Gabriel Keith (Thompson) Baker

   Our GREAT grandson arrived right on his time schedule at 5:18 am Eastern time on Friday, November 25, 2011. So far we've only seen a couple pictures taken from a cell phone. He looks absolutely perfect and Tim and Amy look like you would expect proud parents to look.
    When people see his little face they immediately say "He looks just like Amy" or "He looks just like Tim" or my sister sees Dennis in him. Of course, everyone is right. He is a combination of Baker/Thompson /Moses genes, but he will be  his own little guy. When we see him in 22 days, I'm sure he will have changed and maybe we can tell if he does favor one person more than another. If he has the character, integrity and heart of the three people he is said to favor, then he will indeed be a special little boy and hopefully, some day a man of God.
   I could look at his picture all day. I love looking at his little ears, mouth, nose and eyes. With a cap on and bundled in a blanket, that's about all I can see right now. Annette said he has dark hair like Tim, and not the little red fuzz that Amy had. The most important thing of all is that he and Amy are doing so good. God has blessed all of us with this little human to love and watch as he grows.
   I've never been a long distance grandparent OR great grandparent, and I don't imagine we will get to see him very often, so thank goodness for email pictures, cell phone pictures and computer cameras. We have loved him since the moment we found out that Amy was expecting him.
   A new generation has begun as well as a new adventure for Tim and Amy. The pages of the book are almost blank, but soon will start to fill with the different stages of his life. As I realize that we won't be around for the majority of his life, I sort of feel that a torch has been passed down from our parents, Deedie and me, his GREAT aunt Mitzi,  Dennis and Annette and Amy and Tim to little Gabe and I have a feeling he will carry it proudly.As long as he is pleasing to God, that is all that matters.
We love you Gabe!
Great Grandma (Gigi)
Great Grandpa
November 26, 2011

My Nemesis - Technology

Well, I've gone and done it again. I was given lots of Amazon Gift Cards for my birthday, so today I ordered the Kindle Fire. I'm sure it will be another frustration for me before I figure it all out. Really all I wanted was a reader to take on trips, to doctor's offices where you wait, and other places where I have to wait and I can just pull this out of my purse and read. But NO - I can watch movies, listen to music, play games, email and surf the web all from one little 7" gadget. They are not specific in letting you know which or if all of these things cost extra money. I'm sure they do so I will probably only use it to read books and emails when traveling.

 While we were looking at several of these today to get an idea of what I might want, Deedie asked "what is an app?" I actually knew that one from listening to Mitzi and Lisa talking. But it made me wonder about the terminology used in all types of technology. Are some people born knowing what an "app" is, what an hourglass means other than what we used to think it was, did everybody know a "mouse" was a way to move your "cursor" around, and what a "cursor" was in regards to a computer. I've taken 3 classes recently at the Farmers Branch Senior Center on the picture organizer called "Picasa". The teacher used terms like "import"  and "export" as though we knew exactly what each command did and where to find it on the screen. Did everyone but me know that "noise" means a grainy or blurry picture. I think there's a Secret Society out there that whispers these special terms in selective people's ears so they know what they mean before they are ever used. I still don't know the difference in a "GB" and a "MB" .

My son, Dennis, taught me most of what I know about using computers. He thought it was ridiculous that a "lay" person had to know so much in order to use a simple program. He said most people didn't know how a car's engine worked and didn't need to know in order to drive the car. I totally agree. Even the books for "Dummies", of which I have several, are not much help to me. They use words to explain words and I don't know the meaning of either. The world's vocabulary has completely changed since I was in school and I am clueless.

It doesn't comfort me a lot to realize that my great grandson to be, Gabe, will probably learn all of this before I do, so I think I'll just wait and let him teach me how to use my Kindle. I'm sure he will like it because it has lots of books and games for children.. Guess I could just go the library and check out a book, but that's done electronically now too and you never talk to a human. I usually slide my card the wrong way and gum up the works and have to find someone anyway.

I do have one new activity that I just started this week. I joined "Netflix" where you choose from a selection of DVD movies or television shows and put them in your "queue". They send you the first one in your queue and as soon as you watch it, you put it back in the envelope and mail it, and they send you the next one you have chosen. I've discovered they get it the next day and I get my next one the day after that. Amazing. And all for only $8.00 a month - as many as you can watch in that length of time. Now if I could just figure out how to work our new DVD player.

Of Planes, Trains, RVs, and Trucks

Several weeks ago I wrote about our new adventure in buying a huge truck large enough to pull an RV that we bought a week or so later. Our first trip with Mitzi  and Opie to a campground near Utopia, TX was a blast. It was obvious to all the campers around us that we were totally "greenhorns" and we received lots of help and advice. The refrigerator stopped working and when we returned home the RV went back to the dealer. During the 10 days it was in for repair, we had a chance to step back and take a look at what we had done. The truck got 10-11 miles per gallon while puling the RV. Although we only traveled approximately 600 miles, our gas cost over $600,00. On top of that we paid $34.00 per night  (winter rates), plus eating out since our refrigerator wasn't working. It takes so much strength to hook up the hitch and stabilizing bars that Deedie and I could never go anywhere without Mitzi, which would limit our trips greatly.
So when the dealership called to tell us the RV was ready we went up and told them to keep it and try and sell it. He actually sold it in two weeks and we are very relieved.
Once we got that off our hands we begin to think  about trading in the Avalanche for a smaller SUV similar to the Mitsubishi that we had. We looked for a couple days both physically and on the computer. Yesterday we found our vehicle It is a 2010 Chrysler Town and Country (mini van I guess).  We will pick it up today and then we will be back to the day that things were too peaceful. Our savings account is much smaller, although for the first time in our life, we traded vehicles and they actually are writing us a check for a few hundred dollars. Not nearly enough to make up for our expenses to determine we didn't want an RV or a huge Chevrolet Avalanche that MIGHT get 17-20 miles per gallon on the road.
Oh when I asked the lady who stays with Opie if she would be available Christmas week, she said yes. Wish I had asked her earlier.
So our whole family plan to be in Pennsylvania at Christmas time and get to spoil Gabe for Amy and Tim and then come back home.
Hope things don't get boring or peaceful in January. If that happens would someone please come and tie us down.