Purging, The Hypocrite & Purging the Hypocrite

We are still dealing with computer problems. The iMac repair will have to wait but it will soon be time for our next trip to the city. The Dell desktop is up and running faster than ever on Windows 7 and I'm transferring back data saved to the Acer netbook and backing it all up. Again. The Dell laptop could not connect to the internet wirelessly. The obvious solution was a hard connection. The open plan of the house meant I had to drill a hole through the loft floor in a difficult to reach location in my studio. Will I ever get to play in my studio again!?

Squeezing into the storage area under the eaves of the loft was less awkward than emptying it. Only a small part of my craft stash had been disemboweled yet the sight of so many boxes, bags and old suitcases spilling into my already messy studio was overwhelming. Surveying the spewed collection of my children's "special" clothes and toys, supplies for sewing, knitting, painting and other crafts looked filled me with shame. It's possible that I blushed.

Just the other day I scolded my mother for hoarding so much junk in her garage.

Will I ever use any of those Fisher Price toys and that Brio wooden train set for my grandchildren? Will I ever have grandchildren? (No pressure, kids.) Just how special can old clothes be? Exactly when will I have time to make all those projects?

In a previous post I lied about not making claimed to not make New Year's Resolutions but I realized that I do--just not on January 1st.

Every year after the Christmas decorations are put away I feel it's time to clean and organize the house before Chinese New Year, one of the old traditions. I've been mocked for being superstitious--by people who do spring cleaning. Chinese New Year is after all the Spring Festival.

I follow very few traditions, just the ones I like, but I use the house cleaning ritual as a motivational tool, to trick myself into setting a goal. I love it when my house is clean, tidy and organized but it never lasts, it is not natural for me. I am so easily distracted and am more of a starter than a finisher. ;-)

A challenge is always enjoyable and invigorating. Let's see what I can accomplish by February 3rd, the start of the Year of the Metal Rabbit.

The best way to succeed in life is to act on the advice we give to others. ~Author Unknown~

Computer Blues

The Half-Chinese Sweat Shop was operational again today after a few days off, waiting for the weather to clear to pick up software from town.

Windows 7



We need to take the iMac to the shop in the city (more than two hours drive each way in ideal conditions) but the weather has been terrible. It has snowed nearly non-stop for several days with high winds and cold temperatures. Oh, and the entire province is on avalanche alert. It's going to be weeks before it gets up and running again and as time passes my hope of recovering anything fades.

The laptop has been wiped clean, its original XP has been reinstalled, but it did not go smoothly and more work is required. Today I had to empty a storage area under the eaves in my studio to access cables. So much for tidying my studio, I just keep tearing it apart!

Excluding the bedrooms and bathrooms, our house is pretty much one big open space. Installing any cables would be so much easier if we didn't care that they showed. I was on my belly drilling new holes through which to run more cable. Oh yeah, that was fun! Tight spaces + awkward angles + a too small drill bit because of the tight space and awkward angle + sawdust everywhere = blue air.



Computer Infirmary a.k.a. Dining Room Table



The desktop has been updated with Windows 7 which is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. I'm using it now to post this entry. We hooked up the external hard drive that I used to back up my iMac and it doesn't look good. We are puzzled but not defeated.

Everything takes longer these days. Each and every time I take the dogs out, feed the dogs and cats, or clear snow I have to put on and take off my parka, gloves and Sorels. It feels a bit like putting on a space suit.

And for some reason I thought I might be relaxing a bit in January!