Whew!!

Can you hear it....that big sigh of relief?  I came home Tuesday evening from a lovely dinner with my Bunco gals celebrating 2 birthdays, to a computer whose internal fan was making way too much noise and a blank screen.  Nothing I did would bring my screen back so I shut it down and went to bed.  The next morning, same thing.  Off I went to Bible Study where I even talked about it, stating it was definitely a major concern but trust and faith would get me through.  Trust that even if I lost everything there would be major disappointment, but faith that I would just have to rebuild.

After Bible Study I drove to Hobby Lobby to buy some new candles, didn't find what I was looking for, but managed to come across this sweet thing...it was waiting for me.

Also stopped at Trader Joe's looking for Spring, but Wednesday's must not be good days for flower buying at TJ's because for the last 2 weeks I have been disappointed in their selection.  No flowers this trip, so headed home with the dreaded computer problem lurking in my thoughts.

Arriving home, same thing.  I ate some lunch and thought....ok what is my next move?  I definitely cannot live without my computer, well, I really can, but you know how important this piece of technology is to a blogger and a photographer.  I made the decision to call upon the Geek Squad at Best Buy.  I bundled up my computer, pretty easy since it is a laptop and headed off to BB.

Waiting in line, I have to admit that I was praying silently for a quick fix and no loss to all the stuff encased in that piece of steel and plastic that I held in my arms.  "I can help you over here"....said a young lady with a Geek Squad shirt on.  "What seems to be the problem?"  I explained as she opened the cover and begin to check, removing the battery and reinserting it.  (which by the way, I had already done)...."is this what you were getting?"  OMG everything began to boot up, everything looked normal, everything was there.  Another Geek Squad tech approached and asked the same questions, all the while my computer was booting up, all intact.  I am not sure what the problem was, I don't know what caused it, but I told the Geek Squad lady that she had magic fingers and definitely needed a raise.  And silently I was saying a prayer of thanks for the quick fix and no loss.

And again, the weather forecast is for possible snow.  Yesterday we had blowing snow, you know the kind that comes down sideways and blows around but never accumulates?  I had hopes, but by evening the skies had cleared and so had the snow.  But right now I am just thankful that my computer is back in working order, snow would just be a bonus.

Linking to Deb's This or That Thursday and Little Things Thursdays and Danielle's Cool Click Thursdays.

"Computers must be male.  As soon as you commit to one you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have obtained a better model.  In order to get their attention, you have to turn them on.  Big power surges knock them out for the rest of the day."   ~Author Unknown

Until next time....

Anything Goes....

Today is Kim's Texture Tuesday with an anything goes day.  This is what happens when she says anything goes....

Last night I made a pot of Dunkin Donuts de-caf coffee.  With my sleep issues I try not to drink anything with caffeine past the lunch hour.  I snipped off a couple of poinsettia flowers, the rest was ready to go into the trash and set them in my blue ball jar.  I liked the color combo so grabbed my camera and started snapping away....obviously I had the wrong ISO and the wrong exposure but today I played around in Photoshop and this is what I came up with....Not sure I like either one of them that much, but I had fun trying.  I used one of my fav textures from Kim...Dreamin.  That's all I can tell you on specifics because I just played around with the rest.

Question??  Did anyone watch that new Kevin Bacon TV show last night entitled "The Following"?  Oh man, was that gruesome.  Not sure I am going to continue watching but the premise is sorta fascinating.  One thing is for sure...I will definitely not watch it prior to going to bed, watching it in the mid-afternoon will be far less scarier.

And this is my new mantra until we have some measurable snow in my area....(found this on pinterest...)  I know some of you probably think I am nuts, but I need to see a red barn covered with beautiful white snow...that cures a world of ailments in my book anyway.

Until next time.....

Hot Tea From A Pretty Cup

I should be downstairs putting away the last of the Christmas stuff (yeah, I know, late as usual), but instead I am sitting here writing this post and gazing out of the window.  The wind is gusting and the temps have fallen into the low teens.

All I see is the white puffs of heat escaping from the chimneys and flues all across the neighborhood dancing from east to west, north and south depending on the wind.  The sky is the color of steel blue with a few white clouds in the southern sky and again no snow.

It is too cold for me to venture out today, thank goodness there are no pressing appointments or "must do" lists that entail bundling into my coat, gloves & hat to sit shivering in the car until the heater throws out its warm blasts.  I would rather stay inside and have a cup of hot tea from a pretty cup.

Toby has been in and out at least 5 times today.  His choice is to be outside, but even he barks to be let inside after only a few minutes of being out in the tundra.

Hot soup for dinner and probably an early climb into bed this evening with the electric blanket turned on high and a good book to read.  Sounds like the best plan for this blast of winter that has settled in and is not leaving until late this week.

Brew me a cup for a winter's night

For the wind howls loud and the furies fight

Spice it with love and stir it with care

And I'll toast our bright eyes

My sweetheart fair 

~  Minna Thomas Antrim

Until next time.....