Cart Before the Horse: Technical Difficulties and Geniuses

Well, lets talk about how tough it is to blog without a computer. Or at least without my computer. As I speak, I am desperately racing the clock to finish this entry before my laptop blacks out on me again. Since my sewing machine is also on the fritz, I have been taking this electronic mutiny to mean “hey there blogger mom, take it easy, take a break, watch some softball and soccer and chill out with a good book.” My electronic devices are ever so soothing and comforting when they speak to me as I ponder their non-usefulness.

Obviously I will soon be making a trek westward. Apparently, only people in Tarrant or Collin Counties can fix either of these items so I flipped a coin (ok, so I decided a trip to Central Market was a good reward for driving so far) and picked the Southlake/Hurst choices for repair. In the near future, I hope to drop off the sewing machine at the Husqvarna Viking shop and my laptop at the Apple shop (man, do I hate those superior elitists at the “Genius Bar”) and return laden with fresh produce and cheeses!

A side-note on the “Geniuses” at Apple:

Picture it, Sicily, 1935…

Wait, that wasn’t me…

Picture it, Highland Village, 2007. A beautiful young woman (go with it) is trying to rip some songs from a CD to her iMac.

Ok, it was me.

Anyway, I kept hearing this horrible grinding noise and the thing spit my CD out with a huge groove dug in the surface. Not cool, iMac!

I threw a few blank CDs in there just to test. Grooves, one and all.

Sooooo, I hauled the thing down to the Apple shop and asked the “Genius” to fix it.

“Do you have an AppleCare plan?” he said with a snotty tone of voice, peering at me over his John Lennon-esque frames.

“Yeeeesss, I dooooo.” I said back, as if to a toddler. Honestly, who doesn’t get the warranty on a computer worth more than their sofa-especially with three small children in the house!

Off I went, back home to wait, computer-less, for the “Genius” to wield his magic.

I did not wait long. The next day, he called to tell me,

“I found your problem.”

“Awesome,” I said. “And?”

“There was a nickel in the disc drive.”

“Oh,” I said, very unimpressed. “How often do you see that?”

“This is my first time.”

Lucky me, I made his day.

So long story short, Too late! I got my computer back, working disc drive and all, with no cost to me. Hoo-rah!

*****Doodley doodley doo, doodly doodly doo, doodley doodley doo…(say it like Wayne and Garth) Back to the current computer crisis!*****

This time, I am out of warranty and I am certain it is not a nickel, dime or even a crumpled-up one that is causing my trouble with the laptop. The sewing machine is suffering from what I like to call “severe, severe over-use and under-care.” That is a technical diagnosis of an affliction that also plagues my dishwasher and AC units. Cest la vie!

Since I cannot sew, or help my offspring sew, we have been skulking around a lot in the yard. The following are some pictures of what is growing strong around here and a few of the critters we have discovered here around the casa. The mother squirrel and baby cardinals have still been too quick for my camera but I am trying! See if you have any of these where you live!