Huddled up and hunkered down

I am still in my pajama's and in no hurry to get dressed. Who knew that when we were still in Iowa we were being prepared for this weather in South Texas. This is the second time in our personal history that we have experienced snow here. The first time was Christmas Eve of 2004 and it was far more spectacular than this time. I located a few pictures from 2004.
From 2004:

From 2017:

My Christmas cactus and geranium are coming inside. After all the care I have done to get them here I do not want to lose them now.

Steam rising from the pool. I think it is safe to say water aerobics are canceled today.

I keep taking pictures as the snow accumulates. It is beginning to look like it might match the one of 2004

Lovely Afternoon ---NOT!!

I bought 3 simple items from Amazon late last week. I keep getting notices that my orders are undeliverable. I chatted with them after the first notice and thought it was resolved. I have received 2 more notices after that. I have received one of the 3 items. So we chat again and this is my exchange with them.
Chat:
Me: I have never had as much trouble before in receiving an order. I keep getting notices that parts of my order are undeliverable. This address has not changed in several years. I am losing my patience. What has happened to reliable Amazon??? The order numbers are Order# 114-7278543-xxxxxxx and Order# 114-1662188-xxxxxxx
Barbara Brooker 3707 E BUSINESS HIGHWAY 83 TRLR # 57
DONNA, TX 78537-3616
You are now connected to Sharayu from Amazon.com
Sharayu: Hello, my name is Sharayu. I'm here to help you today.
Me: Okay
Sharayu: I can assure you that I'm here to help and will do my best to resolve this.
May I place you on hold for 2 minutes while I look in to this?
Me: Yes
Sharayu: As the item are already being shipped out from us, and with the carrier you need to contact the carrier.
Me: I am sorry but that is your problem not mine. I have not received items you have shipped to me.
Sharayu: As an online retailer we rely heavily on the carrier to deliver our order, but there can be really unforeseen incidents which are beyond our control.
Me: So what if I never do receive them?
I want to return them then
Sharayu: Don't worry
I'll contact the carrier on your behalf.
Me: That is what I intended you to do in the first place
Sharayu: And they will delivered it to you within 48 hours.
Me: Okay.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
At the same time, I received our new social security amounts in the mail and mine is incorrect it shows me not getting my measly 2% increase. Butch got his correct amount but I did not. So what to do but call them. I have been on hold now for 30 minutes. I am trying to find alternatives. Perhaps I should call the Carroll office in Iowa.
PS. I decided to do that...3rd mistake.   Up to 15 minutes on hold with the Carroll office. Finally got someone. Medicare went up and knocked out my 2%. Butch's is okay. I do not get it but perhaps I am not supposed to.
So much for my nap!!!

Doctor in Texas

No, there is nothing wrong with me. In fact, I am probably healthier and feel better than I have in a long time.
On my last visit for a check-up of the surgery on my face, Dr. Poag spotted a place he thought should be biopsied. "Suspect" he called it. It has improved greatly since we have been here. In fact, it is kind of hard to find. I am following doctors orders however and made an appointment with a doctor we have gone to in the past. And he is referring me to a dermatologist in McAllen.
I have become diligent with sunscreen and wearing a visor so I am thinking it is okay.
We had planned a Mexico trip to see our friendly pharmacist, Hector. It was cold, (40's) and misting so we decided to wait for a more weather friendly day. After all the todo of my summer with doctors, I am down to one prescription medication. I am very happy about that.
Before the doctor appointment, we decided to check out a restaurant a block from the clinic. It was a place we had frequented in the past but then it closed. It reopened but we just never stopped there. I had noticed lots of vehicles around it. It is called Diana's and it is on Bridge Street. The back room was loaded with Winter Texans and the front room was full of locals, all men. One whole table was law enforcement. We were in the front and I was the lone female. The food was good and we will go back if we are in the vicinity.
So we came back home and essentially hunkered down and kept warm. Ham and Beans for supper.

New Computer Adventures

Okay, it has been 8 years since I have dealt with setting up a new computer and I am pleasantly surprised to find that I have done a thing or two in the past 8 years to make the transition easy.
First thing I did several years ago was started using a password saving program. There are a few of them out there and my choice is Lastpass. I pay for the premium edition but I did use it for years with the free version. Once you download and install the program you set up a master password. Lastpass does not know your master password so you must be sure to keep it so that you do know it. You can change it yourself but they cannot do it for you or even help you with it. When you are on a new website and make a password for it, Lastpass will ask you if you want to save it. You are putting the info into your Lastpass vault. You have full use of your vault by signing in with your master password and then you can find all of your websites and passwords.
 So since I have and use Lastpass all I had to do when I set up my new computer was to download and install Lastpass, sign in with my master, and visit any of the many websites I need to access and Lastpass would, at my request, fill it in for me.
The second thing I did was download and install Chrome, sign into Google and all of my stuff was at my fingertips. I download and install Mozilla Firefox as a backup browser.
Within 30 minutes I had my new computer up and running looking much like my old one.

As far as pictures, files and folders are concerned I have them backed up in Google Drive (cloud) and on 2 different external hard drives so I do not plan to transfer them to the new computer until wanted or needed.

Over the years I have developed a system that works for me on saving pictures. I can usually remember the approximate year, month or place a particular picture was taken. So now I keep them organized by years such as simply 2017 in my Pictures place. Then I make subfolders for each month (January 2017) of the year and yes I put the year behind the month as well. The way this works when looking for a particular photo is if I have it narrowed down in my mind to a particular year and I am looking at the month of January I know it is most likely a Magnolia Park picture I am looking for. If it is a biketrail picture I know it is April through September etc. It has taken me years to get this perfected. Because each of us has a mind of our own, it stands to reason each person would have to devise their own system. It greatly simplifies your life when you make order out of chaos. It can be fun to wade through an avalanche of unlabeled pictures but it can also be frustrating.

Now if you indeed have read all that you are a dedicated fan! So Congratulations and Thank You