Monday, August 16, 2010

Up & Running

Whew! Am I ever glad to be fully functional once more.

Picture this:

Your favorite blogger searched high and low for a parking place not too far from the mall entrance. Did I mention that it was 3 in the afternoon and sweltering? Well, it was. Wrestling the 21" iMac out of the car,  I struggled to carry both the computer and the bag containing the two hard drives. The parking lot was like molten asphalt. Not that I've ever seen or felt that but it sounds good doesn't it? The reminds me of how I think it's so crazy that they attempt to say the weather/temp feels like such and such. To whom I ask? Sorry, getting off track there....

Have you been in an Apple store lately? It's loud. It's crazy busy. Making my way through the crowd with said equipment in my arms, I moved to the back of the store to the Genius bar. A nice young man noted my appointment. At first glance I wondered if I would have to stand there for 10 minutes or so holding the computer, however, a spot opened where I could perch both myself, and my gear.

Just like some bars you've been to, there was standing room only once my name was called. At first, the "Genius" plugged in the hard drives and saw no problem. We discussed other issues, with him suggesting some fixes. Once again he plugged in the hard drives, and proving I was not crazy, there was no recognition no matter what he tried. The bottom line is, the fix was at least half the cost of a new one, so I took the plunge.  Because I've already used the "bottom line", the addendum is that I should have just listened to Bruce in the first place and bought the computer at 10 in the morning. Live and learn my friends.
Here is the tiny new wireless keyboard and Magic mouse. The keyboard is going to take some getting used to as is the mouse which uses the swiping motion like an iPhone. I am totally going to toot my horn here. I am proud to say I set it all up by myself for the very first time. No panic calls to either Jonathan or Matthew. PLUS I transferred everything from the old computer to the new one. Seriously, Apple could not make this any easier, but still....

My photo libraries are once again accesible with the added bonus that my scanner now works. The speed is kinda like the difference between pouring fake maple syrup and the real thing. If you've ever poured those you'll know what I mean. Here's a real collage with pictures made this morning:
As my late mother would say, "Now you're cooking with gas!"

And speaking of slow/fast, the market yesterday was somewhere in the middle. No rain, medium crowds, and some sales. Seriously, what more can I expect in August?

Last week while shopping for produce at Clemons, I came across rhubarb, a favorite of Bruce's since childhood. His Mom used to make pies with the plentiful supplies up in the uppermost part of New York state. I bought the rhubarb, but with Bruce's travel schedule, I had to find just the right time to make it so he'd get to eat it all. Although a granite counter top works well for rolling pie crust, this time I wet the counter a bit and put that most wonderful of kitchen products, stretch-tite, on the counter, sprinkling it with a little flour before rolling the dough. The rhubarb was a mix of pink and green on each stalk, thus the color combination. As well I had one ripe peach which I threw in for good measure. Bruce was surprised and delighted with the outcome, calling it an "homage" to his Mom.

This morning he enjoyed the last of it before leaving for work. As you can see, Baxter was waiting patiently for either dropped crumbs, or if he got really lucky, a little bite!

You might note all the condensation on the door from the excessive humidity, something I'm always fighting in the summer on my camera lenses.

Finally Jonathan and Alissa have returned to their apartment after a three week evacuation! Hurray!

P.S. I know the header is a ridiculous size but to date I've been unable to find a fix.

2 comments:

matt said...

that comment about the header picture is funny. :)

Lisa Spak said...

The collage is beautiful

So This is Springtime