January Potpourri...

Yes, it's been a while since we blogged and figured it was time for an update. The first week of January, we changed RV parks. We have a nice, long, graveled site. No matter there aren't trees since the weather is cool here during the winter.

The park we are in now has a dog run and boy, do the #2doods ever love that! Take a peek...

In fact they have adjusted wonderfully to the RV lifestyle although we are still working on "ignoring" other dogs when out walking. LOL! Here are a few pics.

Waiting for the okay to lick the peanut butter spoon...


Ringing the bell and waiting to go out...


Freshly groomed...


Showing good walking manners...

We are still adjusting to cooking in the rig, sticking to our low carb WOE (way of eating). We forgot we have this Liddle Griddle. Now it gets used for bacon, sausage, and eggs as well as banana pancakes.

On my author blog, I posted about setting up our RV office using the dining room table. We have been using the campground WiFi but unless we changed sites to move closer to the router, we found we use our phone's hotspot more often than not. When I was in the laundry house, the WiFi was strong and fast, so we researched a solution. Over the years we have talked off and on about this but the only recommended solution was in the $500-600 range.

Well, things seem to have improved with newer technology and we ordered this Alfa WiFi Camp Pro 2 long range Wi-Fi repeater kit with free shipping from Rokland for $140. We figured it was worth a try. It arrived quickly and using a Thunderbolt Ethernet adapter for our MacBooks, Stu had it set up quickly. We wanted to see how well it worked before mounting the antenna outside.

Guess what? We ended up with fast speeds with the antenna inside, hanging from the lights over our dining table! Seriously! So that is where it sits and we are thrilled!!

Next up, our latest cruise...

Ciao for now!

Karma! (but not the Buddhist doctrine)

As full-time RVers, we needed a way to connect to the Internet while traveling. Since 2006, I had a Verizon Aircard with unlimited use. It was wonderful but for $70 a month, we opted to drop it when we moved to Ecuador.

We have DSL when we are on our property in Tennessee and we hop on to our stepdaughter's WiFi when parked in her driveway in Maryland. But last year we realized we were going to have an issue when parked in Stu's oldest daughter's yard in Delaware. She is a on a pay-as-you-go Internet plan and it was inconvenient for her and us to constantly have to add use.

So we've been watching for a good WiFi pay-as-you-go for us, not wanting to sign up for a contract. When we read about Karma, it sounded like a good plan for us.

When we checked it out a couple of months ago, they were sold out and anticipating having more available in August. Visiting their page a couple days ago, we found that we could pre-order and it should arrive early on in our visit to the states this fall. Of course this is only good in the US and only where they have coverage - and they do have coverage where we need it in Delaware.

When you buy data (in GBs), it never expires. At $14 per gigabyte, its data prices are more expensive than some other alternatives , but less expensive than places like hotels and airports that sell WiFi access. We love its "buy it and forget it" model for data usage, which allows you to truly pay as you go for your data.

If you have a need for "sometime" data access and don't want a monthly contract, check out Karma. (And we will report in after using it this fall while traveling and parked in Delaware.)

TECHNOLOGY: Great Home or Travel Accessory

We tend to travel with a lot of electronics: two Kindle e-readers, two cell phones, two iPads and often one if not two laptops. This means carrying a mass of cables and adapters/chargers, being careful of wattage requirements for the newer iPads (or other tablets, when we had Kindle Fires).

Over the years we have tried and tossed many different adapter/charger combinations, usually settling for a duplicate of what comes with our device pre-stashed in our toiletry bag. We even bought laptop bags that came with a battery and a host of charging plugs, handy but heavy.

While Stu was in the US, I ordered two of these SHARKK® 25W 5-Port USB Wall Plug Family-Sized Charger/Adapter from Amazon. As soon as he unpacked it, he put it to use. HUGE hit! He easily plugged in and charged his iPad Air, Kindle e-reader, iPod and Android phone. No muss, no fuss!

We can now travel with the one stashed in our luggage and the other works in our house. OR we can each put one with our travel stuff. Hmmm, thinking I may get two more when we are in the US this fall.

Oh, but you STILL have to remember to bring your cables! ;)

*for Apple iPad Air / iPad Mini / iPad mini Retina / iPhone 5 / 5S / 5C / All Apple Phones and Tablets / Android Smartphones & Tablets / Samsung Galaxy / Samsung Tab / Samsung Note / And other USB-Powered Devices

Carbonite offer extended!

In the past I've posted about backing up your computer. It's a known fact, you will experience some type of data loss if you use a computer. How much you lose is up to you.

We all know, if it's not simple and automated, it won't happen. I use two backup methods. First is an automatic backup to an external hard drive. If the computer is on, any changes will be backed up.

Second is the online backup service offered by Carbonite. For Less then $60 a year, I have my laptop backed up automatically - unlimited data. The only requirement is having an Internet connection. There are other plans but this one works well for me.

I just got an email letting me know that the promotion they had last year has been extended. If you sign up using my link we BOTH get a $20 Amazon gift card. How's that for a win-win...

Amazing Laptop Buy!

Some of you may remember when I bought my little Samsung Ultrabook last summer, intending to use it for writing. That worked out wonderfully and I don't regret the purchase at all.

In fact, I note only use it for writing but in the evenings on my lap while 'watching' TV. It's so compact and lightweight but with a full keyboard, it works out perfectly.

I bought the 11.6" model with 2GB of memory and 126GB SSD hard drive. I still have over 30GB free and have downloaded quite a bit of software.

I use Dropbox to keep certain files synched between the two computers and that has worked well. In addition, having a network between all our computers via our router means I have instant access to all my files when I'm home.

So why am I telling you this? Because Amazon has an amazing steal on the larger laptop. If I weren't broke, I'd be snagging one. I paid. $600 for mine, refurbished.  Amazon is offering the larger model with  a 13.3" screen and 4GB memory for....are you ready....$700.

Samsung Series 9 NP900X3D-A01US 13.3-Inch Premium Ultrabook (Silver)

I have no idea how long this deal will last but wanted to pass it along. I LOVE my little Ultrabook!!

Looking for a title....

I don't have a title for this post, I don't have much to say in this post. LOL! We spent the week getting more doctor appointments out of the way. I had my Physical Therapy (PT) evaluation for my shoulder and brought home some exercises to do every day.

Thursday was our normal primary care physician visits along with the bloodwork. This year, thanks to the CDC announcement for baby boomers, we added in Hep C screening. Then because our property is in the woods and there are a LOT of ticks, we both got Lyme screening, too. We got our results yesterday...all tests were good! Well, my cholesterol is up but not hugely high. We're giving it a year to see if I can get it down with exercise (already done the diet part). We both got flu shots and because I turned 65, I got my first pneumonia vaccine.

Stu then saw his surgeon's office for his knees. Other than needing to get back to doing daily PT for thigh strengthening, his checkup was good, too. He has to go back in six months so looks like we'll be in Maryland next April-May timeframe, at least for a few weeks.

We have a reprieve next week - just our dental appointments. Phew!

I ended up feeling really back the 24-48 hours after the shots. The one shot in my bad shoulder was really painful, then toss in a low grade fever and aching all over. UGH! Doing better today but had to cancel my PT appointment on Friday - I could barely move my arm. Moved it to Tuesday. Hoping I can do the home exercises tomorrow.

In between appointments we ran a few errands. I noticed a Staples store and ran in to see if I could find a comfortable but inexpensive office chair. I rarely use my desk area because the dining room chair is too uncomfortable for anything but short periods. I really lucked out. All the chairs were on sale and I got a VERY comfortable one for $49. Happy camper!!

Then I ordered a wireless keyboard so I can use the keyboard tray for better height adjustment. I loved finding one in white so I can see when in the evenings. Now the only thing missing is a monitor but I'll wait on that one. LOL!

Stu had hoped to do a benefit motorcycle ride for a fellow firefighter today but we woke to 26 degrees. It was all the way up to 30 at 8am and after that it was too late to go (he had a several hour ride to the starting site). So he and Sadie took advantage of the snuggle weather....then Sadie baked in the sun for a while.

He's headed out on his annual guy ride now and I hope to get in two days worth of writing and MAYBE finally finish my mystery novel. Then it's edit time...got any volunteers to help? [giggle]

Be sure to read all about my coincidences on my next novel after this one on my writing page.

Freeware, Shareware and Phoneware

I promised I'd write a blog about software I use a lot, especially freeware and inexpensive shareware. I decided to add phoneware into the mix because more and more RVers are opting for smartphones.

1. My number one, top freeware application is IrfanView. I have used this for almost 15 years now. It continues to grow in capabilities and still remains free. There is a DONATE button and a couple years ago I did donate $25. Seemed only fair since I use this program daily, usually several times a day.
   
   I use it to view photos and other images. I can resize (dimensions), optimize (JPG file size), crop, add text, auto adjust colors in photos and a lot more. I use maybe 20% of what is offered. It is my default image viewer. Oh, once you've downloaded and installed it, be sure to download and install the Plug-ins to enhance the functionality.
    
2. I discussed password keepers not too long ago and LastPass is the freeware program I use. I am still learning all it can do for me. No more keeping credit card information unsecured...nope, store it in LastPass and use that to fill in the forms, as well as billing, shipping and other information. Oh yeah, it also stores all my passwords. My next mission is to upgrade to the Premium version and sync the information on my phone (still secured). All I have to remember is my main LastPass login password!
    
3. Foxit Reader is my default PDF reader...I no longer keep Adobe Reader on my computer. Over the years Adobe Reader has become more and more bloated in size. I just want to be able to read a PDF. Foxit Reader does that very well...and it has nothing to do with FireFox. LOL!
    
4. Need to share information easily between computers? Want to share it with your smartphone? Then Evernote is for you. I have found so many uses for this amazing piece of freeware. You decide which notebooks get synced...you determine how often to sync. Easy! I can now update my shopping list on my PC or my phone. I have I.C.E. information on both.
   
   Since I like to write, I have a notebook for writing ideas. We are looking at things we might want to sell while traveling...thoughts and websites go into that notebook. Web pages, images, photos, text and more. I love it!
    
5. If you use chat a lot and have more than one type (MSN, Yahoo, Google, AOL, etc) then Pidgin is for you. It allows you to set up multiple accounts and use one interface to chat with folks. It recently addded Facebook which is now the only chat I use and I still prefer Pidgin.
    
6. For a browser I use Firefox although I am trying out Chrome as well. I have Firefox set where it works well for me (add-ons for Firefox could be another blog by itself.) For email I use Thunderbird with the add-on of Lightning for contact management.
    
7. "Print to PDF" is a must have piece of software and I actually have several installed. The one I use the most is Bullzip PDF Printer. Once it's installed, it will appear as a printer choice. Slick and easy to setup and use.
   
8. Want a great way to talk to family and potentially see them as well? Skype is the answer for you. Phone calls between Skype users is free...no restrictions. In addition for a small charge you can call landlines when you have Internet but no cell coverage. We love actually seeing our grandkids using the webcam on our computer and them using theirs.
    
9. The last two pieces of software are used online, not downloaded. The first is used to scan your computer for viruses and mal-ware. It's Panda ActiveScan and although you will have to download some ActiveX controls, the software runs online. I use Eset NOD32 anti-virus (not the security suite), run Lavasoft's Ad-Aware, scan with Malwarebytes and Panda still found a few things I needed to fix. Try it!
    
10. The last one is Picnik.com and it is truly amazing. I've used it to remove red-eye, both human and fur-ball. I've also used it to fix Christmas photos taken at night. Once you've tried it, I think you'll be as hooked as I am. 

For the phones I'm going to share two links: 10 indispensible iPhone apps for RV'ers and 10 Must Have (Free) Droid Apps

Well, that should be enough food for thought....hope at least one of these solves a problem for you, or helps you be more productive in some way.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

My Kindle...finding free books!

When Stu and I went on our cruise to Panama, I took several paperbacks with me as did Stu. I read all of mine, all of his and then moved into the ship library. I had resisted ebook readers, figuring they weren't for me. This trip made me look at them again.

I read all the reviews,everything I could about comparing the Kindle with the Nook and other readers like the Sony. So many things to compare, so many things to think about. In the end I decided on the Kindle, thinking it would work best for me and my style of reading and taste in books.

But there were rumors of price cuts coming...so I wanted to wait as long as possible. But the blogs I had been following were always posting free ebooks for the Kindle and I didn't want to miss out on those. What to do?

First thing I did was download and install Kindle for the PC as well as the app for my iPhone. I could then download the free books and either read them on those devices (I ended up only reading on the iPhone once in a while) and transfer the unread ones to my future Kindle 2.

I ended up buying before the price cuts but it was still worth it. While on our cruise to Alaska, I got numerous questions about it as well as high-5's from others with readers.

So where did I find the free books? My main resources were a couple of blogs. They also have a lot of chatter about the industry, which sometimes proves interesting. They list low cost books as well as featuring free books. (There is some duplication but I still find some books only appearing in one blog, so I still follow them all.)

• Kindle Review
• Kindle Nation Daily
• Books on the Knob
• Pixel of Ink [email newsletter]

If you just want industry information, updates and reviews before buying the add this blog,
A Kindle World and read this comparison.

There are other resources for free and low cost ebooks, here are a few:

• Gutenburg Project
• SmashWords
• Baen Free Library
• World Public Library
• Internet Archive
• Free Classics For Amazon Kindle
• Border's Free Book List (includes classics)
• Google Books (mostly older, public domain books)

Oh, if you are interested in free MP3's for your Kindle, iPod or other mP3 player, visit free MP3's at Amazon. Some other interesting sites to check out are:

• Calibre, a free and open source e-book library management application developed by users of e-books for users of e-books. Note - also works with MACs
• Mobipocket, a program that lets you create an ebook in a few clicks by adding HTML and image files to your publication.
• Myebook, publish your own or read others ebooks.
• Wattpad, a place to read and share original fiction and connect with readers and writers from around the world.

Calibre and Mobipocket can convert epub books for Kindle use. That makes sites like Kobo's Free eBook list even more useful.

There are even games for the Kindle - I like the free word games. I've used them when I can't sleep. LOL!

• Every Word - free
• Shuffled Row - free
• Scrabble - $4.99
• Mine Sweeper - free
• EA Solitaire - $3.99
• Triple Town - $2.99
• EA Sudoku - $3.99

I have the Kindle 2 and this is the cover I got. I had tried another and returned it, it covered up too much of the corners and I didn't like it. This one snaps the Kindle into place. If I ever upgrade, I'll get the same one. I love the fact that it can stand like an easel, too. I use that for reading in bed. LOL!

Don't forget that you can read PDF books as well on your Kindle....I downloaded all of Nick Russell's Books from his CD that I bought as well as my Wal-Mart Park and No Park lists.

So, what do I like to read? Mystery, fantasy, Sci-Fi and romance (contemporary, time travel, historical). I have bought a couple of non-fiction books like:

• Cesar's Way
• The Thyroid Diet
• YOU: The Owner's Manual

I suspect I will eventually upgrade to a newer Kindle and then Stu will take over mine. The good thing is that we can share one account and have the books on both devices. A lot of the mysteries I read are ones he enjoys as well. Of course in his mind, as soon as one of our laptops go, he's getting an iPad and I'll get the remaining laptop. Even if the iPad didn't require a computer for setup, I'd need one for the web site work that I do.

So hopefully I have answered a few questions and helped you on your way to more reading!


Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Faxes, Printers and Scanners....Oh My!

We have been limping along on with Stu's old Lexmark all-in-one printer. It was about three years old and the wireless never really worked as advertised. With the cost of new printers dropping steadily, we looked into getting a new all-in-one.

One feature that is now available on the lower cost printers is an auto-document feed for faxing, scanning and copying. While we won't use the fax capability (no land-line), the copy/scan functions are what we use most frequently.

After much research I chose the HP OfficeJet 4500 Wireless All-in-One (be careful, the same model is offered in a non-wireless model). It arrived on Wednesday an in less than 30 minutes the wireless was up and running flawlessly. The only issue we had was the paper not feeding initially..I think that might have been due to the humidity level, it's working fine now.

Yesterday we easily added Stu's PC to the mix. Not a blip! Today we are happily scanning and printing. The auto-document feed says it will hold up to 25 sheets but I don't see us testing that. LOL! We have fed in several related documents and it worked great.

I use IrfanView for scanning....it's been my graphic program of choice for over 15 years (and it's still free). If I am scanning more than one item, I can assign a name and a numbering scheme. Worked like a charm.

I hope to get my old photos scanned much more easily so I can pass them along to my kids and still have them on my computer. I just have to remember to back them up to SmugMug and DVDs.

Not much else is new...Sadie started her own blog after vet appointment. You can see it on ToadilyPets or direct at Sadie Speaks. She's doing well...up from 6# to 10.2# in a little over 3 weeks.

We went to dinner with our Thursday night group, followed that with a mile walk around the mall and topped it off with a movie, "Life As We Know It". Fun movie with lots of laughs!

Not sure if I ever posted about seeing the move RED with Bruce Willis. We loved it...the movie was only about a quarter done when I told Stu we WOULD be getting the DVD when it comes out. If you like the Die Hard series or enjoyed True Lies, then I think you will love this movie.

We are currently waiting for our mail to arrive...knew it would be today or tomorrow. Well, looks like it will be tomorrow so we will hit the road for TN on Sunday.

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna and Stu

Networking simplified....

I finally saw an offer I couldn't refuse....a Cradlepoint MBR1000 router, on sale for $190 with a rebate offer for a free Cradlepoint CTR350. To make it simple, we can now plug both our aircards (one Verizon USB and one Sprint Expresscard) into the router and connect wirelessly. The free router will give us one to carry for travel (hotels) so we don't have to tear down the full setup. We hope to get our wireless enabled printer to work on the network as well. Setup was simple...and when it comes to networking, that is a good thing...otherwise my son would be hearing from me. LOL!

We got the RV washed & waxed today. What a GREAT job they did....both the Freightliner and our 41' fifth wheel power washed with spot-free water then hand waxed for $160. I highly recommend them if you are in the Yuma area: Road Runner RV Wash/Wax at 928-446-6894

Today the trike goes to Harley-Davidson to get the 10k service done. Stu chose Thursday because the detail guy is in and the bike gets cleaned up for $25. Such a deal!

We are still trying to get to Los Algodones so I can pick up a new pair of glasses. Hopefully this will happen today or tomorrow so I can pick them up next week. Mine take a little time...strong prescription.

Friday afternoon we are meeting with good friends Dave & Renee to see their new New Horizons 5th wheel that they just picked up in Kansas. They are hosting a little gathering for mutual friends, Smokey & Pam, who are leaving Yuma on Saturday. We haven't seen them since Bushnell in December 2008.

Not much else is new....not sure when I will write up Las Vegas and Valley of the Fire State Park. This weekend is dedicated to taxes...UGH!!!!

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

Free Quickbooks at Staples on Monday Only

Just thought I would pass this along....feel free to pass along to anyone you feel it might benefit. Free copy of Quickbooks at Staples - Monday Dec 22 2008 Only

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna & Stu

My Vista Repair

Just a quick update...my Vista was unrepairable and I had to reinstall it which means my hard drive was wiped out. So, now I will be using my spare time to reload all my software and try to get back to some semblance of normality. Yeah, right....LOL! The laptop may still have a hardware issue but I won't know until I use it for a while.

I had backed up everything but still managed to lose a lot of my email....like everything I've ever received under my Froggi Donna email address is gone...kaput...disappeared. Because I started with Gmail in the early days, I had it set to delete my email from the webmail page. Needless to say, it has been changed to archive it instead.

So, if you emailed me in the last week or so and were expecting a reply....try resending (if you can) or writing a new message. It may be a bit before I have time to reply, but without a message I have nothing to reply TO. Sigh....

Till next time - keep on rollin',
Donna