A week of upgrades at home…

Phew… Featured photo is of the interior of the new fridge!

This week has been somewhat momentous in our household. We’ve made a couple of significant upgrades to certain essential and expensive electronic devices in our home.

On Monday, I got a brand new iMac desktop computer. I hadn’t really been planning to buy one in July, but my old computer was simply too full of data to use efficiently. It was driving me crazy, and I was wasting a lot of time finding things to delete so I’d have room for more stuff.

I bought the old computer in February 2023, so it’s disappointing that I needed to replace it so soon. But, in fairness, I am a power user, especially since I started making song parody videos, and I didn’t spring for generous storage or RAM when I bought that computer. This time, I decided to upgrade both RAM and storage, so this machine should be good for awhile.

I made my decision to upgrade about ten days ago, when I spent a couple of hours trying to find raw video footage I could part with so I could run Apple’s updates. It took FOREVER to finally hit that sweet spot of 14 GB available. And yes, I do have an external drive, but a lot of the stuff taking up space is stuff I can’t really put on an external drive.

I ordered the new computer on Monday morning, July 6th, and it arrived at about 11:30 AM on July 13th. It took the rest of the day to set it up, but it now feels both like I’ve really upped my game, and never stopped using the old computer. I have a lot more room on this new computer, but thanks to the migration assistant on Apple, it’s pretty easy to move everything. So I have pretty much all of my stuff from the old computer, and lots more room to grow on the new computer.

The physical setting up, though, was a bit of a pain. I bought a VESA arm for the last computer, because somehow I ended up ordering a VESA configuration. I didn’t even know what a VESA arm was when I got my computer with no stand! Now, after three years of using a VESA set up, I realize that I prefer it to the stand. For one thing, it takes up less space and gives me more room to put my crap. For another, it makes the display easier to adjust.

However, I had forgotten how the arm works, and didn’t realize that all you have to do is push on it to manipulate it. So I probably spent about 90 minutes trying to figure that out… And then there was the actual physical strength needed to hang the screen on the arm. It was a bit awkward and taxing. But… I did it! I only spent a few minutes wishing I’d opted for the stand, instead of the VESA arm.

Below are a couple of pictures of the new computer, as well as the VESA back. I’d take a photo of the computer on the arm, but it looks the same as the old one did.

The next big upgrade this week was our refrigerator. If you read this blog regularly, or you follow me on social media, you might know that on June 5, 2026, our landlord’s fridge finally died on us. I wrote about it here.

That old fridge, which was stowed inconspicuously in a cabinet, needed to croak. It was sitting on a rotting platform that needed to be repaired, but it was also just old and obsolete. Nevertheless, when it died, things became very inconvenient for us.

Fortunately, we did have a refrigerator that we bought when we moved to Jettingen in 2014. It’s not a great fridge, nor is it very big, but it was able to handle full refrigeration duties while our landlord tracked down our new refrigerator. We had false hopes in late June, when a fridge was brought to us, but our landlord rejected it because of a cosmetic defect. Plus, the platform needed to be repaired.

Last week, a couple of handymen came over and made the new platform. You can see the progression in the photos…

All week, we’ve had an empty space where the fridge usually goes. Then yesterday, a different appliance vendor brought us a brand new Liebherr refrigerator that would fit in that space. It cost about 2100 euros, and it’s a big improvement over the last fridge. However, I think the high cost comes from it being able to fit in a cupboard, rather than it having a lot of features. It doesn’t have an ice maker or a water line, for instance, for dispensing cold water. But then, the fridge is not actually based near a water source, anyway.

Below are a few photos of the new fridge. It has a touch screen that allows it to be turned on or off, special modes for different occasions, and it can be connected to the Internet. Also, if you leave the door open too long, the lights flash at you, and you get a little red nastygram that orders you to shut the door!

*It was a pain to take all of the plastic off of everything.*

I was wearing my TRUMP SUCKS t-shirt when the delivery guys came. I think they got a kick out of it. I heard them talking to the landlord about it… and the landlord also talked to me about “our president”… a man I don’t wish to claim as a leader.

They told me not to turn on the fridge for 24 hours, but I lasted about four hours before I turned it on. The 24 hour rule comes from the risk of the fridge lying on its side and not having the oils properly circulating in the compressor. Turning on the fridge too soon can lead to damage to the machine. But I don’t think this fridge was stored on its side or back. It definitely wasn’t delivered that way, and was already standing upright for some time before it got to us. So I turned it on, and later, the landlord saw Bill and asked if it was working okay. This morning, it was working fine, so I think I made the right call.

The delivery guys also warned me about the age of the cupboard, and that it wasn’t quite perfect anymore, due to “warping”. Because of the warping, the door might not close properly. I know… but it’s not my kitchen set up. It is an old set up that needs replacing, but I’m not sure the landlord is going to want to do that if the cupboards have now gone out of style. He just spent 2100 euros on this new fridge!

For those who don’t know… in many German rentals, people buy their own kitchen set ups and install them when they move into the house or apartment. This house came with a setup already installed, but it’s pretty old and needs to be updated.

We’re so grateful to have a fridge in the kitchen again. It’s a real pain to have to go up and down a flight of stairs to get food and drinks. However, Bill has admitted that doing that has helped him get his steps in this month… He’s also been sick, though, so the extra steps were especially vexing.

Our landlord apologized that it took so long to get the new fridge. I assured him it was okay, and of course he can’t control how long these things take. I’m just glad he didn’t yell at me when the fridge finally gave up the ghost. I fear that’s what would have happened in Jettingen. I know we pay a lot more to live in this house, but it’s worth every euro cent, simply because the landlord doesn’t act like a tyrranical asshole.

Tonight, we’ll have a wine stand, and I think Bill will want to go, if it’s not raining. We sure could use the rain! But it’s always fun to drink wine with the locals. And maybe this weekend, we’ll go out and have a proper celebration of Bill’s birthday, now that he’s not so sick.

Handwritten prescription for Amoxicillin 500mg for sinus infection with doctor and patient details

Health, medical

At least the ENT doc was professional…

AI image today…

Yesterday was a big day in our house. I got my new computer, and am now writing my very first blog post on it. It took hours to set everything up on it, mainly because I forgot how the VESA arm works. I was also alone, so I had to wrestle the screen on the faceplate by myself. Everything was made more difficult, because I forgot that the arm can be taken apart, and all you have to do to get the arm to function is just push hard on it.

It took several hours for my files to migrate from my old computer to my new one. As I sit here right now, I’m moving music onto the new computer and adding apps that had to be deleted from the old one for want of space. The new computer has twice the amount of space and twice the RAM, so it should be good for awhile.

Bill went to see an ear, nose, and throat doctor yesterday about his “extra juicy cough”. It was the same practice he visited last year, when his ears were bothering him. Last year, they discovered his ears were full of wax, so they cleaned them out for him, which ended with immediate relief.

This year, he saw a different doctor, who saw that he’d come in for ear cleaning last year. So the doctor cleaned the little bit of wax he saw. Then he ran a fiberoptic tube down Bill’s nose to look at his throat! 😳

Bill said the guy was actually very professional, and treated him respectfully. Originally, he tried to look at his throat via Bill’s mouth, but Bill has a strong gag reflex. So he sprayed anesthetic up the nose and Bill said he couldn’t even feel the tube until it got past the nose. The doctor showed Bill his voice box and everything… I think I would have fainted dead away!

He also got a blood test that required just one drop of blood. The blood test was slightly abnormal.

The results were that there is a slight bronchial infection, so the doctor prescribed antibiotics, which Bill doesn’t need to take until a week has passed. If he’s not better next week, he should fill the prescription and take the meds. If he improves, they aren’t going to be necessary.

The doc also prescribed a steroidal inhaler, which the local Apotheke didn’t have in stock, but will have acquired later today. And he got a scrip for more Bronchipret, which doesn’t actually require a prescription. I guess he said there’s a more powerful preparation he can get. All told, the exam cost 300 euros, which Bill paid on site. He can submit the bill to Tricare, if he wants to. I don’t know if he’ll bother.

As Bill was telling me about all of this, I couldn’t help but remember my shockingly bad experience with the German gastroenterologist two years ago. It’s good to know there are professional doctors in Germany. 😏 I know there are professional doctors here, but I seem to have a special knack for running into the jerks.

Anyway, I think the conclusion is to let Tricare help us find doctors here, and avoid going to the hospital. The Medicum next door seems to be better. In fact, they even had a nice waiting room, strictly for private insurance/private paying patients.

Bill was actually sounding somewhat better yesterday, before he saw the doctor, but he’s still got that wretched, noisy, annoying cough that doesn’t let him sleep and causes him to wake me up with his rattling lungs. All this, stemming from that TDY trip he took to Spain in late May! He’s really been sick all summer, and he got me sick, too. Fortunately, I eventually got over my sickness.

Bill still has an appointment next month with his “GP” at Landstuhl. Meanwhile, I probably should tend to my own health, but my mental state forbids it. So, I think I’ll search for a nice spa hotel to visit, next time we have some free time. Too bad we couldn’t take advantage of the July 4th long weekend.

I’m glad Bill managed to get competent, respectful, and effective help. I hope if I ever darken the door of a doctor’s office again, I might manage to score the same!

Health

Mr. Bill and his extra juicy cough…

Featured photo is of a few items Bill picked up from the Apotheke for his “juicy cough”…

It’s a hot, sunny Saturday here in Germany. Bill is struggling with a really nasty cough. Remember last month when he brought home a virus from Spain that made us both sick? Well, I eventually got over my sickness. Bill initially seemed to get over his, but was left with a lingering cough that has since gotten worse.

He has a doctor’s appointment on Monday. I told him to get one, and he was not able to get one with his regular American “GP” at Landstuhl until August. He decided to seek one with the same German ear, nose, and throat practice he visited months ago, when he had his ears cleaned out. 🤢

On Friday, he also visited the neighborhood “Apotheke”, which is Germany’s version of a pharmacy. Here, drugs are sold exclusively in apothecaries, rather than in grocery stores. The guy who runs our local drug store loaded him up with 40 euros worth of items, some of which are naturopathic. I noticed that Bill got some Bronchipret, which I took last year. One of its active ingredients is thyme, which is well-known for helping with “chesty coughs”.

I took Bronchipret when I got sick with a really nasty respiratory virus. I didn’t find it to be extremely effective, but it did help soothe me until my body was able to fight off the sickness. It also didn’t taste horrible.

Poor Bill has been waking up repeatedly at night, needing to cough a lot. The cough is very loud and productive, but he’s still not able to clear his lungs as much as he needs to, so he can’t rest well. I’m sure the ENT will tell him to “get with his GP”, but he needs help now. Maybe they will give him a prescription. Hopefully, he won’t be treated as poorly as I was, two years ago, when I saw a specialist. But then, he’s a man… so he’ll probably get better care.

Being sick sucks. It especially sucks in the summer, when you live in a house that doesn’t have central air conditioning, and it’s hot as Hell outside. It’s not actually that hot today, but it’s definitely getting warm again. That will mean my ankles are going to blow up.

I wish I could enjoy summer more. I do miss Lake Zürich now.

Monday, I expect to get a brand new desktop computer, so that may help me make content a bit more efficiently. And on Thursday, we expect our new fridge to get here, so we can stop traipsing down to the basement to get food. Things are progressing. I do need to go to AAFES and order new glasses, too. I expect to buy my first pair of bifocals. Edited to add: just after I wrote this post, we went to AAFES in Wiesbaden and I ordered my new glasses.

SIGH…

Bill did have a birthday the other day. We celebrated with a snazzy birthday song I sang for him in a YouTube video. I thought maybe we’d go do something this weekend, but I think he’s feeling too poorly. Hopefully, he’ll be feeling better next weekend.

This morning, a golden retriever, belonging to a neighbor we have not met, was running amok in our neighborhood. The dog was not wearing a collar, and according to our next door neighbor, regularly jumps over the fence surrounding its neighbor’s yard, and visits our cul-de-sac. I hope the dog stays far away from the Autobahn.

Hessen

Noyzi the YouTube star… now starring as a “tramp”!

My “street dog”, Noyzi from Kosovo, sitting on the rug next to my computer, striking a pose…

First thing’s first. I’m happy to report that my left eye is back to normal now. It only took a few days, rather than the couple of weeks predicted in the articles and videos on the subject of subconjunctival hemorrhages.

I was going to make one of my usual music videos yesterday, having discovered the wonderful Peggy Lee last week. Well, I shouldn’t say I “discovered” her, per se… I had heard of her. I just never bought much of her music and listened to it intently. That changed last week, when I covered her version of “Blue Moon”, a song I never really had much affection for, until I heard Peggy do it.

One of the three songs I did last week… I ended up buying a big a Peggy Lee album.

After I did a version of Peggy Lee’s cover of “Blue Moon”, I came across her song “He’s a Tramp”, from Lady and the Tramp. I haven’t seen that move in decades, but I am a committed dog lover, and I loved Peggy’s sultry purr. I decided to try it yesterday… and since my eye was only about 90% healed, I had Noyzi from Kosovo star in the video. I happened to have a few candid Noyzi clips from around the house… I thought it would be easy to throw them in a movie made on my new computer. Well… I was wrong. But I did manage to make the video on my older laptop. Below is the end result.

There’s a long instrumental intro… but it’s a short video.

It was sheer luck that his wiggly butt matched the tempo of the song. It was hard to manipulate the clips on the laptop, since I don’t have a magic mouse for it. I need to research how to fix the settings on my computer so I don’t have the same issue adding clips to my videos on the desktop machine in the future. I think it has something to do with permissions. Whatever it is, it’s a highly annoying problem, especially when I just want to make a quick video without a lot of fuss. I wish I were more of a technical guru.

Here’s a fun factoid. Noyzi loves watching videos, especially if they have any type of animal in it. He will watch animals of any species whatsoever, but he especially likes watching other dogs. When I played the animated version of “He’s a Tramp” just to hear how Peggy Lee did it, Noyzi came in and stood next to me. He was watching the video of Peg, the shelter dog, singing about the Tramp who broke doggy hearts with no compunction.

I wouldn’t say our Noyzi is really a “tramp”. He’s actually the best behaved dog we’ve ever had, in spite of his being a “street dog”. He’s clean and very quiet, and never has accidents in the house. He doesn’t get into the trash or break into the basement. Most of the time, I barely know he’s here. He loves people, car rides, other dogs, and seeing and doing new things, and he doesn’t have a mean bone in his body. I just thought his cute little tail wag would be perfect for that song! And it gave me an excuse not to put on makeup for my weekly music video.

By the way… my guitar playing is coming along. I might even be ready to do a guitar video soon. I just have to iron out some technical issues first.

gadgets, housekeeping tips

“Up, up, up, in my studio, studio…” with apologies to Sponjetta Parrish…

Back in 2010 or so, when Bill and I were living in Georgia, I was an avid viewer of America’s Got Talent. There was a very charming performer that year named Sponjetta, and she came up with an extremely catchy hook, with her original song, “Studio”. Years later, I still sing it. And now, after this week, I have a special reason to be singing it. I spent this week upgrading my workspace.

If you follow me on Facebook or read my main blog, you may have already seen some photos of the work I’ve been doing. It’s been a busy week, but I made a lot of progress and, in fact, my former landlady might even be surprised. She apparently thought I was a total dirtbag. Oh well. In the end, we got the last laugh. 😀

I didn’t actually plan to upgrade my work area when I bought my new computer. I thought I’d be dumping the old one into the pile of three worn out machines that need ditching. But then I realized what a huge collection of music my old computer has, and it’s also compatible with a lot of my peripherals. Yes, I can and will update the peripherals eventually, but I just spent about $2700 on a new, souped up machine. So, I want to wait a little while before I replace things like microphone interfaces and power hubs. It probably won’t take long before I replace them, but I wanted a workaround for now.

So there I was a few days ago, finally mounting my new computer on the VESA arm that caused some drama last weekend… The old computer was sitting on the floor, and it was awkward to use it. I went looking on Amazon for a solution, and found a really excellent wooden table. I also decided to buy another HomePod Mini, so I could upgrade the sound in my office.

As the week wore on, the work continued… it culminated to today with me putting together a CD tower for the CDs I’ve bought since we’ve been back in Germany. I probably have 1000 more of these at home in storage, but for now, the CDs were taking up valuable room in the IKEA desk I stole from my first German landlord in 2009. I’m kidding… we took the desk with his blessing. It’s made to accommodate a computer tower. 😮

When I bought the second HomePod, Apple did a clever suggestive sell, and I bought some really cool strip lights that I can control on my computer. It really dresses up my area and will probably jazz up my videos, next time I make one. I have a new song in mind, by the way… I’ll probably record it tomorrow or Monday. I might even play guitar, too.

Anyway, here are a few photos. I’m rather proud of myself. I am especially delighted by the new table. I feel all “Brownlee Vila” now (a joke, since my favorite late Uncle Brownlee was a genius at building stuff. He was also a great, self-taught musician. I miss him terribly.) By the way, I can set those lights to about 1500 shades or so, just with the flick of a hand. I think I paid 35 euros for the lights. Seriously, this looks way better. My hand is also looking better now. The blisters don’t hurt today. That table will probably last the rest of my life, too. It’s VERY solid. Just what I’d expect from a German vendor.

Oh… and we didn’t go our for Valentine’s Day again this year. 🙁 But Bill did send me a beautiful bouquet of roses. He’s the best.

And for those who are wondering… Arran is still with us and perky as ever, even if he’s a bit lumpier. Noyzi is also doing very well, even if he’s had unusual fart power this week. You can see Noyzi watching his favorite Dodo videos, while Arran is doing what he does best… begging for food and being handsome.

There are still a few things I need to fix until the space is just right. For one thing, we need to do something about the Internet going out at the drop of a hat. I did dump a lot of stuff off the old computer, but it still hangs up and cuts out too much. I’m sure there’s a simple fix that my old brain hasn’t found yet. Bill went out today and bought a brand new power drill/screwdriver, so I hope I won’t have to suffer blisters again, if I have another screwing project to do. 😉 At least, if I have one that doesn’t involve genital herpes.

I am hoping tomorrow, we will go out and enjoy the weekend… and maybe we’ll even get mooned again, like we did in 2019.

Uncategorized

Arran update…

Arran went in for another Vincristine chemo treatment yesterday. I think we might be at week #16, but I’m not positive. I told the vet about his swollen lymph nodes, which have gotten bigger since I first noticed their enlarged sizes on Saturday. She looked dismayed and we made plans to come in after a week, rather than in two weeks. When we got home, there was a small traffic jam in our cul-de-sac. Our neighbor’s daughter had left her car running next to her parking spot. The car and a trash can prevented me from getting to our house. Someone else was behind me, too.

I put Arran in the house, then came out to move the car to the driveway, only to be confronted by our neighbor, who was trying to park her car in the spot next to ours. I finally just turned the car around and parked in front of the house. Maybe I’ll move the car later today, while no one is home.

Aside from the larger lymph nodes, Arran has mostly been his usual, bright, colorful, spotted self. He happily took a walk yesterday and woke me at 3:00 AM for his breakfast. Then, he wanted his dinner twelve hours later. He got it at 4:00 PM, as that was an hour before our appointment. He wolfed it down.

All was fine after the chemo, until sometime around 9:00, when I suddenly smelled the familiar stench of dog shit. It was a rather messy pile he’d left for me in the living room. This isn’t actually that unusual for Arran. He’s never been 100 percent perfect at housetraining, in spite of my best efforts to teach him the right way.

I cleaned up the mess and went back upstairs to chat with Bill. At about 11:30 PM, Arran woke me up with a concerned look on his face. He was trembling a bit. I asked him if he wanted to go out. He eagerly jumped off the bed and ran downstairs. I let him go outside and he immediately pooped again. Then, he acted like he still needed to go, but nothing was coming out. He ran back inside and tried to go again in the living room. I shooed him outside, where he tried a couple more times for a moment. Finally, the compulsion seemed to have passed. We went back to bed.

Of course, by that point, I was freaked out and wide awake. I was wondering if I’d need to load Arran into the car and take him to the Tierklinik Hofheim, a high speed veterinary facility nearby that we’ve used a few times over the past four years. The funny thing is, when we still lived near Stuttgart and our dog, Zane, was the one with health issues, our vet down there suggested the Tierklinik Hofheim as one of the best vet hospitals in Germany. At that time, it was over two hours away by car. Now, it’s maybe 20 minutes away.

I don’t really know exactly how to get to the Tierklinik Hofheim, because Bill always takes the dogs there without me. And although the car has a GPS, I never use it. I don’t even know how I’d turn it on. I do know kind of where it is, and I have an excellent knack for finding things. But that doesn’t mean I want to go hunting for it in the middle of the night during an emergency. Looking at their Web site, I see that face masks are now optional at the Tierklinik Hofheim. The same isn’t true at our regular vet’s office.

I laid next to Arran and stroked him. He sighed and relaxed, and soon he was sleeping peacefully. It took me a bit longer to drop off, so I read more of my latest book before finally falling asleep.

I woke up at about 4:15 AM. Arran woke up a few minutes later, and was keen to eat breakfast. I fed him and Noyzi, then went back to bed to try to sleep a bit more. I ended up dry heaving, for some reason. I didn’t drink a lot of alcohol last night. I suspect it was an attack of GERD, which tends to strike when I don’t eat right, drink too much, and experience stress. I have to admit, it was pretty stressful dealing with Arran last night.

At about 6:30 AM, I finally turned on Alexa Thunderstorm, which worked surprisingly well… I dozed for about an hour before I finally got up to make some coffee. I probably would have actually slept, if Arran hadn’t repeatedly been licking his asshole.

He’s now lying in my office, just like he usually does when I’m writing… Noyzi has started doing that, too. At least I’ll always have a doggy buddy when I blog.

The vet said she would look to see if there were other drugs we could try, how expensive they would be, and how onerous administering them would be. I told her that we are not in a hurry to lose Arran, but we’re also not expecting miracles. Zane had lymphoma, too. We know how this will end.

But, amazingly enough, Arran still seems very interested in living. His eyes are bright; his ears perk up; and he’s still got his indomitable personality. The vet tested his blood yesterday, and aside from having slightly low platelets, the results weren’t too alarming. He got a dose of Endoxan this morning, which seems to make him sleepy.

Arran is a very special dog, and we don’t want to lose him. I know we will, and it likely won’t be too much longer. He needs to stick around until tomorrow, when Bill comes home.

My computer is in a death spiral and won’t play music without hanging up repeatedly. Since I make music on my computer, this is a fireable offense. It also freezes up randomly, even after I quit unnecessary processes and dump large files. I ordered a new computer a couple of days ago. Hopefully, very soon, I’ll have my snazzy new machine.

He’s still such a scrapper.

The Traveling Overeducated Housewife

…the wanderings and ramblings of a boring housewife…

Tag Archives: new computer