Welcome to Small Reflections


"Nothing is ever achieved without enthusiasm."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Duck photo source: Lisa's Chaos
I hope you enjoy your visit. If you're looking for something specific, check out the links to posts by category in my sidebar and down a ways. They'll assist with tracking down different types of posts found on each of my three blogs. You might also enjoy checking out the other sites: Sacred Ruminations, Blog Rolls, Bling & Blurbs, and Happily Retired Gal.

I hope you'll look around & leave comments
then visit me at my new blog ...

Giraffe Journal

and/or website ... Labyrinth Journal
both self-hosted at WordPress
where I publish as myself
rather than under a
pseudonym.

I've not had much time for posting or blog visits, but if you're interested I hope you'll find time to check out my new blog, Giraffe Journal or my Labyrinth Journal website ... both self hosted at WordPress.

Thanks for your visit and have a delightful day ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Wednesday, July 2, 2008

Thursday Thirteen #31 - 13 Really Good Things

Here's wishing everyone
a
wonderful (and safe) 4th of July weekend!
13 Really Good Things

1. My Dell Inspiron 1720 laptop arrived on Monday and it's very fast at 2.40 GHz with 4 Gigs of RAM ... and 360 Gig Hard Drive. Vista will take some getting used to, but so far I've figured most things out and am making a list of questions to ask when I finally call Dell Support.

2. The Quarter-finals of Wimbledon are finished (except for the last men's match between Schuettler of Germany & Clement of France) and it's looking like we might have another men's Championship Match between Federer and Nadal ... just like in the past 3 years.

3. Roger Federer's playing well. He lost just 10 points on his own serve in yesterday's match against Ancic ... serving better than ever with 70 Aces and 4 Double-faults so far in the entire tournament.


4. Roger's Semi-final match tomorrow is against Marat Safin who is playing amazingly well this year on grass. I'm looking forward to watching it because Safin could be the 'spoiler' here. He's got nothing to lose & has a big game.

4. I didn't get to watch yesterday's match between Nadal and

Murray because of rain delays and being on the West Coast (I'm not to happy with NBC about their decision to delay their coverage until 10am instead of airing live at 7am) ... but apparently Nadal played spectacularly!

5. Nadal's Semi-final will be against the winner of the Schuettler- Clement match (still in progress this morning) and should be easier than Federer.












6. Today the women play their Semi-final matches. (Not Serena, but) Venus Williams vs Elena Dementieva of Russia and (not Venus, but)
Serena Williams vs Jie Zheng of China. They're both
playing well, so it looks very much like the Williams sisters will play one another on Saturday for the Championship this year. The sisters are still in the Ladies Doubles draw and have a chance to win that title too.
Correction: (with thanks to Denise Patrick who set me straight in her comment this afternoon)

8. The Bryan brothers are 'still alive' in the Mens Doubles Draw ... and I believe are playing this morning.

9.
I'm learning more about Photoshop Elements6 with each new session of the class and the works so much faster and more efficiently on my new laptop.

10.
Yesterday I brought my new Dell with me and was able to help my friend Carol catch up. She missed Tuesday's class because she & her husband spent a long weekend with their daughter & SIL, so she'll be ready to take on today's lessons without missing a beat.

11.
Carol told me about a great place to buy a case for my new computer 'sfbags' and I plan to check them out later this afternoon.

12.
Today we're learning how to create 'books' and 'slideshows' with PSE6. I've started to reorganize my photos into folders with categories so I'll be able to find things more easily in the future. I wish I'd been doing this all along. Until recently they've been stored in folders by the date uploaded. I had most 'tagged' in PSE3 ... but trying to find pictures when outside of Photoshop Elements was tedious & time consuming.

13. I can finally open Google Reader (without causing my laptop to shut down) and have whittled down unread messages from (not 100, but) 1000+ to less than 700 ... so I'm hoping to be 'current' again soon. This correction is courtesy of a comment by Tamy ... (I get by with a little help from my friends) ... and I guess this is why I should make an effort to post EARLY (the night before) rather than rush around in the morning before leaving for class on Tuesdays & Thursdays ... Sigh!
Photo source: Yahoo Sports Photo, Tennis
~~~

For easy access, I’ve listed more T-13 links along with the Thursday Thirteen Blogroll at My Blog Rolls.

Thought for Today
"Don't live down to expectations. go out there and do something remarkable." Wendy Wasserstein

21 comments:

Carol said...

Congrats on scoring the new 'puter!

Susan Helene Gottfried said...

Ooh, a new computer! Congratulations! The Tour Manager just keeps replacing parts of mine. I miss the excitement of something new.

And I SO hear you on the Google Reader problem! Yowch!

Akelamalu said...

Yay you got your new laptop!

Murray was outplayed totally by Nadal! :(

Are you going to read those 700 posts in google reader? ((wink))

Robin said...

I would LOVE to do a photoshop class. Heck, I'd love to *have* photoshop. I'm still limping along in picasa.

storyteller said...

Carol – Thanks … it was well worth the wait ;--)

Susan – My old one was 6 years old and only had 515 MGs of RAM … just not enough to deal with busy blogs with lots happening and/or large photo filez. I should be set for another 5-6 years with this one! It’ll just take a while to get used to Vista after using XP Pro for so long.

Akelamalu – I’ve been celebrating since Monday!!! I heard about the Murray-Nadal match, but I would have liked to watch it. I’m miffed with NBC’s decision to not air it ‘real time’ on the West Coast because the ‘rain delay’ messed up the viewing window. They should know better!

Robin – I’ve enjoyed the classes I’ve taken this summer. I’ve finished the 2nd of 5 weeks of the Intermediate Class after completing 5 weeks of a Beginning Class and I plan to take the Advanced Class when it’s offered in the Fall.

To all – I appreciate you dropping by and will visit later (if I’ve not already done so today). I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!
Hugs and blessings,

Momisodes said...

Wow! Your computer used to shut down with Reader? You must be following quite a few blogs :)

That is amazing the sisters will be playing each other. I'm sure that has to be tough...

So glad you're enjoying the new computer!!!

PamelaMKramer said...

Congrats on your new toy! It sounds like a lot of fun. I like the shot of the two guys bouncing off each other. Happy TT and thanks for stopping by.

Denise Patrick said...

Congratulations on your new laptop. I'm going to buy myself a new one for Christmas.

It will be another Williams sister final for Wimbledon. You got their opponents wrong, though. I watched part of Serena's match again Zheng(sp?). Lie made her work for that win - it was a good match, right down to the final point, which was an "Oh no!!!" moment for Jie. I felt sorry for her even though I was rooting for Serena.

Thanks for visiting my TT!

Anonymous said...

If you are happy, then that's a happy thing. :)

I have a love/hate relationship with Google Reader...

threesidesofcrazy said...

Fun list! Check your numbers in #13 though. LOL Happy 4th

The Gal Herself said...

OK, I admit I haven't watched tennis since Jimmy Connors retired. BUT I'm a diehard Cub fan and recognize and admire your love of your sport and your players. It's infectious! Happy fourth, and thanks for your kind words on my TT.

storyteller said...

Sandy – Yup, GR locked it up … so did YouTube and blogs with lots of Photo Slides, Music Players, and links. I was worried that one of these days it wasn’t going to come back on once I turned it off with the power button (rather than shutting down the right way) … and that’s why I was so eager to get my new one. It’s been a long time since Serena and Venus have played one another in a Championship Final, so it should be fun to watch.

Pamela – Thanks … it IS fun. The guys doing the ‘chest bump’ are the Bryan brothers. They’re twins who decided to give up ‘singles play’ for ‘doubles’ a long time ago and they’ve won LOTS of tournaments and all the ‘majors’. The last I heard they were down match point when rain came … so that could present a real challenge (or help them turn things around).

Denise– Thanks for pointing out that I’d reversed the names this morning in my haste to post before rushing off to class. I’ve corrected the error in the post and given you credit. Please feel free to visit my Blog Roll and Awards Blog and ‘snag’ yourself an award of your choice to enjoy and pass along to others as a token of my appreciation. ;--)

Maggie – I loved Google Reader until I fell behind and it started causing my old laptop to freeze up. This new machine seems to manage the ‘huge numbers of unread messages’ just fine … so I’m hoping to catch up … and stay current again as I did initially.

Tamy – Thanks for pointing out my ‘numerical error’ in #13. I’ve fixed it and given you ‘credit’ for the assist. Please feel free to visit my Blog Roll and Awards Blog and ‘snag’ yourself an award of your choice to enjoy and pass along to others as a token of my appreciation. ;--)

The Gal Herself – Tennis is the one sport I watch faithfully (along with the Olympics every 4 years) … although I do enjoy other spots, I just don’t find the time. I make time for tennis however.

To all – I hope you’ve all had a delightful day and appreciate you dropping by and sharing your thoughts on my T-13. If I’ve not been to yours, I’ll do my best to visit later today … or tomorrow. Happy 4th of July to all!
Hugs and blessings,

Unknown said...

It looks like someone likes Tennis??? lol...Im glad good things happen to good people. Happy TT and thanks for stopping by:)

Forgetfulone said...

I'm not a big tennis fan, but I love my new HP/Compaq laptop! You will not only get used to Vista, but you'll learn to like it, too. I also just took a Photoshop class. Isn't it awesome? I only took the beginner class. Wish I could take an intermediate class, but I guess I will just have to self-teach. There are great tutorials online, though.

Eve said...

I think of you each time one of my programs is pre-empted for the tennis championships. lol It sounds as though you have a lot going on. It's good to be busy.

Hootin Anni said...

Love the snapshot on #8 of your T-13 storyteller!!! That's awesome.

I hope you have a great holiday and celebrate in style, peace, happiness and joy.

storyteller said...

the cabinet – Yup … I am addicted to good tennis! Visiting was my pleasure and I appreciate your comment here.

Forgetfulone – I looked at HP/Compaq before buying my Dell Inspiron because I had a Compaq Armada many years ago that I really liked, but in the end … I stayed with Dell and so far I’m happy with the machine. As for Vista, I’m sure I’ll adjust to it the way I did to XP Pro 6 years ago. I’ve already discovered things I like about it, though finding some things remains a challenge.

Eve – Heheh … Fortunately there are only 4 ‘majors’ a year, right?

Hootin’ Anni – I wish I could take credit for more than ‘finding’ the snapshot of the Bryan brothers, but it’s certainly a familiar sight to those of us who follow their matches.

To all – Thanks for dropping by my T-13 at Small Reflections today. Hope you have a wonderful weekend ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Betty said...

I enjoyed reading your TT. Did you make the graphic? It's nice. I know you are enjoying your new computer. I bought a new laptop 6 weeks ago, Vista, and it does take a little getting use to. I'll check out the site about where to go to buy a case for it. Thank you.

Happy 4th of July.

storyteller said...

Betty – Thanks for dropping by. No, I didn’t make the graphic, but I’m planning make some originals (and awards to pass along) as time permits … now that I actually know how to do this thing. Hmmm … that reminds me that I’ve not checked the site yet to order mine, so thanks. I hope you find something you like there. Carol and her daughter are both pleased with their carriers. Hope you’re enjoying your 4th of July celebrations ;--)
Hugs and blessings,

Tina Coruth said...

Congratulations!! :-)
hugs,
Tina

storyteller said...

Tina – I appreciate your good wishes and am delighted you've got time to visit again. Thanks so much.
Hugs and blessings,

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