Technological Star Misalignment

The stars in my technological house have never been particularly spectacular, but lately they’ve apparently either been on strike or on vacation. It began a while back when my camera bit the dust and was followed with an upgrade on the blog software than messed up the player for the podcast, followed by another upgrade in the blog software. I’ve started recording the first mystery for free download and then my son, Dan, gave me his old camera which is hardly old. Toss in multiple storm-related power outages, and the result has been  METO, i.e. Matron Electronic Technological Overload.

But I’m beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel. The player problem has been fixed and a podcast should be uploaded soon. I’ve learned from my web/blog master son, Jeremy, that I needn’t worry my graying little head about anything involved with the last blog upgrade, and I’m mastering the camera, with my latest uplifting discovery being a button that puts back everything into the default settings. This is a boon to anyone who has no idea what they’re doing or whose button-pushing gets interrupted by a cat or dog jumping up onto the photographer’s lap to see what’s going on.

To prove this, I am not going to (attempt to–how’s THAT for optimism?!) upload some of the pictures I recently took beginning with some of dear old Whit, beginning with one him of him looking up at me from his perch on the stairs with his usual, “Oh, damn. You have a camera” look again. And a second of him, I admit, sitting on the kitchen counter looking down at the dogs.

But just to prove that he and dogs get along, here’s one of him with Fric on that bedraggled chaise I elevate by calling The Dog Couch:

And here are updated portraits of Frica, who has rediscovered squeaky toys lately for some reason, Ollie whose hair changes color faster than Madonna’s, and Violet who was taking five after a romp with Dan’s golden puppy, Lumpy also pictured.

And finally, a picture taken in my garden, which used to a flower garden until I decided to also plant edibles in it this year. But because of all the rain, the melons (which were supposed to be softball size but which just keep getting bigger and bigger while showing no signs of ripening) have taken over along with parsnips, an odd combination if there ever was one.(Melon-parsnip pesto anyone?)  Periodically piercing the gardens’ thick canopy of melon leaves and parsnip fringe, a few intrepid zinnias and the butterfly bush form tufted colorful periscopes of color. Here are pictures of the garden and another that proves why butterfly bushes are called butterfly bushes.

If I can manage to upload this and get some must-do work done, I’ll update you on the Whit and Bee front. But as you can see, we’re all still here and then some, and that’s good.