Out of Our Rut

 As the summer moves along, we decided we needed to change our routine a bit, a vacation of sorts.

Friday we went to the Potawatomi Zoo in South Bend. The weather was beautiful. Everybody and his cousin decided to enjoy the nice day at the zoo. The main parking lot was full. My husband found a spot about two blocks away next to the adjacent park but not near the zoo entrance. He said there were only two other parking places and that people that came after him were parking in front of houses on the streets in the neighborhood next to the zoo. He had dropped me off at the entrance. I have a handicap parking placard now, but all of the designated places were full already. 

The zoo is relatively small. It has been upgraded in recent years.

It is laid out by continent, with South and North America combined. There is no Europe. 

One of the reasons I picked this zoo is because they have electric carts that you can rent.

You can feed the giraffes lettuce for a $3 fee, but they have other feeding options so that they sometimes ignore the people wanting to feed them.

Helen accommodated them. I overheard her name spoken by the zookeeper. I did not feed her, but they allowed folks like me to come closer to take photos. 

The lines were long for the train, feeding the giraffes, and especially for people buying lunch at the Lodge. 

The leopard was awake and alert unlike the lions. We only got a glimpse of the tiger as he chose to enter his "den" shortly after we arrived. 

We spent about 3 hours there (waited about 20 minutes to get food). 

Saturday we drove to nearby Columbia City and had breakfast at Pickles Cafe. The decor is garage sale hodgepodge.

Since Pickles sits right on the courthouse square, we walked around the Farmers' Market a bit. I was not feeling up to much shopping.

I bought a bouquet of flowers put together by 2-year-old twin boys re their father who owned the booth. He showed me video on his phone. They were not giggling nor bickering. They were quite serious about their job with colorful results.

With our lovely weather continuing today, we attended the boat-in worship at Oakwood Resort on Lake Wawasee. Attendance was down compared to past summers. We had to take a round-about route through the farm fields and country because Highway 13 has construction between North Webster and Syracuse. I wonder if that affected the turnout. 

We also did a jigsaw puzzle this weekend. My husband's sister has loads of puzzles and gave us some. 

Now we are heading out to Texas Roadhouse. I especially like their pork chops and tossed salad and rolls. Makes me hungry just thinking about them. It has been a while since we ate there.

Back to our routines next week except also a few medical appointments in Fort Wayne. It is going to warm up more next week, too. Glad we enjoyed the beautiful weather while we could. The freedom of retirement.

Successful Upgrade to Windows 11

 It was with some trepidation that I clicked on the Windows Upgrade button this morning. I had some time ago run the check to see if my computer was compatible. The nagging from Microsoft had definitely increased. 

I am pleased to tell you that the upgrade went well and was successful. It took a little less than 2 hours for the download and installation and updating to complete. Since I have Windows 11 on my laptop, I was not totally lost; but I use my laptop very little so I will need to familiarize myself with Windows 11 again. It is mostly figuring out how to navigate between things.

 All of my files and programs transferred fine. I was most worried about my old Office Home and Student for Windows 10. However, it did carry it over and put it in a "folder" called Your Windows 10 Apps. It is a little confusing because when you click on the Windows start button, you have Office products icons staring you in the face. I bought the office suite for my laptop, but I really do not want to invest in that for a 5-years-old pc. I haven't even learned how to use the more modern Office products on my laptop. I do know they are different from what I am used to. If I forget and click on the icon on my pc for Word, for example, it opens but wants me to purchase Office 365. So I have to remember to go to the Windows 10 app folder and click on the Word or Excel or Power Point icons there instead.

  I remember on my laptop desperately searching for the start/restart button on the display. It is at the bottom near your name. At least I know where that is on the pc from my laptop experience.

I can't complain. Things went well. Just remember to give yourself a block of time to let things happen. 

Eyeglasses from Costco

 This morning we went to Fort Wayne to pick up my new eyeglasses I bought at Costco.

Using my Medicare Advantage plan, I paid $40. Even without the insurance, the cost was $198. For no-line progressive bifocals. Hundreds of dollars less than what I paid 4 1/2 years ago at the eyeglass shop associated with the doctor that did the exam and wrote the prescription. The frames were less expensive, but I think the main savings were that Costco does anti-glare coating and scratch-resistant coating at no extra charge. For my last pair I think I paid about $100 each for those coatings and the insurance may have partially covered the scratch-resistant coating.

You do have to take in a written/printed prescription (nothing on your phone). You can get the exam at Costco; the optometrists are considered independent contractors. I had my exam from a local doctor. 

From date of order to finished eyeglasses was 10 days. Since we have Costco membership for my husband's hearing aids, getting eyeglasses there was a no-brainer. The optician who helped me select from my 3 possible frames and then did the measurements, told me that if I was unsatisfied with the prescription, I could go back to my optometrist and have him tweak the prescription. Costco would redo my lenses within 90 days with the new prescription at no added charge. 

I am still adjusting to the glasses, but I don't think I will need any changes.

Yesterday as I entered Martin's and headed to the produce section, I had to pass the floral department. Next to the aisle was a bouquet of 12 roses for $8.99. I couldn't resist. They called it a rainbow bouquet. They smell so nice.

My week is off to a good start. Hope yours is too.

Handcrafted Wooden Clock With Stained Glass

 

My husband partnered with one of his workshop buddies to add stained glass to a wooden clock that he made. The partner does stain glass pieces as his hobby while my husband does woodworking. The top photo does not do the oak wood grain justice because of being back-lighted.  The round puck is battery powered. The control allows different lights to be emitted from the puck. A very nice piece with practical use.