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Archive for Travel Man

Technology Can Still Amaze Me

Posted on May 25, 2012 by Renee Spindle

Today is Friday, and presently I am texting with Travel Man via Skype while he is 30,000 ft in the air on his way to Denver. I am still awed and amazed that we are able to have this type of communication. I mean granted we just spent two days together, but to be able to continue our conversations while he is on the plane is fantastic. I’m a lucky girl.

Travel Man will tell you he is grateful to have the communication avenues that we have today to stay in touch. We like to use Skype for the video calling, and the occasional IM(instant messaging). When he is out of the country we use Tiger Talk to text with each other due to the roaming restrictions on the phones. For his international travel we have also used Skype’s phone calling feature to make international calls. We just buy a set amount of Skype credits, and this way we stay away from any roaming charges on our personal cell phone plan.

Travel Man uses TripIt to keep track of every bit of his travel information for every trip. It logs airline reservations, hotels, and car rentals, and it notifies me (aka the Domestic Goddess) when there is a new itinerary in place. TripIt also has mobile apps for either the Android or iPhone to stay completely connected, and it syncs with Outlook. TripIt helps me, to help Travel Man make sure all of his plans are in order. Especially when he has back-to-back trips. For tracking the air travel I like to use an app for my iPhone called FlightAware. This app tracks the flights and notifies you of any delays along the way. I have used many flight trackers over the years, and this is my favorite to date. The user friendliness of the app is what appeals to me, and the accuracy of the information.

Since I am fortunate to have Travel Man in my life to keep me informed on the latest and greatest technology, it’s easy for me to learn about new apps, or new technology available. I’m glad we are both able to have lots of ways to communicate with one another. It’s how we stay sane. But you know nothing beats just an old-fashioned phone call to hear the voice of your loved one. What’s your favorite form of communication in this technological era?

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Have You Ever Seen a Birdie Condo?

Posted on May 19, 2012 by Renee Spindle

We have a nice patio cover off of our kitchen and family room. It has great shade cloth and it’s where Travel Man does all of his grilling. We also have birds, and its springtime so we have lots of birds flitting around the house. There is a cute couple of finches, or maybe swallows that come back to this particular spot on our patio cover every year. This year I was on a mission to make them move their nest location away from our patio cover. Mainly to relocate the mess that dribbles onto the patio.

In the little nooks where the birds normally build their nest we stacked a couple of rocks. I thought surely this will stop them from building. But lo and behold here’s what they did.

View from the ground View up at birdie level

There is a nest build right on top of the rocks squished up to the screen cloth on the patio cover. The birds diligently built this little nest because they are claiming their space. I was amazed at how hard they worked to build this nest. One bird would fly in and then the other, but there was so little space they could not squeeze in there at the same time. We briefly, and I do mean nano-second briefly, discussed knocking the nest down to avoid all of the mess. But when I cast my vote for the nest, I wanted to save it because the birds had worked so hard. There was some eye rolling over this decision by some of my family members.

The nest stayed, but oddly enough the birds did not. They “flew the coop” last week sometime. I guess they decided their tight quarters were not going to work. So, Travel Man said to tell you all, so you can tell your birdie friends, that we have a birdie condo for rent. Great location, warm weather, and a cat perched below watching your every move. This springtime story will go down in the family history books.

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Another Installment of When Travel Man’s Away…..

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Renee Spindle

This has been kind of a funky morning. My theory is with a Road Warrior for a husband (aka Travel Man) nothing goes wrong around the house until he is away. Travel Man is in Alabama working this weekend, and there’s a few household glitches I thought I would share with you all.

The patio screen door would not go back on the track. After a new an improved latte in my coffee mug this one is fixed. Just needed some caffeine to get past my frustration on this one.
The washer has a quirky problem. We have a fancy new fangled front loading washer. If certain someone’s do not clean out their pockets properly sometimes things get stuck in this little filter/trap on the front of the washer. This was happening quite often so I got a lesson in how to fix it myself. So of course today, I had to clean out the trap- yuck, smelly water, and now we’re back in business. Who needs a washer warranty anyway.
And my last quirk was that the first latte I made myself this morning had no espresso dripped into it. The filter folded over on itself, and the coffee never dribbled into the milk. This one happened before the previous two.

At this moment, I am happy to report that I got my latte, got everything fixed and in shape, and now on with my family weekend. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, and even if you are not, a Road Warrior is someone who makes their living while traveling from place to place or customer to customer, or job to job. On the road, in the air, not usually by bus or train unless they are in some remote location. My Travel Man is a Field Service Technician, and travels to plants all over the USA for his work. But the details there are a story for another day. Hope you all enjoy your Friday. Mine is much better now. Toodles!

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11 Things I was Reminded of During our Home Improvement Week

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Renee Spindle

If you are a follower of my stories you know that Travel Man and are near the end of a project remodeling the entryway of our home. After a few marathon work sessions last week it reminded me that we almost always have a great time together with our projects, and here’s a few reasons why we do:

1. Projects with my Travel Man are fun.

2. We work well together.

3. It is important that I pay attention and know when to leave Travel Man alone to let him think and work. It can be all fun and laughter.

4. Working a project and meeting our deadline is like a well orchestrated dance.

5. I’m a great “sous” carpenter- clean up is my specialty.

6. Planning is everything.

7. Changing the plan when you are actually in the middle of the project can be important. Be flexible.

8. It’s ok with me if Travel Man doesn’t like to paint, because I love to paint!

9. Finishing all of the detail work gives you the greatest sense of accomplishment.

10. The detail work is what makes your project spectacular. This one is still in the works as I am typing this post.

11. I need more exercise, I am seriously out of shape.

As our entryway project comes to a successful close I have to give a big shout out to my wonderful husband. He worked by hard to get a lot of work done in a short period of time. And of course, this week he is back on the road. That’s our life, planning and executing, and trying to get things done on short notice. I will have pictures a little later this week, remember patience is a virtue my friends.

No comments Posted in Around the House, DIY Projects, Family, Travel Man

Home Improvement Projects

Posted on May 4, 2012 by Renee Spindle

My wonderful Travel Man has had a few days at home in a row which has been a rarity since the beginning of the year. We decided to take advantage of this week, with him at home to get some home improvement projects rolling along.

For most of this week we have been texturing and painting the walls in our entryway, installing new flooring, and getting all of the trim work completed. We are down to the wire and will be finishing up tomorrow morning. Travel man is off to Canada on Sunday. This project has been a long time coming, and it is just delightful to see it all coming together. I will post a slide show of pictures once we are completely done.

We have also been putting together a plan to landscape our front yard. Our house sits on a corner lot, the first house on the south side of our street. So we have a lot of front yard going on. We had the front yard graded probably two years ago now, and have just been keeping the dirt free of weeds and in check since then. Putting a plan together with a blank slate is somewhat of a daunting task. You want the grass and plants to look nice, and you don’t want to make a mistake with your plan. This is why we have waited to spend any money on our front yard. We had to have the time to get a vision, agree on that vision, and put a plan in place to execute. That sounds so “Corporate world” doesn’t it?

Anyway, we have been doing so much planning for the front yard, and supply purchasing for the entryway I told my husband one morning this week that I had a dream we were planting in our entryway!! My thoughts were a little mixed up don’t you think? All of this planning an executing has been making my head spin.

The entryway project is coming along so beautifully it is already creating “the domino effect”. You know what I’m talking about. You make an improvement in one area of your home, and it pushes the domino into the next room that needs to be painted or remodeled, which in our case is our living room. And we all know the “domino effect” creates a never-ending “to-do” list. But I love lists so that’s ok.

Watch for my entryway pictures in the next few days. I’m excited to get this project off of the “to-do” list and work on the front yard before it starts to get too hot. Happy home improvement weekend everyone. How’s your “to-do” list going?