Tuesday and a post at last......

It has been a while, hasn't it.....

I have yet to go and get a new computer so I write here with a total lack of trust in this machine. It has no files on it, because I won't upload anything. Or download the camera. Or anything much, to be frank. Paranoia is the name of the game, perhaps. I keep casting a baleful eye over it, waiting for computer mayhem. Maybe a post re trust is in the offing.

However, the blog needs words now and then, or it will die.  Although the longer I don't write, the easier it is not to, if you see what I mean. The days pass by and I think....Hmmmm. Should I?

The past week has been filled with computer stuff, and apart from getting a new camera for it because the old drivers were lost, and then it was not proving to be simple to download some from the internet, and hey, what if there are more viruses etc etc, I have had endless problems sorting out things like screensavers, sleep mode and other enthralling bits, which did not fascinate me at all, so would bore you all to death in 2 seconds flat. And that is the longest sentence in history but too bad. It stays.

Then there was the Saga of the Cupcakes for Church Coffee. My oven doesn't work, so I had planned to go to Jean's clutching the cupcake mixture to bake them for coffee after church this past Sunday. Well. I doubled the recipe and forgot to double the eggs. Oops. The cupcakes rose into the air, then crashed and glued themselves to the pan. I can bake. I really can. However, anyone watching me hack the residue out of the pans may have had their doubts. Jean started another mixture, and we both counted the eggs this time, and the second lot worked perfectly. I had also made crispie cakes - chocolate and rice bubbles mixed together. No oven required. I am forward thinking. That took most of the day, what with the shopping for ingredients, abortive attempts and driving round the village, not to mention the artistic icing in swirls.

And then, on Sunday, another lady thought she was on duty so brought cakes. Another brought excess cakes from a party the day before, and we had mountains of cake thingies. So many that I ended up bringing most of mine home. Sigh. My kids ate them, though.

• This was a weekend when there were too many things that needed to be done and only one of me. 
• So I didn't sing in our final concert on Sunday afternoon, which was sad, BUT 
• I did go to Andrew and Ann's house and I had a chance to play with Missy, which was lovely.
• Andrew did a beer can chicken BBQ which was delicious. In the rain. (You stick an open beer can up the inside of a chicken and cook it on the BBQ with the lid on, turning every 20 mins. )
• David had to be out of his house by yesterday at 2pm, and all his things needed to be loaded into the car 
• The house he stayed in had to be cleaned and sorted. He did 90% of it. His housemates did....... Yes. 
• So he is now home, and recovering from all the cleaning upstairs on his bed. It may take a week or two.
• The water butt got blocked, so that had to be emptied
• I didn't screw the tap back in tight enough so that now drips. Dangling over the edge of the water butt is not an easy feat. 
• It rained so the water butt filled up again therefore can't be tightened yet. But can drip at speed.
• My sewing room is now a store room
• My kitchen is a laundry
• You get the picture.

So things have been occupying my mind here. The mind which seems to have very little room in it at the best of times.  I did go and look at computers and everything irritated me. The assistants. The laptops. The costs. The fact that the laptop I have been looking at for 2 years is still the same price it was 2 years ago and every other one is now cheaper faster, fancier, and yet the one I wanted is the same price it was - that REALLY irritates me. It makes no sense. I asked, and the assistant said - Sony does that. And yes, the specs are exactly the same as they were 2 years ago. They are written in my notebook every few weeks. And now maybe I don't want it any more. Maybe I want something totally different. Like a Mac. Those are way more expensive. Then I looked at new desktops. Wireless. Terabytes (Huh??) Touchscreens. And started hyperventilating, so departed for the coffee shop instead with my fingers stuck in my ears. Brain overload.

So here we are. David gave me his old laptop, but the keys sort of don't all work all the time. I wrote something and it looked like swahili. It was supposed to be English. I don't know what I want. And Heaven help me, I checked out the camera, and can say with certainty that laptops need to be at a critical angle to avoid one looking like the Bride of Frankenstein. I looked diabolical. The fact that it had rained all day and I was out in it supervising the loading of the car resulted in hair which rose at 90 degree angles from my head. That, and the fact that the make up had vanished and I was beyond tired could have contributed to the glorious vision I saw on that laptop last night. That was just before I fell asleep at 8.30pm. Maybe it was a coma.

However....

• My garden is a delight
• The roses have never been as plentiful or as stunning
• I have beans, peas, spinach and lettuce ready to eat
• Baby gem squash are emerging all over the place
• So are the courgettes
• The flowers are growing as I watch
• And I cannot tell you how much I love being out there - just drinking it all in
• The allotment is doing brilliantly too. Stuff is growing.
• It is Glynis's birthday today and we went out for lunch. That was great.
• My son is home for now. Who knows how long he will be here - it depends on career opportunities or further study, both of which will mean he heads off to carve his own path through life, just as his brother and sister have done. Inevitable. So these days are special.
• The sun comes and goes
• Medical tests are run
• Friends pop in
• The phone rings
• Babies are born
• The very first prayer shawl I have knitted (I don't knit) is coming on beautifully in the evenings (when I manage to stay awake!)
• I am very aware of the multitude of blessings which colour my life, despite the frustrations which at times threaten my sanity, and I am oh so thankful for every single one of them.

And now and then, I remember my blog and, more specifically, all my wonderful friends out there, who have come to mean a huge amount to me. You brighten my days.

Stick around, people. I will be back.