• 30Nov

  On a rainy day…

  resources 16 Comments

  

  …I like to curl up with my Kindle!

  I’ve only had my Kindle a few days but I thought I’d give you my initial thoughts.

  Delivery/Cost The Kindle cost $259 USD, delivery was $21 and there was $42 in import fees/deposit.  I assume that means that if the duty was less than $42 I would get a refund, but I haven’t seen one yet.  That is expensive, but since Kindle books are less expensive than regular books so I should have a savings if I keep the Kindle several years.   I ordered it on the 24th and it arrived at my house in the morning of the 27th via UPS.

  Ease of Use I have built up a substantial ebook library prior to purchasing the Kindle, but as soon as I unwrapped it and plugged it in I wanted to buy a book to see the process.  So I bought Barbara Kingsolver’s new book The Lacuna ($9.99 USD) using Amazon’s One-Click ordering.  I inadvertently told it to put it on my Kindle, not changing the dropdown box to Deliver to Computer so I paid an extra $1.99 to have it wirelessly delivered to my Kindle.  Learning experience.

  I then converted a number of books from a variety of formats (.pdf, .lit, .txt, .rtf) using a program called Calibre. Everything was converted and was readable with no problem,  but some had a few problems here and there where the formatting looked a little strange.  I also downloaded two books of poems by W.B. Yeats  - The Secret Rose and The Green Helmet from the Gutenberg Project website and while The Secret Rose is exactly as I remember it (one of the first editions I sold when we moved) The Green Helmet was only one page.  The Gutenberg project is a volunteer project so there are bound to be issues once in a while.

  Pdf files The big disappointment for me was a .pdf of a book that even when converted was unreadable.  The first page of the .pdf said that it was formatted for a screen of 1024 X 768 so that is probably why.  Then I tried a .pdf of a magazine and it was not scalable so it, too, was too small to read.  I have a feeling .pdf files will continue to be hit or miss.  You can send them to your Kindle account at no cost if you email the file to yourname (at) free.kindle.com

  Reading on it It takes a little bit of getting used to, but probably less than a half hour.  I love it.  You can hold it up when reading on your side or lying down and it is not heavy.  You can read while eating without putting a knife across the pages to keep them from rustling.  You can turn on the “read aloud” function if your hands are occupied.  The only thing I wouldn’t do with it that I would with a regular book is read in the bathtub.  But we don’t have a bathtub, anyway!  And don’t worry that you won’t get used to clicking instead of turning a page – you will!

  I also love that you can highlight passages in a book.  Sometimes the prose is so wonderful, or the idea so well described that you want to remember it, and the Kindle makes that easy.

  Avid readers will love it I read a lot, usually between 50 – 100 books a year.  Being on the lookout for good books to read in English is a big job down here.  We do have good sources for books, but it ebbs and flows, and that just doesn’t work for me.  So now I can buy books on my Kindle when I hit a dry patch – but with all the ebooks I have accumulated, that should take a while.

  One of our main objections to the Kindle was that Paul and I almost always share books.  The way it works is that if you both have Kindles (I believe up to 6 on an account) all of them can share the same books on the same account.

  Things I’m looking forward to When a new Fodor’s or Lonely Planet comes out we’ll buy the Mexico edition for the Kindle.  No more lugging big books around when we’re exploring a new place.  When I go yarn shopping I can load the pattern on it to make sure I buy the right thing.  I can load up our address book.

  The Kindle even gave me another excuse for knitting, as you can see the felted case I made for it at the top of the post!

  -  Oh, one other thing.  It is a little strange to not know if you are reading a large book or a pamphlet.  I had to look up the Kingsolver book on Amazon to find out it is 528 pages.  Also, when you ask me if I have read a book, I usually visualize its cover.  Not too much with the Kindle.

  
  

  
  

  
• 25Nov

  Olive Oil

  blogging, dogs, knitting, travel 7 Comments

  I always describe myself as Olive Oil when I am pulled this way and that.  (All you youngsters out there, Popeye and Bluto used to yank Olive Oil one on each arm as they tried to win her affection…)  But right now it is a good Olive Oil-ness since I am having a blast.

  • We’re planning a trip to Morelia and Patzcuaro in mid December.  I’ve been checking in with people for information on yarn shops and hope to be able to connect with Cristina (Mexico Cooks) and possibly even son Adam and his family if they could pop up from Mexico City.
    
  • I have been knitting knitting knitting and have finished a dress for Consuelo and a felted purse for myself.  The purse was because I wanted a bag that was just large enough for my camera, cell phone, coin purse, and keys.  It is drying right now but it is going to be exactly what I wanted!  Yay!  I listened to a couple of audio books while I knitted – Bill Bryson’s The Life and Times of the Thunderbolt Kid was his hilarious recounting of his Midwestern childhood in the 50’s. I also read Malcolm Gladwell’s What the Dog Saw – I absolutely love his perspective on a variety of topics.
    
  • I’ve been helping a friend with a new business, and enjoying what feels like real work even though it is just playtime for me.
    
  • I cut Henry the schnoodle’s fur, and he really looks like Harry the Dirty Dog now.  I think he was grateful for a bye this time from going to the groomer, but next time he’ll have to get a pro job for sure!
    
  • I bought a Kindle, and if my luck holds it will be delivered Thursday. (that is three days for delivery!)  I have been downloading books like crazy from all over the internet, getting ready to have a gigantic library at my fingertips.  I’ve been all over bit torrent sites, free books sites, public domain sites, and everything in between.  Then I downloaded an open-source program called Calibre that will convert e-books in various formats into the format of whatever reader you own.  I was in a frenzy all day today getting all my files organized.  I had to laugh because it is exactly what I would do if I was given 20 boxes of books – spend the day opening them all and organizing them and checking for duplicates and planning what I’d read first.
    
  • I decided to start up a group for English speaking knitters in Mexico on Ravelry for social networking but also to create a list of nice yarn stores in Mexico.  It is growing slowly but I am happy with how it is going so far.  (Link in left menu bar)

  It is Thanksgiving tomorrow and we are going to eat at Pizza Moreno with friends.  They always do a nice holiday meal, and even though I don’t eat the turkey the rest of the meal is delicious.  I will be thankful for a lot this year.  Our good health.  Our wonderful family.  Our interesting and delightful friends both near and far.  Our generous blog readers, and of course the internet, that makes so much closeness possible, shrinking this big old world to a manageable size.

  
• 23Nov

  I know, I know…

  blogging, culture/music 5 Comments

  

  The handkerchief plant is even blooming now!

  I haven’t been blogging very frequently lately.  I think the enthusiasm for writing ebbs and flows, right now I have been spending more of my energy doing other things – knitting, reading, helping a friend with a new business, and getting back into the swing of wintertime social and cultural events.

  I am not working any more (at least for pay!) but Paul is – most days he works about four hours for his former employer.  He tries to keep it to morning hours so we can do things together in the afternoon and evening – but he is truly not retired!  I usually do housework, shopping, etc while he is working, and then when he’s done we go do the fun stuff.

  Mazatlán has a cultural festival every fall that is always good but this year seems extra interesting.  Dance, Music, Clowns, Film, Parades and other events happen almost daily.  The venues are varied and it is always a good time.  A nice thing for those of us on Facebook is that if you become a friend of Mazatlán Cultura they invite you to all events so you always know what’s going on. In previous years we had to work at it to know what was happening around town.

  The weather has been perfect and we are enjoying sleeping with the windows open.  We’ve been swimming at the beach a few times lately, and the water has been perfect as well.  All of the plants that had been damaged during Tropical Storm Rick have recovered and are enjoying the cooler weather, too.

  Life is very good, and we are enjoying our third fall in Mazatlán.

   

  

  The datura has recovered nicely!

  

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