out and about
Saturday anniemal and I helped vvalkyri and her Mom move things from her Grandmother's condo to storage at her Mom's.
Saturday night anniemal thought she was doing a sleep study, but there was a scheduling problem. They weren't expecting her when she arrived, and they didn't have any open slots to squeeze her in.
And I backed up my laptop, something I should do more often.
Sunday we went out to Vienna (VA) to retrieve a credit card anniemal had left at a bead shop. There was a crew videotaping at the shop and interviewing customers. A favorite bike shop was only half a block away, so we stopped in there because I needed some specialized bolts. They had some interesting new recumbents, a good selection of used recumbents (as usual), and some folding bikes that are amazingly compact. I hadn't thought about the bike shop before we left, so I didn't take a bolt off the bike to match for size. We went for a guess with a couple of sizes.
After that we went to MicroCenter to get a few more of the LED flashlights that we like. They are small and lightweight, and should be plenty bright for camping - walking around a campsite or seeing in the tent. I had also hoped to get try out a Cannon S5 IS camera, which I've been strongly considering as a replacement for our S1 IS. The S1 has serious problems focusing except in bright sunlight or with flash, and it also lacks macro focusing, which I miss far more than I had expected. (I thought the 10x optical zoom would make up for the absence of a macro mode, but it just lets you zoom up close and out of focus.) On-line review comments say the S5's macro is great, but comments about focusing are mixed and I need to find out for myself. MicroCenter does carry the S5, but they didn't have one available. (And they're listing it for $500, while others have it well under $400.)
From there we went next door to Michael's, a craft store. anniemal found some extra-tuff soap bubbles (they can land on vegetation without popping) on sale for even cheaper than the last time we were there, and some self-adhesive beads that can be painted onto fabric on close-out too. Both could be fun at Baitcon. I found lobster clasps and split rings that can perhaps be used to finish off chain-mail projects, so people could make bracelets or key fobs as their beginner projects. And they had 2"x3" (5x7.5cm) generic ziplock bags that should be good for the chain rings that I'll have in small quantities (the rubber EPDM rings and the anodized rings). Some larger bags will be good for beginner-project-sized batches of rings, but anniemal already has some bags that should be good for that. The ring shipment should arrive tomorrow (Friday evening it was going from Richmond to Alexandria), and I've already got more stuff to add to my crafts box.
By the way, remember rubber stamps? Now they've got clear acrylic rubber stamps. You can see through the stamp exactly where you're placing the image.
Heading back home, we stopped off at Home Despot, hoping to find some kind of small cart or wagon. We found a little garden cart that is an excellent size for carrying bags of ice back from the camp store at Pennsic, and with the lid/handle closed the cart doubles as a stool. (The lid also has that apparent necessity - cup holders.) I don't think this little plastic cart is strong enough though to carry our very heavy 12V battery. At Pennsic we can drive right up to the campsite, but we may have to carry things from the unloading area at Baitcon. Baitcon is only a couple of nights, so we shouldn't need to have very much stuff.
What we didn't get to this weekend was grooming the dog.
Saturday night anniemal thought she was doing a sleep study, but there was a scheduling problem. They weren't expecting her when she arrived, and they didn't have any open slots to squeeze her in.
And I backed up my laptop, something I should do more often.
Sunday we went out to Vienna (VA) to retrieve a credit card anniemal had left at a bead shop. There was a crew videotaping at the shop and interviewing customers. A favorite bike shop was only half a block away, so we stopped in there because I needed some specialized bolts. They had some interesting new recumbents, a good selection of used recumbents (as usual), and some folding bikes that are amazingly compact. I hadn't thought about the bike shop before we left, so I didn't take a bolt off the bike to match for size. We went for a guess with a couple of sizes.
After that we went to MicroCenter to get a few more of the LED flashlights that we like. They are small and lightweight, and should be plenty bright for camping - walking around a campsite or seeing in the tent. I had also hoped to get try out a Cannon S5 IS camera, which I've been strongly considering as a replacement for our S1 IS. The S1 has serious problems focusing except in bright sunlight or with flash, and it also lacks macro focusing, which I miss far more than I had expected. (I thought the 10x optical zoom would make up for the absence of a macro mode, but it just lets you zoom up close and out of focus.) On-line review comments say the S5's macro is great, but comments about focusing are mixed and I need to find out for myself. MicroCenter does carry the S5, but they didn't have one available. (And they're listing it for $500, while others have it well under $400.)
From there we went next door to Michael's, a craft store. anniemal found some extra-tuff soap bubbles (they can land on vegetation without popping) on sale for even cheaper than the last time we were there, and some self-adhesive beads that can be painted onto fabric on close-out too. Both could be fun at Baitcon. I found lobster clasps and split rings that can perhaps be used to finish off chain-mail projects, so people could make bracelets or key fobs as their beginner projects. And they had 2"x3" (5x7.5cm) generic ziplock bags that should be good for the chain rings that I'll have in small quantities (the rubber EPDM rings and the anodized rings). Some larger bags will be good for beginner-project-sized batches of rings, but anniemal already has some bags that should be good for that. The ring shipment should arrive tomorrow (Friday evening it was going from Richmond to Alexandria), and I've already got more stuff to add to my crafts box.
By the way, remember rubber stamps? Now they've got clear acrylic rubber stamps. You can see through the stamp exactly where you're placing the image.
Heading back home, we stopped off at Home Despot, hoping to find some kind of small cart or wagon. We found a little garden cart that is an excellent size for carrying bags of ice back from the camp store at Pennsic, and with the lid/handle closed the cart doubles as a stool. (The lid also has that apparent necessity - cup holders.) I don't think this little plastic cart is strong enough though to carry our very heavy 12V battery. At Pennsic we can drive right up to the campsite, but we may have to carry things from the unloading area at Baitcon. Baitcon is only a couple of nights, so we shouldn't need to have very much stuff.
What we didn't get to this weekend was grooming the dog.