10

      I have a lot of things to cover so strap in and let's go to it.
      First, my computer is finally back up. Slower, but chugging along. I spent all weekend reloading drivers, updates and programs. I tried to load only the programs that I actually use: Microsoft Word, Microsoft Publisher, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Print Master, Hello, Picasso, OpenOffice, and three or four others, including a Spongebob Squarepants game that Mikey likes. I still need to load my scanning software and my web publishing program, but I hope to do that tonight.
      Second, while placing my old drives in storage, it occurred to me that I had two other old drives from previous computers, one an eight-gig drive and the other a 20-gig drive. I couldn't remember formatting them or doing anything with them. It look several hours, but I finally got both of them up and running. To make a long story short, I found a lot of my writing, including the three books and one play! And even more important, I found all of those irreplaceable photos of my mother and father when they were young. (I'd found several on CD, but not all.) So I lost about 10 years of my writing. Still ugly and discouraging, but I feel like I won a small victory. Four big losses remain, all of which will be hard or impossible to replace: My family newsletter, many photos of my family, hundreds of poems and story fragments, and Torrich.
      The last one is especially important to Cartoc, Roen and Amber. They read my blog occasionally, and I thought they might as well know that I have to do some regrouping. A couple of years back, I'd made an effort to type in all the material so that I wasn't drowning in paper. Yes, I should have backed it up. No, I didn't. If you guys have notes, please email them to me ASAP. In fact, any material, especially Gottehemah-related, would be appreciated.
      Third, I'll be resuming my regularly scheduled posting, starting today, assuming my computer continues to function. I also have resumed daily backups, using the good old COPY command. And I will be checking the files to make sure they copied. This has been so discouraging that I'm thinking my next computer will be a Mac. I have a couple of friends to have Mac computers, and they love them and swear by them -- much better than swearing at them.
      Fourth, I like numbering lists. Seems so orderly. I've always been a big list maker. It's a nice feeling to cross the items off. Gives me a push to keep on working.
      Fifth, I'm glad to see Night-rider is blogging again at Sweet Sweat. Missed her while she was on vacation. Also, have you checked out the poetry at NarcissusWorks? Anny does a good job in highlighting various poets and their works, including a few of her own excellent poems.
      Sixth, my books is stalled, but I hope to pick it up again tonight or tomorrow night, depending on how much trouble my computer is. While I think I'd like to write for living, when things like this happen, I'm glad -- or at least reassured -- that my job doesn't depend on my words. Carolyn, Holly and other writers who depend on their writing to pay their bills have a tough row to hoe. I don't envy them ... for the moment.
      Seventh, I made tomato and basil bread last night for an Italian dinner tonight. (Don't be impressed. I used a bread machine.) Man, it smelled delicious. I wanted to cut off a freshly baked slab of it and slather it with real butter and enjoy, but I resisted. It will be good tonight.
      Eighth, I really blew my diet this week. If it was chocolate, I ate it. If it was fattening, I ate it. Nothing like stress to make me reach for the cream-filled oatmeal cookies and Pringles Salt-n-Vinegar potato chips. I dreaded my Saturday weigh-in and almost skipped it, but hey, I only gained back two pounds. Much better than what I expected. This week I will be good and lose those two again.
      Ninth, my friend Nancy loaned me the three latest books in the Marcus Didius Falco mystery series by Lindsey Davis. The series takes the idea of a hard-boiled private eye and adds the twist of setting the stories in ancient Rome. The adventures of Falco and his lovely love Helena are well worth reading. Thanks, Nancy! You're a sweetie!
      And 10th, a sincere thank you to everyone for your support during the computer crisis. I appreciate your well-wishes and prayers. Feel free to send cash ... No, not really. (Really ...)