What are U doing today? (Ongoing thread) Showing 6,101-6,150 of 8,509

[Jim]

Congrats. I use my Kindle for reading only. A real keyboard is so much easier.

[Werner]

Joy, you're braver than I am, since you've at least tried the tablet!

Although I used computers in my work starting in the early 90s, where home use is concerned, I was late getting into the computer revolution, and didn't own a PC or have a home Internet connection until this century. I unexpectedly fell in love with it (especially since joining Goodreads!). But personally, I'm completely satisfied with PC technology, and don't want to "upgrade" to a tablet. The idea of being continuously connected doesn't appeal to me, and I'm accustomed to the relatively large screen and the convenience of a mouse and a keyboard.

[Nina]

Me too, Werner.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Congrats. I use my Kindle for reading only. A real keyboard is so much easier."

Jim, I was just practicing so that I could use the Fire keyboard for completing the prompts there, not for email. I just needed somewhere to practice. So I chose my GR group, knowing my friends here would understand. :)

[Jim]

Makes sense, Joy. A lot of people like the devices since they're smaller. More power to them. My kids read books on their phones & often swap between audio & print versions depending on what they're doing. Everything about them is too small for me save the one thing I want one for - the phone part. They're too big & not shaped right for that. Oy!!!

Whatever makes them happy, although this always connected thing is often rude & I won't put up with it. If I'm talking to someone & they start texting or answering emails, I walk away. I ticked off one of my users doing that the other day. I told her she had a choice - she could either get my help with her computer issue or she could play on her phone. I'm not going to try to work through her issues with half her attention, though. It's not just priorities, but politeness.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Werner wrote: "... But personally, I'm completely satisfied with PC technology, and don't want to "upgrade" to a tablet. The idea of being continuously connected doesn't appeal to me, and I'm accustomed to the relatively large screen and the convenience of a mouse and a keyboard."''

Werner, I'm in complete agreement with you! I too love my PC! However, I couldn't stand not knowing what a Kindle was! I HAD to find out. LOL

Besides, with a Kindle (this one is knowns as "Fire"... they dropped the word Kindle but it's still a Kindle), ... I can search the book for certain words and quotes that interest me. For example, I enjoyed the audible version of Reading Jackie: Her Autobiography in Books so much that I wanted to read it again, searching out the special quotes which I remembered from the audio. The book is fascinating.

The learning curve is steep for me on the Tablet but I'm finding it stimulating to learn something new, albeit frustrating too! LOL

Instead of page numbers they use "location numbers". That's how I'm learning how to orient myself in the digital format of a Kindle book.

I'm spending a lot of time on the phone with Amazon Help but the reps are very good and the call is free...with no waiting.

[Jim]

Erin & I went to the Wool & Fiber Festival over at Masterson Station (where we often ride horses) today. It was a lot of fun. I got to chat with various experts & learned a lot. I also got a great deal on a wool fleece & some other fiber (a wool-alpaca mix) & some Jaquard acid dyes. We got to pet some Angora rabbits, goats, & saw a baby alpaca plus saw some sheep being sheared. We've actually helped with that, so it wasn't that interesting. We were hoping to see an alpaca get sheared since the process is somewhat different, more akin to clipping a horse. Unfortunately, they weren't doing any while we were there.

It was a good way to spend a rainy morning. I've got a lot to do around the place, but it was too wet all day, so it was a lazy one. We got back after lunch & I spent an hour walking Brandon through figuring out how to redo his basement stairs. James called & we chatted for quite a while, too. It's good to hear they're both doing well & have as many projects as I do. I spent most of the rest of the day out in the shop fiddling.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "... this always connected thing is often rude ... If I'm talking to someone & they start texting or answering emails, I walk away...."

I agree, Jim. It's almost sick the way people are attached to their iphones. Seems no one ever gives you their full attention anymore. They've always got their nose in the little screen. Even in the supermarket. There's no one I want to talk to that much! LOL

I think a lot of the kids are absorbed in games on their devices. Games seem to be big on the Internet.

I must admit the Eddie gets annoyed with me because he has to wait for me to finish my postings before I can talk with him. At least I'm not bored. :)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Erin & I went to the Wool & Fiber Festival over at Masterson Station (where we often ride horses) today. It was a lot of fun. I got to chat with various experts & learned a lot. I also got a great ..."

Jim, it must be nice to spend time like that with your kids.

There's an alpaca farm in Ticonderoga and I went there with the Red Hatters a few years ago. Very interesting. They're kind of cute. Their fur is so soft. I spent 40 dollars on a small figure of an alpaca with real fur. My granddaughter discovered it on my shelf and she marveled at how soft the fur is. It's like feeling air. That's how soft it is.

[Jim]

Alpaca fur is amazingly soft. I've spun a lot of it into yarn since the gal that gave me my spinning wheel used to own several & she gave me a bunch to practice on. It dyes well, too. I've spun up more of it than wool. It's what I carded into Speedy's fur to make the yarn I crocheted into the stuffed pony for Erin. Versatile stuff.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Alpaca fur is amazingly soft. I've spun a lot of it into yarn since the gal that gave me my spinning wheel used to own several & she gave me a bunch to practice on. It dyes well, too. I've spun up ..."

Is there any kind of fur that might be softer than alpaca fur? How about Angora (from a rabbit)? Which is softer, alpaca fur or angora rabbit fur? Also, which is softer, alpaca fur or cashmere? How does mohair rate as to softness?

The following is from Wiki:
================================================
"Angora wool":
"Angora hair or Angora fibre refers to the downy coat produced by the Angora rabbit. While their names are similar, Angora fibre is distinct from mohair, which comes from the Angora goat. Angora fibre is also distinct from cashmere, which comes from the cashmere goat.

Angora is known for its softness, thin fibres, and what knitters refer to as a halo (fluffiness). It is also known for its silky texture. It is much warmer and lighter than wool due to the hollow core of the angora fibre. It also gives them their characteristic floating feel."
FROM: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Angora_...
==============================================

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PS - Here's an interesting page with interesting links.
It's called: Wool (disambiguation):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wool_%2...

WOW! There's a lot to know about a simple word like "WOOL"!

I'll never use the word loosely again! LOL All my life I have hated wool because it's so itchy. Now I realize that that was only sheep's wool that I was thinking of.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PPS - Is alpaca wool called hair or fur?

[Nina]

When I was a teenager before that word was even in anyone's vocabulary we girls all wore angora sweaters. It was a lovely feeling. What will you make with your angora, Jim?

[Jim]

Lots of questions. Fur/hair/fleece... yeah. I don't know either. Once it's cut, it's called roving. In horses, we call their body fur that because it sheds every year while their manes & tails have hair which has to be cut. Confusing. The scientific definitions never made any sense to me & I think they've changed somewhat over the year.

While there is a breed of goat called an Angora, in spinning up goat hair, many breeds can supply mohair for the hobbyist, apparently. It's pretty much any goat with a fine undercoat which can be plucked or combed out, not sheared. Only Angora goats have all their hair/fur that soft. Rosie, my red Kinder goat, could supply it with plucking, but has too many guard hairs to make it worth shearing her. Her full sister, Buttercup, doesn't have the soft undercoat at all. I know that's not in the Wikipedia entry nor in my copy of The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook, but that's what I found being sold yesterday.

All the different fibers can have varying degrees of softness. It's complicated. It depends on the animal (breed & species), how the fleece/hair/fur is cleaned, carded, spun, & woven together.

Mohair has 3 different grades that are somewhat dependent on the age & curliness of the goat that it's sheared from, I believe. The Angora spends an inordinate amount of energy growing its fleece & is usually sheared twice a year, so is pretty much limited to the southern US - Texas in particular. The youngsters, practically kids, have the softest & most highly prized fleece.

Angora rabbits are usually plucked by the hobbyist, but I think others shear them. That probably makes a difference & there are different breeds of them too: French & English, plus another one or two, IIRC. I think their fur remains about the same all their life.

Alpacas have different breeds & are sheared, but their fleece gets shorter & tougher as they get older. I don't think babies are sheared, but their belly fur can be too fluffy & short to spin easily.

Sheep! Oy!!! They vary so much by breed you can't believe it. Icelandic sheep wool is long & coarse. Very tough stuff, but there are other breeds that have longer & are even more coarse. Merino have very soft wool that is about as long, 3" is typical. There are a LOT more variations.

Cleaning the fleece or fur can have a huge effect. Some hair is very sensitive to certain chemicals & temperatures. Harsh chemicals or too high a temperature can easily ruin or sometimes help with the softness of a specific fiber.

Carding or aligning the fibers can have a huge difference. There are hand carders which I use to make rolags that I then spin. The fibers are mostly aligned, but rolled up at right angles to the spin & tend to interlock more than if I buy roving that was run through a drum carder which makes long, perfectly aligned batts. There are also combs that come in a variety of lengths & numbers that can be used on fibers that create a different fluffiness in the spun material or so I've been told. I saw a set of combs for $125 at the festival. My hand carders are around $50 & a decent drum carder starts at $600. There are other variations, too.

Then there is the spinning. Any fiber spun very tightly will get hard, but it has to be spun tightly enough to hold together, have enough tensile strength to be pulled of the bobbin, at the very least. It can be a fine line. A lot depends on how thick the thread is that's spun, the coarseness of the fibers (how well they hang together along their sides), how they're interlocked from the carding process, if they're curly, & more. Most yarn is made of thinner threads that are then plied back together. How tightly & how many strands are plied makes a big difference, too.

Mixed fibers can be prickly when softer fibers bind harder ones at angles, so mixing them can be difficult. Speedy's fur was short, thick, & slick, so I couldn't spin it together unless I did it very tightly - so tight that it was hard as a rock & then it still pulled apart at times. I fixed that by carding it with about 20% alpaca & the result was a single ply yarn that held together, but was prickly as a cactus.

Then there is how the thread or yarn is put together. A loose knit is going to be softer than if the yarn is tightly knit. Some fabrics, like satin, can be very smooth & yet are hard as compared to a knitted afghan which is open, although parts can be very hard.

The Fleece & Fiber Sourcebook is a huge book with most fibers in it. I refer to it fairly often & still don't know much about it. Very complicated subject. I'll bet you're sorry you asked now.
;)

[Jim]

Nina wrote: "When I was a teenager before that word was even in anyone's vocabulary we girls all wore angora sweaters. It was a lovely feeling. What will you make with your angora, Jim?"

What word, Nina?

I don't have any rabbits & don't plan on getting any. They take a lot of maintenance. Nor am I going to try plucking enough out of Rosie. I tried combing her once to get some, but the process just annoyed both of us.

I have neighbors with llama, sheep, & alpaca so I can usually get some when I want it. Most isn't great quality, although I've spun some from all of those. I also spun up Juneau's undercoat. He's Jackie's Malamute dog. I made her a hat, scarf, & a hoodie scarf plus a scarf for myself. His undercoat was as soft as Alpaca or Angora. The fleece I got a the Wool festival should keep me busy for quite a while, too. Actually, right now I have a lot more fleece & yarn than I do knitting & crocheting projects. I'll dye some more up eventually, too.

[Nina]

Joy, I referred to the word "teenager" as I said when I was a teenager before that word was known.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Lots of questions. Fur/hair/fleece... yeah. I don't know either. Once it's cut, it's called roving. In horses, we call their body fur that because it sheds every year while their manes & tails have..."

Thanks for your report, Jim. You get A+! LOL

I always wondered about Merino wool. I guess it's not as itchy as other sheep's wool. I have always disliked wool because it always felt itchy to me.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "When I was a teenager before that word was even in anyone's vocabulary we girls all wore angora sweaters. It was a lovely feeling. ..."

I remember those angora sweaters, Nina!

[Nina]

Joy, did you ever have what they called a twin set/one with short sleeves and a matching one with long sleeves.? Reading a book I really am enjoying, "The Marriages of Opposites," by Alice Hoffman.

[Nina]

PS It is a library book and I am also reading another one that seems good so far and it's on my Kindle, "Letter from Peking," by Pearl Buck. Both books have excellent writing.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Yes, Nina, I remember those sweater sets.

I haven't read either of the books you mentioned although I have read books by both authors. I liked Pearl Buck's books better than Alice Hoffman's.

[Nina]

Cheers, Joy. Good start/now to the finish line.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Go for it, Nina! LOL

[Mary JL]

I have now finished the first three volumes of Anne Perry's World War One series. Two more volumes left---started number four yesterday---At Some Disputed Barricade. It's really one long story but I am really enjoying it.

[Mary JL]

Everyone have a great Memorial Day.

My friends, I wanted to tell you I will not be posting for a while. I am having open-heart surgery the first part of June. I probably will not feel well enough to post for a few weeks.

Save my seat---I'll be back!

[Jim]

Oh! Hope all goes well, Mary!!! Good luck.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Mary JL wrote: "I have now finished the first three volumes of Anne Perry's World War One series. Two more volumes left---started number four yesterday---At Some Disputed Barricade. It's really one long story but I am really enjoying it."

Glad to hear you're enjoying it, Mary. Thanks for posting.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Mary JL wrote: "Everyone have a great Memorial Day. My friends, I wanted to tell you I will not be posting for a while. I am having open-heart surgery the first part of June. I probably will not feel well enough to post for a few weeks. Save my seat---I'll be back"

Mary, your seat is saved! It's got a big sign on it which says: RESERVED FOR MARY JL !

We wish you good health and we send good thoughts and prayers.
Love from the crew here at GF Book Club! xxx

[Werner]

Mary JL, we'll miss you while you're offline, but we know you need to take some time out to get well. Hang in there; my prayers are with you that the procedure will be a complete success! We'll be looking forward to having you feeling back to normal again very soon. (Think of your convalescence as a great opportunity to get some quality reading done, with nobody complaining that you should be doing something else! :-) )

[Nina]

I second all the above wishes and would like to add my husband had open heart surgery twenty years ago and has been doing fine ever since and My wish for you is that you go the same route and my prayers will accompany you. We will all welcome you back whenever you are once again able to come visit.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

My brother-in-law (81 years old) had open-heart surgery about a month or two ago. He's doing fine now. These are amazing times! Mary, you'll do fine!

[Jackie]

Mary, Wishing you a speedy recovery and seeing you back here soon.

[Nina]

I hope you can soon start reading your fourth in the series of WWI and best recovery wishes in the meantime.

[Mary JL]

Thank you all for your kind thoughts. After cardiac rehab, I should feel much better and regain some endurance! It will be nice not having the surgery hanging over my head----want to get it over with.

Definitely looking forward to reading during convalescence!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Mary JL wrote: "Thank you all for your kind thoughts. After cardiac rehab, I should feel much better and regain some endurance! It will be nice not having the surgery hanging over my head----want to get it over wi..."

Mary, I thought of you while I was eating my key lime pie tonight. It's full of bad calories and cholesterol. Not healthy. I don't think I'll be eating much key lime pie in the future. (But I will finish what's left.) :)

[Nina]

Joy, I've been eating Key Lime pie for over twenty years and so far no open heart surgery.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "Joy, I've been eating Key Lime pie for over twenty years and so far no open heart surgery."

You must have good genes, Nina. Perhaps you have found a kind of key lime pie that is more healthy. The one I have seems very fatty. I still have the box and another piece left. I will list the nutrient info here later.

[Jim]

Cholesterol seems to be mostly a genetic issue in my limited experience. No one in my family has ever had an issue with it & we always ate rich foods like Granny's Scottish Shortbread cookies which was a 9" square pan with a pound of butter in them. A friend of mine & his family both watch what they eat very carefully & have always had a problem with high cholesterol, even the kids who have watched their diet since birth.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PS-Nina, here are the Nutrition Facts from Edwards Key Lime Pie:
Serving Size: 1/8 Pie

Total Fat: 22 g - 34%
Saturated Fat: 17 g - 85%

Cholesterol: 59mg - 17 %

Nina, what brand of Key Lime Pie do you use?

Here's the link to Edwards Key Lime Pie:
https://www.edwardsdesserts.com/produ...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Jim wrote: "Cholesterol seems to be mostly a genetic issue in my limited experience. No one in my family has ever had an issue with it & we always ate rich foods like Granny's Scottish Shortbread cookies which..."

Jim, that's a good point.

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PS-There is also the issue of "good cholesterol" and "bad cholesterol". Here's a good link to info about it:
https://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/m...
The above-linked page has an easy to read chart with numbers for LDL (bad) and HDL (good).

LDL (bad) cholesterol–the main source of cholesterol buildup and blockage in the arteries

HDL (good) cholesterol–HDL helps remove cholesterol from your arteries

[Werner]

In certain amounts, cholesterol is needed in human biochemistry, so the human body manufactures it, using fat as a main ingredient. (So do animal's bodies, which is why it's contained in meat and dairy products.) Excessive amounts of "bad" cholesterol in the bloodstream tend to create plaque deposits on the walls of arteries, which can cause fatal blockages. (There's also "good" cholesterol, which doesn't form plaque.) Gorging on fat and dietary bad cholesterol all of the time probably isn't healthy for anyone, but it's worse for those of us whose systems have a genetic tendency to overproduce cholesterol anyway. I didn't learn that I had this problem until 2001, when it was discovered that I had a 95% blockage in one artery. Thankfully, the problem was corrected with a stent. But I'm sure the same sort of problem was a cause of my father's death at the age of 52 from a heart attack.

If anyone has a similar physiological problem, the main tool for managing it is a low-cholesterol, low-fat diet. Exercise helps to metabolize cholesterol before it can build up in the arteries. Small daily doses of garlic and of fish oil or flax seed oil will also help to metabolize it. (Flax seed oil would be more recommended for females, because it also increases estrogen levels.)

[Werner]

Joy, thanks for the link! It looks like you posted while I was typing my comment above. :-)

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Werner wrote: "Joy, thanks for the link! It looks like you posted while I was typing my comment above. :-)"

Werner, thanks for posting your cholesterol info as well. Yes, we were both busy bees at the same time. :)

Glad to hear that the stent solved your problem. I'm sure that wasn't easy to go through.

As for LDL and HDL, I usually can't remember which is the bad and which is the good. So I'm going to try the following mnemonic:
L is for LOUSY and H is for HEAVENLY. I'll probably forget that by tomorrow. :)

[Werner]

Joy, even if you don't remember that mnemonic, I'm sure I will (I've never been able to Keep those two straight, either). Thanks for sharing it!

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Werner wrote: "Joy, even if you don't remember that mnemonic, I'm sure I will (I've never been able to Keep those two straight, either). Thanks for sharing it!"

Werner, I once took a "memory" course. They told us that the more ridiculous the mnemonic is, the better it will be remembered. As an example, I remember the following mnemonic for the name Meisterman (in case you are introduced to a man named Mr. Meisterman with bushy eyebrows):

The mnemonic would be: "Me stir man's eyebrows"

[Nina]

I never heard of the word, mnemonic so can you give me the meaning?

[Joy H., Group Founder]

Nina wrote: "I never heard of the word, mnemonic so can you give me the meaning?"

Nina, a mnemonic is a device, such as a formula or rhyme, used as an aid in remembering.

See all the links at: http://www.onelook.com/?w=mnemonic&am...

[Joy H., Group Founder]

PS-Wiki has lists of common mnemonics used as memory aids. See the Wiki link at:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of...