Tuesday Mutterings

It did not really sting too much to miss a day of blogging yesterday.  

After the last week of a packed-full schedule of comings and goings, topped off by a computer disaster, I actually enjoyed the break from blogging yesterday morning.

With no computer in the house, 'cept Bill's laptop, blogging was not an option.  I could have done my posting with my phone, but the tedium of working and pecking away with a tiny screen told me it was best to just let it go. 

Anywho, late yesterday afternoon, Bill brought my older laptop back from Staples where it was armed with updated virus and ransomware. So, my online work should be safe. 

Some days I think it would be nice to revert back to the days of No. 2 pencils and ball point ink pens, but my fingers which do most writing via a keyboard would have to go through an entire course of muscle memory. 

So, I let the computer needs drive my life, because, these days our lives are on our computers!😕

 

When you're down, thanks to an outside source  taking over your computer, people like Terri Wunderlich can ease the pain.  

She works at Columbia Bank in Ponderay. 

 Within a minute or so of looking at my checking account, she could tell me that no weird charges had been made since some unknown wretched creature named Ellen Stay took control of my main laptop on Saturday afternoon. 

Terri also pulled out her scissors and cut up my bank card before issuing me a new one.  Then, she told me that any charges coming in on the cut-up card would be denied. 

Whew! What a relief!

 Those two actions by Terri probably reduced my blood pressure considerably, knowing that someone had not absconded with thousands of my dollars. 

People like Terri are true heroes when they can give you comforting information in the midst of a nightmare. 

Slowly but surely, I'm getting all my computer ducks in line with the new card, calling billing departments, changing passwords and looking for the best solution for the computer. 

In the meantime, this older model is serving me well as are all who have shown empathy (due to their own experiences) or who have tried to help guide me through this mess. 

One great lesson I've learned through this debacle is the power of distraction or "refocusing" when we're in the midst of what seems like insurmountable turmoil. 

I was almost sick to my stomach and numb when I realized how severe the computer problem could be.  

After the initial realization and calling a friend for information, my mind felt even more paralyzed.  

After all, it was a Saturday afternoon in July and this was going to have to simmer for the rest of the weekend. 

I was supposed to give a speech to a class reunion group that night and knew that I was in no mental condition with this news to carry on through, so I called a reunion committee member and warned her that I may not be there with this dark cloud weighting down my brain and my mind. 

She understood.  

Go mow some lawn, I then said to myself.  After pondering the situation while mowing, I suddenly came to the realization that these "creeps" might ruin my computer life but NOT my other life. 

I called the committee member back and said I would be there after all. 

Refocusing on something even more important than the computer problem and the experience of getting together with those former students did wonders for my outlook and enabled me to move forward to follow a methodical plan to get past the situation. 

So, if there's any good advice to come from this, it's to go do something else and clear your mind.  That process is invaluable, and I'll try to remember it the next time something awful comes along and disorders my life. 

Speaking of good folks, I saw Virginia Stark Overland this morning while on my morning paperbox walk. 

Virginia lives on North Center Valley Road with her husband Hal.  Both are former students, and Virginia also served as one of my drill team captains at Sandpoint High School. 

She's probably best known locally as the school district bus lady.  She's now retired and enjoying gardening with her hubby. 

Dick Creed, if you're reading, Virginia is Jim Stark's daughter.  

Dick and Jim both worked for the U.S. Forest Service engineers where they supervised us "girls" way back when we worked summers as survey aides. 

A few days ago I posted a photo of my very first sunflower of the season. 

It stood about four feet high inside my garden fence about 15 inches from the woven wire. 

The next morning the entire sunflower blossom was gone.  

It had been snipped from the stem and hauled off somewhere. 

No signs of a struggle, no petals anywhere around the stem, no tracks, nothing!

So, it's a mystery.  

Bill thought maybe the doe which comes around doing her daily grocery shopping might have contorted her nose enough to reach through the woven wire and snatch it. 

I think not, and we're both also wondering if a turkey could have been the thief. 

Anyway, the blossom above is about to pop open, and we're thinking the only way we can find out what's doing this is to install a game camera. 

Hope we do figure it out before all the upcoming sunflowers have been stolen.

Whatever the case, these gremlins, just like the computer creeps, can certainly disrupt our minds in curious ways. 

All that said, it's good to be back in operating mode again for the blog.  

Thanks for your patience, and have a great Tuesday.