My Kindle Review

/ Ally Bean / 10 Comments

Because many people in real life have asked me about it, I decided to post my review of the Kindle here in the blogosphere.  I have received no money or other compensation for this review, so fear not FTC.  Everything is cool here.

On the plus side:

– it is very easy to use.  The buttons make sense and are easy to manipulate.

– it is incredibly easy to read in all light.  The clarity is amazing and puts my iMac laptop to shame.

– it is nice to be able to change the font size.

– it is fun to play games on.  The games are free or about $3, so the price is right.

– the leather case [without the light] that I bought extra is ingenious and makes holding the Kindle very easy.

– it is portable.

– many Shakespeare plays and classic books are free.

On the negative side:

– I don’t envision me ever thinking that this little gadget is a book.  It is lovely for reading in short bursts, but to sit down with this and dawdle over a book– not so much.

– the battery doesn’t last as long as advertised.  I’m recharging once a week, not every 3 weeks.

– all books aren’t available on it.  For instance, the Harry Potter series is not part of the collection.  Nor are all the books in a series of mysteries that I like.  My idea was to have complete collections of certain authors so that I would always be able to read them whenever/wherever I wanted.  This is not going to happen.

– subscriptions to newspapers are expensive and the choice of what is available is very limited.

– subscriptions to magazines are available, but I like to read mags with lots of photos in them so for me the Kindle is useless in this area.

Conclusion:

I like it, but it is different from a book.  I liken the Kindle to instant coffee and a book to brewed coffee.  Each has their place, but they aren’t interchangeable.

The “If I Were…” Meme

/ Ally Bean / 11 Comments

[just ‘cuz it seems like something fun to do]

~ ~ • ~~

if i were a month i’d be May

if i were a day i’d be Tuesday

if i were a time of day i’d be 1:00 p.m.

if i were a font i’d be Palatino

if i were a sea animal i’d be an oyster

if i were a direction i’d be left

if i were a piece of furniture i’d be a kitchen table

if i were a liquid i’d be bourbon

if i were a gemstone i’d be a garnet

if i were a tree i’d be a willow

if i were a tool i’d be an allen wrench

if i were a flower i’d be a tulip

if i were an element of weather i’d be a zephyr

if i were a musical instrument i’d be a guitar

if i were a colour i’d be cyan

if i were an emotion i’d be contented

if i were a fruit i’d be an apple

if i were a sound i’d be quiet

if i were an element i’d be air

if i were a car i’d be a Honda Accord coupe

if i were a food i’d be a petite filet

if i were a place i’d be a garden

if i were material i’d be denim

if i were a taste i’d be lemony

if i were a scent i’d be bayberry

if i were a body part i’d be an eye

if i were a song i’d be “Smooth” by Carlos Santana

if i were a bird i’d be a robin

if i were a gift i’d be something for your kitchen

if i were a city i’d be Seattle

if i were a door i’d be a six panel style

if i were a pair of shoes i’d be comfortable

if i were a poem i’d be “A Psalm of Life” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

~ ~ • ~~

[h/t to julochka at moments of perfect clarity]


Pleasantly Surprised

/ Ally Bean / 1 Comment

We’re having a wood floor installed in our study this week.  Last June we had the same style of floor, 3.25 inch select white oak with a natural finish, installed in our living room and dining room.  We liked the look so much that we decided to put it in our study, which is across the foyer from the living room.

{At this point I know that it’d be very bloggerly of me to add a photo.  However, seeing as the study is entirely dismantled to allow for the above-mentioned project, I have no access to our desk top computer where all the little photos live.  Let’s just pretend that this side note is a photo, shall we?}

The things that I remember the most about getting wood floors installed are:  1) how noisy it is;  and 2) how smelly it is.  Well, guess what?  This time I’m not experiencing either of these phenomenon even though I am right here in the house with all the chaos going on around me.

How could this be, you wonder?

The answer is really quite simple.  I have a horrendous head cold that has muted my ability to hear much of anything and has clogged my nose to such a degree that I cannot even smell my morning coffee while drinking it.  This is one doozy of a cold which, if I may be so bold as to say, could be the best one I’ve ever had.

Think about it.  Here I sit in my physically diminished state while our house gets prettied up and I’m not inconvenienced one little bit.  Couldn’t of planned it better if I tried.  Which I didn’t.  Because who in their right mind wants a head cold– no matter how helpful it is?

A Winter Vacation

/ Ally Bean / 2 Comments

I’ve always heard that Walt Disney World in January and February is more fun than during the summer or at Christmastime.  We’ve been there at those times before;  so for a change of pace we decided to fly down to Orlando last week and spend the end of January park hopping our way through WDW.

And guess what?  The scuttlebutt was right.  It was a whole lot more fun.  Fewer lines.  Calmer restaurants.  Happier guests.  Clearer skies.  And better parking.

Probably the most unanticipated aspect of visiting WDW in January was that American English was the least spoken language around.  We heard French, Hebrew, Spanish, German, Russian (or maybe Lithuanian?  or Romanian?), and a bit of Aussie English.  It was intriguing to be surrounded by people from around the world, who just like us, were laughing, getting sunburnt and looking for the nearest restroom.

We didn’t stay at the WDW properties this time.  We’ve done that before and decided that this time we’d try something different.  Instead, we stayed at and enjoyed the Bonnet Creek Hilton Resort.  The hotel was comfortable, clean, beautiful, and the service was friendly.  The Hilton, while not as swanky as its attached neighbor, the Waldorf-Astoria, was perfect for us, two winter weary Midwesterners looking for some sun and relaxation.

As travel goes, this was the sort of vacation that I like the best.  Lots of walking.  A relaxed itinerary.  Good food and drink.  With a  super comfy bed at the end of the day.  I give it two thumbs up.

[Hello FTC! Just to be clear, I have received no money or other compensation for the above endorsements.  This is just my opinion about my experiences.  You can move on down the road now and bother someone else, FTC.  Bye, bye.]