bits and pieces

Remember #DrawingAugust?

I'm sorry to say I haven't managed a daily sketch.

But I've drawn or painted something most days,

and I've been having fun!

Would you like to see one?

~~~

Now, in (less fun) tech news:

My laptop has been abruptly folding its tent on a daily basis for some weeks now. Maybe even months; I'm in a Timewarp of Denial about it because I did not expect to replace this laptop so soon.

I haven't posted more goat videos despite the apparent appeal to my non-goatherding readers because even hinting at loading a video of any kind makes the screen go black and the hard drive produce the computer-equivalent sound of water being sucked down a drain.

So...no inspiring YouTube recipes, no late-night-can't-sleep Netflix, no delightful videos on other blogs. And it's not just videos; but apart from videos, the implosions seem random. Repair efforts have been futile. With fingers crossed, I've been recovering my most frequently accessed files (like my cashmere records, for instance) several times weekly. It's been...interesting.

Last weekend (the tax-free weekend in MA) I finally forced myself to make a decision. On Sunday night I bought a little laptop online, in part because I would be able to pick it up at the retail location the very next morning, while doing monthly errands in the same town. Huzzah!

Early the next morning, however, I got a text informing me that the laptop was, um, actually, not in stock as, erm, promised a few hours earlier. But it would be shipped to the retail location within 3 to 6 days at no additional cost!! (As if that was doing me a favor.) And could I please confirm the purchase so the shipping process could begin?

Well, disappointing, but no point in getting upset. I called the store to confirm, and asked that it be shipped directly to me. Was told, no, this was not possible, because I had asked to pick it up at the store.

Yes, I said, because I had been told I could pick it up the very next morning. If I had expected to wait for shipping, I would have had it sent to my house. Of course.

Nope.
Impossible.
Can't be done.
Even though it has not yet been scheduled to ship?
Right.

Well, that makes zero sense to me.
As usual, Dara, we are in total agreement.

A week later, the package is on a truck somewhere in Massachusetts, so that's progress. And not a moment too soon, because today my laptop is making a Constant Noise. Sounds like someone using an electric hedge trimmer some distance away. It's a bit alarming. I spent two hours this morning backing up files and images on an external hard drive.

I mention all this in case there is a Total Irretrievable Meltdown before the new laptop is here and loaded and running. (The fact that the laptop folded once while I was writing this little post seems rather ominous.) So...if I don't post here or comment on your blogs for a week, it will probably mean I am temporarily between devices and incommunicado.

Don't you hate it when that happens?

Oh well. I'll catch up!
And to close on a cheery note, here are a couple of snaps I took in the gardens this morning:

The edge of this squash blossom is  the size of a dinner plate.

No exaggeration!

I wonder if it is an indicator of the eventual size of the squash?

And the first-ever adorable melon continues to grow!

~~~~~