Cold winter's afternoon

I appear to have a working, fully connected new phone, and an old one which does everything except phone and text, as planned.  I did it all online, and after the old phone stopped working as a phone and the new one started, I added minutes to the new one.  Now to see if they applied the minutes (I do pay as you go, cheaper) to the correct phone.  My account has not caught up with all the changes yet.  But I kind of doubt they'd apply minutes to a discontinued device.  Anyway, I'll wait a day or two and check again.  I'm very pleased I managed it without the aid of a net.  Interestingly, the first text that told me the new phone had gone live, was my prescription service telling me they'd shipped me vital pills.

 

Meanwhile, the old phone

Looks exactly like the new one. Which it is, just more storage and some features which work better. And a battery that holds a charge.  The camera isn't wonderful on either, but at the price, I'm not fussing. Today, to be fair, it's gloomy and dark and rainy, so the camera didn't get much help with light.

The good thing is that the new phone, posing here, can wear all the purses I made for the old one. Several are the result of going mad making granny squares. I got on one of those tears you get on, where you are doing just one more, just one more. I folded them over and, amazingly, they work fine as purses, with a long strap, so that I can wear the phone all the time. This is vital to an older person living alone, especially in a house with stairs.

Here's one of many purses. I've given away a lot of these to people who kept on losing phones or who fell down at home where they couldn't reach the phone that flew out of their pocket on the way down.

Then, on a more peaceful and thoughtful note, I've started reading Sand County Almanac, written by a naturalist who was a professor at the University of Wisconsin Madison, a town I used to live in, though twenty years after his death, so I know some of the geographical references. He's a wonderful thinker, about history, and preserving the natural surroundings, and knows a lot about the progression in various misguided directions, of Wisconsin and its attempts to  dominate the land and farm, and unfortunate effect on the wildlife.

It's sad yet very instructive and he understands so much about the movements of wild creatures and why.  It's set up in three sections, and I just started on the first, arranged by month. I've read January and February.   Not the sort of book you plunge through in my usual fashion, but one you have to stop and think about.  His description of the lightning- struck oak on his farm and how they eventually felled it and what it had witnessed in its life since probably the Civil War era, is an education in itself.  I do recommend this.

It's illustrated by Charles Schwarz, whose signature you can just see in the bottom right of the cover

Then, this evening and maybe a couple more, will be passed under a blanket, with a cup of golden milk, watching

 I have finally got hold of the third season, only a few years behind the rest of the viewing world, who has now galloped past the next one,  and is waiting for the one after that. I'm hoping for good hats.
 

Dull soup and interesting Misfits

The Misfits box arrived two days late, but in good condition.  Holiday delay.  Meanwhile, I had made a soup that looked quite dull, but tasted excellent.  Red onion, pink bean, leek white, celery, garlic, chicken stock.  The little sprig of Thai basil I put on top because it's handy, grows right in the window next to the stove, and because just resting on the surface like that for a few minutes, gives a nice licoricy, subtle, flavor. 

This is the kind of soup that's better on Day Two, lovely deep flavor.  With a hot biscuit.

And finally, a thump at the front door, visiting Handsome Son went to retrieve two boxes, one containing my new phone, one the Misfits wanderers. Both arrived in the same van.

All present and in nice condition, the delay not having hurt anything, it seems. So now I can have carrot and cashew soup soon, and immediately a lovely salad. My onion supply is topped up again, and I even broke out and ordered a butternut squash, thinking it will probably go well with the pumpkin I have in the freezer, one way or another.  The lettuce is lovely, huge and very crisp.

I also added in two Meyer lemons, as well as the other lemons,but I don't know which they are, not being familiar with them, so I'll have to to a bit of spot testing I guess. They are unknown in our stores, as far as I've ever observed, but I hear such good things about them, that I thought I'd try them.  Tons of apples this time, several varieties. Various potatoes.

And here's the salad I've been waiting for, red cabbage, lettuce, cilantro, dressed with the walnut vinaigrette I was talking about.  And it went down very well.

The new phone is up and running with everything except the phone function, which I will get activated tomorrow at the Tracfone site. It looks very much like my old phone, except the case is smaller, but the screen is the same size.  Right now everything seems to be working fine, and it's doing okay.  I was able easily to transfer my contact list and virus protection, and passwords, no problem at all. These were the items I wondered about since in the past I've had to hand carry the contacts and deal again with the virus people.  Very handy that HS was here, since it shortened considerably the time needed to set up the new phone with two people, one at the new phone, one at the old, sending stuff back and forth.  He also picked out the most vital bits of print information that came in the box, ready for me to activate. 

So tomorrow I'll have the carrier transfer my old number to the new phone, activate the phone, and carry over the minutes I already have on the old one. All on line. This phone has an intact rocker switch, what a treat, I'll be able to adjust the volume.

And tomorrow if the ice storm doesn't materialize, I'll be picking up some interesting items at the library:  the Crown, Series Three! which they bought at my request.  This should be interesting, since the second series ended at the point where I left England, so it will be a new view of what's fictionally been happening there since then. I'm years behind on this one.

And there's the Half Baked Harvest cookbook for the next Bite Club selection. That might incorporate some of the produce from this week.  And Sand County Almanac, which was recommended by various naturalists, and I thought I'd like to see what they're all excited about.

I think Tartine has pretty much had its turn.  The shortbread was lovely, and I can't see much else calling to me. Even if it does have a ribbon bookmark. So it can return to its friends in the cookbook section.