A Good and Frustrating Day

The little red arrow moved around my computer screen and the voice on my phone told me to click on the different places the arrow landed.

This went on for a while, as the very helpful man on the other side of the country told me how to clear much of the junk off my computer.  Then he explained how my operation system was very old and the benefits and potential problems with updating it.

We talked about the weather, the snow in upstate NY and the cold mornings in California while we waited for the prompt to begin the update.

I am mostly helpless when it comes to figuring out problems on my computer and grateful for Apple Care and the people on the other end of my phone who always help me out, even if it takes a few tries before they get it right.

The thing that got me to call Apple in the first place was that I was having trouble getting on my blog.  I would sporadically get a very dramatic and disturbing message saying I was “Forbidden Access.”  If I kept trying, eventually the message would be replaced by my admin page.  This was the only thing that kept me from calling Apple sooner.

My photo program was still updating when Jon and I left for Glens Falls after lunch.  He was getting a an enhanced driver’s license, then we dropped off our vacuum to be fixed.

Everything took longer than I expected today. By the time we got home, it was 4pm and already starting to get dark.

This time of year, when the sun doesn’t come out and it’s dark at 4:30 I  get sleepy by 6pm and envy the hibernating bears whose scat I see on my walks in the woods the other three seasons.

After taking care of the animals and getting the woodstoves going, I stood for a while in my cold studio and knew I wasn’t going to be able to do any work.  It was too late for me to get my head into a creative space.

But while all this was going on, I did sell some potholders and now that my computer is working so well,  I can print out the shipping labels and get them in the mail.  I don’t need a creative head to do that.

And my computer really is working so much better with the updated operating system.  I’m surprised by that, it feels like my computer has taken a deep breath and been brought back to life after slowly declining for a long time.

So really, as frustrating as it was at times, it was also good in many ways. Including that Jon made a delicious pizza for dinner and right now, Fate is sleeping outside Zinnia’s crate without snarling at her.