New iPhone 4S

Posted on October 22, 2011 by Donna

Here’s a list of 10 things about my new iPhone 4S.

  1. My contract on my iPhone 3GS was up in August and I was more than ready, even eager for an upgrade.
  2. I was disappointed Apple didn’t come out with an iPhone 5 with a larger screen, sleeker design, and 4G data connection.
  3. I gave serious thought to buying an Android phone, specifically the Samsung Galaxy S II. It has a 4.3″ screen (almost a bit too big. 4″ would be perfect), thin and sleek design, and 4G capability.
  4. I held off pre-ordering a new iPhone to do more research, hear what folks thought when they actually had one in their hands, and decide just what I wanted to do.
  5. Factors that weighed in favor of iOS included familiarity and many purchased apps that would not be transferable, as well as (admittedly) brand loyalty.
  6. Don and Ken reminded me I could probably sell the new phone next year if/when an iPhone 5 comes out and I want to upgrade early.
  7. Features on the iPhone 4S that swayed my decision were 3G connection on AT&T that rivals 4G speeds, with better battery life, greatly improved camera, and Siri.
  8. Although Siri is the coolest new feature since sliced bread, it’s also very hit and miss, more miss than hit right now. It’s no secret that it’s in Beta mode, and Apple’s servers (which Siri has to connect to in order to work) don’t seem to be able to keep up with it just yet. But analysts predict it will get better quickly and the future looks bright.
  9. Like every new owner, I have had a lot of fun asking Siri rhetorical and silly questions just to hear the clever answers the Apple development team has come up with. Me: “I’m really tired.” Siri: “Listen to me. Put down this iPhone right now and take a nap. I’ll wait here.” When I persisted that I was tired, she answered. “I hope you’re not driving. Are you?” Or me: “What’s the best phone?” Siri: “Wait, there are other phones?
  10. Overall, I’m very happy with it. I know more time will tell if I made the right decision, but I’m satisfied for now, and glad I made the plunge.
Posted in 10 Things, Life & Family | 15 Comments

Cousins

Posted on August 14, 2011 by Donna

Nathan and I had a ball in Boise last week. Those two boys never had a squabble in the 5 days we were there. We had to settle them down a time or two because they got rather rambunctious, but they were good friends the entire time. Here are a few pictures.
Playing in the sandbox.

Eating pancakes for breakfast. (You can see Robin’s bright new kitchen in the background.)


Running around the church hallways.

Riding bikes and scooters. That’s Megan in the foreground.

Steven on his bike.

Nathan on the scooter.

Megan and Robin sitting on the front steps.

The boys on the trampoline in the Holsinger’s back yard.

We went to a public trampoline gym called “Jump Time” and let the kids play for a while before getting some Hawaiian Shave Ice. Here’s a sample of their play.

Robin and Ken have done some remodel and makeover on their house. They updated the kitchen, painted all the interior and re-stained the wood floors. They also built an outdoor barbecue kitchen. It turned out fantastic. We had dinner out there the last night.

And now I’m almost out of vacation time until the end of year holidays, so it’s back to the grind for me.

Posted in Life & Family, Travel | 5 Comments

Boys-e

Posted on August 5, 2011 by Donna

I’m going to Boise tomorrow for a few days. This time I’m taking Nathan with me. When the Holsingers were here last winter, Nathan and Steven really hit it off well, so I thought it would be fun to get them together again. When my kids were growing up, we did cousin visits and cousin exchanges many times, and it’s time these boys got to know each other better. Nathan is really excited and so am I.  While they play, Megan and I can watch ballet videos. I still haven’t seen her performance in last December’s The Nutcracker yet, and I missed spring recital (her first on pointe!) this year, so we can watch those and also just relax in the slightly cooler climate for a few days. The last time I was there, Robin and Ken were just starting their home makeover, so I’m excited to see the finished product.

I’ll take pictures along the way and post on Facebook, and maybe I’ll even write another blog entry when I get home.

Posted in Life & Family, Travel | 3 Comments

Forever Friend

Posted on July 10, 2011 by Donna

Back in September, I posted a 10 Things entry in which I wondered whatever happened to my childhood friend, Denice. We met when she and I were around 7 or 8 years old when our family moved into the house on Kilburn Road and she lived across the street. I was a year older, almost exactly, as our birthdays were only 4 days apart. We spent our days running across the blistering road to each others’ houses so we could swim or play Barbies or jacks, or watch TV, or fight with my brothers (she had three sisters but we rarely fought with them!). As we entered our teen years, our interests turned to boys and hairstyles, and we worried more about how we looked in our swimsuits than how good the pool water felt. She knew when I got my first period, my first kiss, and my first broken heart.

At the end of high school, she moved from Tucson to Lola, Kentucky, where her family was originally from. She met and married Ray Smith and had two little boys. Since her mother still lived in their house on Kilburn, she visited Tucson a few times over the next few years, and I saw her a couple of times. We tried to write back and forth a bit, but I think Denice didn’t like to write letters and we lost touch around 1974. I gave up on the idea of ever finding her again for many years, but about 6 or 8 years ago with increasing power of the internet, I began to search for her. I googled her and her husband’s and son’s names. I even called a couple of phone numbers thinking it might be her son, but never found anyone who knew her. When I signed up for Facebook two years ago, she was one of the first people I searched for. Every few months, I search again for her and any family members’ names I remembered.

Yesterday, I did another search, trying several combinations of her name, and suddenly when I typed in just “Jimmie Denice”, her name “Jimmie Denice Goode (Croft)” living in Paducah, Kentucky, popped up first on the list. Eureka! I knew it must be her, but tentatively sent a Facebook message asking “Could this be my girlhood friend from Tucson in the 1960s?”. This morning, she accepted my friend request, and wrote on my wall, “No, I am your “best” friend forever and your “true” blood sister!!! Remember we cut our fingers so our blood would mix together. So glad to hear from you! Have never had our kind of friendship with any one else.”

We’ve already been messaging back and forth this afternoon, and I have learned that she is remarried, with two sons, two step sons, and seven grandchildren.  Her mother (Opal Lee) died in 2008, but her father (Randolph) and three sisters (Randa, Linda and Sharion) all live within 65 miles of her.  We have much more catching up to do, but with Facebook, email and cell phones, I can confidently say we will do just that and (hopefully) never lose touch again!

 

Posted in Life & Family | 1 Comment

10 Things about my father

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Donna

In honor of Father’s Day, I list ten things about my father, Donald John Lafferty.  First a short biography: he was born on October 7, 1922 in New Hudson Township, New York. He grew up on a maple and dairy farm as the oldest of three children. He married Eloise Briggs in 1946 and had five children. (I was the fourth child, the only girl.) He served in the U.S. Army Air Corp for three years during World War II, stationed in Germany and England. He died on June 10, 2004.

  1. He built a four bedroom house, in Cuba, NY, which our family lived in for several years before moving to Arizona. I have very limited memories of the house because I was so young when we lived there, but I know my bedroom was adjacent to the kitchen dining area and we had a wooded area behind our back yard.
  2. He was a great mechanic, keeping all of our household appliances and vehicles in excellent working condition. It was a momentous day whenever we bought a new appliance, because it was certain the previous one had lasted far beyond the typical warranty period due to Dad’s ability to keep it in running condition.
  3. He built the “world’s first motor home” when he converted a small school bus into a traveling camp vehicle for our family to live in while moving across the country from New York state to Arizona. We stopped at many sights along the way, picnicking, exploring, relaxing and learning firsthand about the country beyond snowy upstate New York.
  4. He was a great proponent of seat belts, installing them in our vehicles long before most people even knew about them. I remember we had one long seat belt for the entire bench seat in the back, but that was at least more effective than no seat belt at all.
  5. He smoked cigarettes for several years, but quit shortly after evidence was publicized that it caused cancer.
  6. He loved camping and took our family on a camp trip nearly every summer. We visited dozens of state and national parks and monuments, learning the history and geography of our country on an economical budget.
  7. He loved country music (we called it hillbilly back then), and would occasionally play the radio in the car while he was driving. Mom hated it and it was a frequent source of arguments between them. He played the guitar and would sing for hours (especially in his later years after he retired) the songs made popular by such country stars as Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Merle Haggard, and Glen Campbell.
  8. He developed dementia in the final years of his life and lost much of his judgment capabilities, but he never forgot who each and every member of his family were. Every time I visited him in the nursing home, I took him an ice cream sundae. He loved it and looked forward to it and would ask me for specific flavors (usually butterscotch or hot fudge).
  9. I have no doubt that he would have been a great technology wizard if he had been born 50 years later. He was that progressive and loved new inventions, as well as learning and studying new things. He would have been thrilled at the power of the internet to instantly communicate and access information on any subject in the world.
  10. He loved his family and we loved him. I frequently think of him, sometimes when a memory hits, but oftentimes when something new comes along that I think how much he would have enjoyed experiencing it. He left a legacy of family values that is passing from one generation to the next through the Lafferty clan.
Posted in 10 Things, Life & Family | 5 Comments

Budding Star

Posted on June 5, 2011 by Donna

I made another trip to Boise in May. I happened to time it perfectly for seeing Megan perform in their church spring children’s musical program. Capital Christian Center is blessed to have Frank Hernandez as their children’s musical director. Frank and his wife, Betsy, are professional songwriters and have produced and published several children’s musical programs, including “Bullfrogs and Butterflies” and the well known “Music Machine“, which my kids performed at Northside Christian Church when they were little.  Frank and Betsy wrote the musical “The Amazing Book” a few years ago, and that’s what CCC’s kids performed the weekend I was there.

Megan auditioned for and won the part of  Dot, one of two nerdy experts who helped explain what the bible is all about to an energetic and inquisitive boy in the library.

Megan had a two line solo in one of the songs, but it was her acting and dancing that really stood out. Here are a couple of video clips from the show that I took with my iPhone.  The quality is not very good, but Megan is the one on the “right”. You can see them better on the screen above the choir.

In this clip, Megan’s two solo lines start at “First and Second Peter”. Listen quick!

Megan has started on pointe in her ballet classes this year. I will miss her spring recital this year, but I did ask her to put on her shoes and give me a demo of some of her dance positions. I think she has the beauty and grace of a beautiful dancer.

Steven is just finishing kindergarten, and he is going to a private school. He was all dressed in his school uniform the morning before I left, so I snapped a picture of this little handsome.

Robin and Ken are getting a makeover on their house, painting walls and cabinets, staining the wood floors, and building an outdoor barbecue kitchen. The workers started on the paint prep the morning before I left. I snapped a quick picture of the kitchen so we could all say good bye to the old and anticipate the new.

Robin texted me this picture of the progress part way. The workers still have things torn up and the floors are not stained yet, but you can see how nice the cabinets are coming along and how much brighter the kitchen looks.

The only other thing we did while I was there was attend a baby shower for a couple in the church (the senior pastor’s son) who just adopted twin baby boys. When I heard the news of how they got them, I started to cry. I always get teary over sweet adoption stories since Andrew came into our family. The weather was beautiful, their first nice weekend since winter, so my timing was great. It was a wonderful visit!

Posted in Life & Family | 4 Comments