It has been a quiet week. We did receive some snow, I worked on making my web site more mobile-friendly, and Pam and Becky began a new project in the laundry room. Here are more details.

While we didn’t have a white Christmas, NE Iowa did receive about 4 inches of snow the day after, making for a white New Year’s Day. I followed my usual snow clearing routine, clearing our sidewalks and around two sets of mailboxes. (The latter is mostly for the benefit of our carrier so she can easily access the boxes.) I suspect we will have snow for the rest of the winter; a cold spell of below-zero weather is expected later this week and I don’t see it getting warm enough to melt until next spring.

I began working to make my Galleries collection more mobile-device friendly. This entails a learning curve on my part, followed by adding code to my web pages. To aid in this effort I compiled a list of all the files that needed modification and the total came to 189. About 1/3 of these were supporting files, not just the pages you see.

I have made a good start but have a way to go. The problem is making a web page that looks good on a PC screen and also on a hand-held device such as a smart phone. The difference between the height vs width of the screens is substantial with smart phone screens being much taller in relation to their width. Pages get “stacked” on smartphone screens which changes their appearance. I am still working through this. However, my Galleries are now friendlier to hand-held devices and easier to view. If you have not visited them in the past, take a look at them now.

A part of the re-coding project was making the settings on all galleries the same. Variables include title position, transition time between photos when auto-play is turned on, margin settings, and other user-selectable options. Galleries are now uniform in these respects. I had planned on doing this as a separate project but now seemed to be a good time to roll these changes in as needed.

Pam and Becky started a new project in the laundry room. Pam has been planning to put a border stripe at the top of the walls, similar to what she did last winter in the library and the snug. Given the height of the walls in the laundry room (approx 10′), this is a challenge (Pam and Becky are approx 5’2″ in height).

Working in laundry room

The red ribbon band will eventually be added to each laundry room wall. The space on the north wall, shown above, will be filled with photos of our current and past dogs. Part of Pam’s Christmas gift was a total of 5 large photos for this purpose, 3 each in 16 x 20 size and a pair in 11 x 14. I’ll have more on this wall as Pam and Becky progress on the project.

Upstairs, there was a little surprise when Pam started un-decorating the Christmas tree; Pam found this little nest buried deep in the branches. (It was still intact after going through the shaking machine at the tree farm, as well as being manhandled up the Victorian staircase. Unexpected.) The nest featured a bit of egg shell and corn seed still embedded in the bottom. Some nesting pair will be missing their “digs” next spring.

Bird nest from Christmas tree

Speaking of birds, we have seen a couple cardinals — including a female– at our winter bird feeder, along with jays, woodpeckers, and the usual assortment of sparrows and small birds. Even though our neighbors have now put more feeders in their yards, we have an army of birds at our feeder (either through habit or because of the protective bush close to the feeder where the birds love to perch). I have to fill the feeder at least every other day. This is far more often than last year, but it’s enjoyable watching the birds from our library window.

So that’s it, a pretty quiet week. New Year’s Day will continue in that vein as we don’t have anything special planned. I do hope 2022 is a better year than 2021 (medically, politically, everything).

Photo Archive

I have a couple of “Places” to show this time.

Orcas Island off the coast of Washington
High Trestle on the Georgetown Loop Railroad
Inside the Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D. C.
One man band, Fisherman’s Wharf, San Francisco

That’s it for now. Thanks for looking in!

Pam’s Penny

Looking back on the month of December and visits from Toby and Caitlin, it was a real treat to enjoy conversations with young folks — as well as my sister — during the holiday season. Jerry and I typically have been a solitary duo during past holidays. Vaccines/boosters allowed this to happen.

Intense cold has settled in for a several-day stay, with the next round of frigid temps predicted a week from now. Back to the typical “let’s survive 8-10 weeks of frigid winter” pattern for January-February in NE Iowa. (I much preferred the “enjoying above-average temps” pattern in December.) Sub-zero is so-o-o hard on the catio cats, plus the dogs, when animals need to be outside.

Looking to 2022, I register some unease re: continuing COVID variants impacts and heightened political currents. (Voting rights, in particular, appear increasingly fragile as we ease toward midterm elections.) Jer’s cancer prognosis long-term has yet to be ascertained by the Mayo “mother ship.” We move forward – cautiously. Be well, everyone.

Happy Trails.