to this year!
Merry Christmas! Here's to a Fantastic 2011!
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
Thanksgiving Thoughts
Through the Law of Attraction I have been able to learn just how important it is to be grateful for everything I have. No matter how difficult the day, the last thing I do every night is take time to reflect upon what I am grateful for. Of course the list includes the most important people in my life, my home, food on the table, etc. So on those days that are trying, hectic, hair-pulling nightmares, what can I be grateful for? Most of the time I am grateful for the fact that I have the patience to work out the problems of the day in a relatively calm manner. 
I have learned that even the things I detest doing, dusting, the necessary yard work, house cleaning, cooking on some occasions, cleaning the bathrooms, these too are things I am grateful for. I am grateful I have a warm home, one that I have to dust and clean the bathrooms. I am grateful I have the ability to go outside and enjoy the wonders that abound in my backyard while doing the back aching work that needs to be done. I am grateful for having electricity and gas to cook with and warm our home. So even the things I do not like to do there is always a sense of gratefulness in my mind as I go about my work.
Thanksgiving just annunciates my gratefulness. I will be traveling today to go visit my daughter. She needs her mother to come for a brief visit and I am so happy to oblige. I am grateful we had some money in the account that I could fly to Memphis and spend some much-needed time with my daughter. I’m sorry that my husband could not come with me, however, we have an older dog that just cannot be left in the kennel anymore. But we are grateful that we still have the dog around to enjoy and that my husband is willing to stay home to dog sit.
I have learned there is a rainbow at every turn in my life. All I have to do is sit back and watch it happen. There is a reason for everything and I look at everything with a positive attitude.So with the warmth of family and friends around you, take the time to think of everything you are grateful for. Everything that happens in life has meaning and if you look at the positive it will all be good.
Enjoy your Thanksgiving! Give Thanks for All You Have!
Here's Another Feather In Your Hat!
