Blah

I am STILL putting items Items away.   Now I realize that I am a lazy slob, and I haven't been diligently working doing that task every day, and (what a run-on sentence - I would get an F if this were one of my high school term papers!) I only spend about an hour when I am working.

When the task gets to the little piddly things, I really lose interest.  It isn't fun.  Besides, I am trying to decide what goes where.  Obviously I am down to the end - the less used things.   For instance, I am not going to do any baking this year.  Not a thing except for a bought cake mix that is red and green velvet cakes.  So that means all my tins that I put cookies in need to be put away.  That means they go in the tippy-top of the cabinet.  That requires a ladder.  I do n't do ladders well anymore.  Especially the little 3footer that I have in the house to use. 

I used to climb all over and hang off that thing like a monkey.  Now I get to the first step, and I am hanging on alright - to anything and everything I can grab.  It isn't even the old rickety one I used to use.  This one is very solid.  But I am so afraid of falling!

I have once again ordered almost all of my Christmas presents.  Unfortunately I did a lot of them last week.  Hopefully they make it in time.  Of course, Daughter waited until the last minute to tell me she wanted a special order necklace like I gave DIL for her birthday.  It MAY be here by Christmas Eve.  Even though I paid extra to rush it through the plant, and special speedy shipping.

Oh, and her birthday is today.  OMG - I am the mother of a 40 year old.  Where did the years go??   I cannot believe she is that old.  Seems like yesterday I was taking her to her Sports Association Basketball games (that was 5th grade).(So she knew that the necklace was an absolute no go for birthday!)

So, I will go piddle with something else for a while, then put my tins away!  Progress!

Freudian slip??

I am a terrible Grandma.  I cannot believe I really did this - old-timers has me fully in its grasp today!

I was supposed to go to "Wall writer's") Christmas Program ,morning.  Five minutes before it was to start, my son calls.  My first word after he spoke was "Oh my god, it's Wednesday!" 

I feel about four feet lower than dirt right now.  I cannot believe I forgot.   In my very weak defense - I have been either a day ahead or behind all week.  I am just crushed.  I have never forgotten any of the other three's programs and the like, but then my daughter calls me daily.  To forget would be almost impossible.

Oh I  just feel terrible about this.  Freudian?  I don't really know.  I would never knowingly do this however.  Never.

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In  other news - yesterday I subscribed to an on-line storage service.  I will never, ever lose files again - unless they go bust.  But it is part of the Norton system, so.  I am backing up each and every computer in this house.

For the little, toy computer that I have all my embroidery files on, I have three other back-up devices.  Two external hard drives, several thumb drives, some files are even on cd's.  When one has something like 8000 or more embroidery files - some free, some purchased - you really don't want to lose them.  Many digitizers will allow only one download of their files that you purchased.  So I have a lot of irreplaceable files - like my pictures were!

So it's time for this terrible Grandmother to close.  I got a lot more "stuff" put into the bathroom cabinets yesterday, but I still have a long way to go. Then straighten the stuff that was just thrown into the bedroom.  Have a great one - better than mine I hope!

Help - I am drowning

I have so much to do, and things keep getting in my way.  I DO love my family, although  yesterday it didn't seem like it.  But - let's face it - getting a dinner for 12 together takes time - plus I had to put away as much as I could so there would be room for people!

I picked up the computers yesterday.  They were wiped clean.  The Toshiba had the files in a file on the desktop.  I can access most of them, but Family Tree Maker won't load.  The family files won't load. My version of Office has gone from  360 to 2007 which is a mixed blessing.  I am having to reload things like the PDF reader and the like.

The Dell - nope it is clean.  There went all my pictures - of Simone, vacations, the kids at their various things, all gone.  I know it is basically my fault.  They should have been backed up.  But.  If the tech I talked to had done both - my pictures would have been in a file on the desktop. They are not.  Even Office is completely gone.

I realize I thought the Dell was a dead computer, and it's not.  I even ordered a new battery for it.  It will be OK, but I am once again in mourning for my lost things on the computer.  I would contact them, but I know they don't keep the files that they take off to put back.  Those things are in computer heaven somewhere.

I would much rather mess with the computers than put stuff away.  What a drudge.  It wasn't any fun taking it out, but putting it back is worse.  Deciding where I want the stuff is not easy for me.  I want it organized, and I probably am over thinking it all. I don't want to do that.  Think that is.

I would like to be upstairs sewing.  I would like to be doing something.  I have promised pictures since September of Alaska - and I have THOSE.  I just am having trouble (thinking) deciding which ones would translate to the blog best.  It is such a beautiful place, and pictures simply cannot capture its enormity.  At least my little El Cheapo camera can't.  I know the pros can get some of it, but especially from a train window it just doesn't happen.

The oldest granddaughter gets her cast off this week, while the youngest got her walking cast on.  Strange juxtaposition!  The middle already had hers a year or so ago when her brother, without thinking, swung a bat and broke her arm.  Both in the wrong place at the wrong time doing the wrong thing.

I am not helping myself just sitting here trying to think of something else to write  I know there was something, but it is still in the dark recesses of my mind!

Catch ya later!

Grandchildren

I love ALL my grandchildren - all of them.  Some just not at much at times.  Last night was a perfect example.

Lady Bug came over to help me put up the Christmas decorations - which meant outside.  She wanted to do inside as well - like a tree.  But dear Clyde is a chewer - at times.  He doesn't chew anything, but the count right now is Clyde -2, remote controls - 0.  He seems to love those little things.  So I am not going to put up my little Charlie Brown tree however easy it is.  I am afraid I will come home to a tree all over the house.  He is terrified of his crate - so...

Anyway, we had a delightful time.  I pretty much gave her her lead, and off she went.  We now have both sides of the yard decorated for the first time in several years.  I have a lot more decorations, but I didn't want to get them out, and she isn't able (especially in her cast) to put those things up.

Then came family dinner.  Then two of the three little ones (my son's kiddos) came.  The girl wasn't here  because she went to a production of  The Nutcracker.  This after her morning of having HER right leg soft casted to await a hard cast.  She and the older brother were playing on the elliptical while DIL was in the shower.  DIL is going to have to resort to evening showers when someone is there to watch those kids.  Read on for further reasons.

While I was holding onto Clyde  because the baby is freaked out by him, his older brother was in the hallway where the toy chest is - emptying the WHOLE thing out on the floor (which already makes my blood boil) to find a crayon (that shouldn't have been there, but sometime one of the six threw it in there in the hurried clean up to leave).  He then proceeded to write on two of the walls in the hall. 

He is a sweet boy.  He really is, but he is the one involved in the "accident" that morning, and he just doesn't seem to be able to control these actions.  He IS only 5, but still...   I don't think his dad saw this, and later I told him my walls were not for drawing, and that if he wanted to draw, I have A LOT of paper. He knows he will catch heck for misbehavior, but he gives in to impulses.  Hence my ruined walls and a sister with a broken foot.

Then the baby decided that he would chunk one of the large, hard toys at Clyde.  G was holding him while I was eating.   I heard the baby crying (he is almost 2), and poor Clyde trying to get away while being held pretty tightly on the leash to keep him away.  Of course, everyone was so worried about this kid.

So I guess I sound like a terrible Grandmother.  But last night was just horrible.  I still have things that belong in the bathroom closet out, the collection of Christmas presents about- needing wrapping, getting dinner for 12 done, a dog that is awaiting training and really means no harm - he loves (loved) children and people in general, and two of 6 kids acting like little demons.

Bah-humbug!  But the earlier time with LB was a delight!

Might as well be crack

Yep - that's my addiction to my computers.  Yes, I did say computers.  And my addiction to them is just as expensive as crack. At least I guess not having ever  bought crack, nor do I plan to since I have my computers!

I loaded the two large laptops to take to the fixit place today.  I was hoping the newest one would be a quick, simple fix.  Nope.  When we went to boot it, guess what.  You guessed it.  Good old Windows 8 had decided that my password wasn't worth the electrical signal it takes to load it, so it wouldn't load today.  It is going to require purging the system and re-loading it.  BUT, when it is re-loaded it will be with Windows 7!!  Yes!  Hardly worth the money it will cost for all this, but no more Windows 8!!  Yea!

Now, he SAYS he can do the same thing to the dropped Dell.  I don't know.  But I told him I wanted my pictures back.  They were so important to me.  I am keeping my fingers crossed.  At the end of this adventure, I could buy a completely new laptop.  But who puts a price on pictures.  If your house is destroyed by fire for example, it's your pictures that you will miss the most of all the possessions.  They can't be replaced.  Our vacation pictures are on that computer.  Pictures of Simone are on that computer.  Pictures of the grandchildren are on that computer.  And, if he can do it, I will have the dropped Dell back as a real computer!

I just wish all this wasn't at Christmas time, but if I had gotten off my duff back in September when we returned from Alaska, it wouldn't be!  And if my wonderful contractor wasn't so busy that he is working Saturdays and almost holidays (like the day after Thanksgiving) because he has so much business, I wouldn't be trying to buy the things needed for the new bathrooms here at Christmas! 

Oh well - it's only money (!!!????!)  The bleeding of bucks will stop at some point.               I hope.

I will try to get back with pictures of a lot of things - Alaska, which are on the "new" computer, the bathrooms which are still in the camera because this little "toy" Toshiba doesn't even have a hard drive it is so small.  I don't want to load it with a lot of byte hogging pictures!  The baths are beautiful, and I want to show them off!

Yes - I do exist

Things got hectic for a while, and we are finally home with two 99% completed bathrooms.  That means what came out has to go back!

I will post pictures of various things soon, but as usual with me - there are problems about,

Thanksgiving was hectic, and I was really thankful that son and family (and little puppy) didn't come.  We were FULL as it was.  When you add two more boxers to the mix - even if they are small, a smallish house becomes tiny!

While there, I decided to add a program to my "new" laptop because I was getting pop-ups on my email page.  It warned me that removing some of the apps would take out some of the things that were needed to get on-line. Never happened before, and I have used this program for years.  Well - you guessed it.  So I am off to the computer repair with the old Dell to see if they can get the pictures off the Dell and get the other back on line.  Geesh.  Try to be good, and this is what happens.'

So I am on my little 7 inch computer which is really supposed to be for my embroidery and sewing stuff.  It's toy keyboard is killing me.  So with a promise (if you care) that I will be back soon - I will!