Wednesday, April 8

Doom and Gloom

This morning, I thought my computer was dying forever. We've been having trouble with it for weeks now; at least once a day I get a window with a message that spells DOOM of some sort and then it takes 30 minutes to shut down and re-boot.

I have been trying everything I know about to make it run faster, such as defragging , disk cleanup and deleting old temporary files. Recently I ran a spy finder program and one that catches adware. Today I decided to get rid of all the current cookies. I hate doing that, since for at least a few days, you have to type in every password and sometimes your email account. But after that, it sure did run faster and I have not had any more trouble with it during the day.

Wish me luck. I have several friends who've had to pay though the nose to get their computers fixed recently, and I hope not to join their ranks!!


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Cold weather has descended upon us once again and by the time I wake up tomorrow it will be near freezing. I love spring, but moreso when it is fully sprung, not keeping us on a yo-yo with hot and cold weather. To top it off, the yellow pine pollen has also descended and everything in the area, including me, is covered with the yellow powder. It makes me GLOOMY!

Our neighbor's tulip beds are in full bloom again, and I fear I have waited too late to get them at their peak in a photo for you. We had high winds today and I see that many of the petals have been swooshed off somewhere else. My daffodils have been gone for a week, as has the forsythia, and I miss having color in the yard. The irises are sending up buds, but little else, for which I am thankful. Otherwise, the freeze tomorrow might nip them in the bud and I'd never have blooms. My stupid azaleas have an identity crisis every year: sometimes they bloom in May and mostly, they bloom in August, when it is so darn hot here that no one wants to stay outside long enough to see that they are abloom!!

One thing about Raleigh, though, when the redbuds and dogwoods and tulips and azaleas are all blooming at the same time, it is paradise here.

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My neighborhood group of women is becoming "ladies who lunch" tomorrow. We are meeting at a newish place here, named Coquette. Before it was Coquette, it was South. Before South, it was Savannah. I ate there several times while it was in both of the first two incarnations, and the food was good. I don't really know why the other two didn't fly. Maybe by this time tomorrow, I'll know if this incarnation will be around a while. I saw on the menu that they have two of my favorite things: escargot in garlic butter and creme brulee. Yowza! I could make a meal of those alone!

20 comments:

jaycoles@gmail.com said...

The Ladies Who Lunch

http://jsimser.blogspot.com/2007/10/ladies-who-lunch.html

Have fun. j

Kay Dennison said...

ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sounds like your 'puter has an infection. Do you have a good anti-virus? If not, I recommend you get one.
I use AVAST (http://www.avast.com/eng/download-avast-home.html).

It's free and has been keeping my computer running pretty well. You shouldrun your anti-virus and anti-spyware programs once a week. I have 3-4 programs that I use. I can't afford to pay the price they charge to fix it, so I'm a freak about maintenance.

Olive's Granddaughter said...

Good luck with your computer. What a pain in the ---!

As for the weather: it was 71, clear and very sunny in Salt Lake today after snowing every day last week! Springtime in the Rockies.

Tabor said...

My computer has been a bit slower also. It is 8 years old and I am hoping I can get a few more years! My hubby has Vista and until they fix that I would tend toward Apple and they are so expensive.

Arkansas Patti said...

Sure hope your computer recovers. I agree with Kay. I schedule my antivirus to run daily and I use AVG which has a good free program. I just updated to the pay version and really like it.
I run a defragment every day. Bit of a maintence nut also.
Enjoy your snails. The sauce is what makes that meal.

LZ Blogger said...

Judy ~ Well it looks like things have changed over here? But I am now a follower! I hope all is well? ~ jb///

Star said...

We just did all the same to my laptop,and it does seem to be running faster. Hubby is making noises about it being old, but it is all that I need and I am not lookingto spend the money on a new one. Crossing fingers for both of us.

bobbie said...

Really feel bad about your computer woes. We've come to depend on them so much, haven't we?

I've resolved my Blogger problems, for now.

You're ahead of us with blooms. Hope you have your hummingbird feeder out if you have one.

Evil Twin's Wife said...

Have fun at your lunch date!

robin andrea said...

When computers start acting up like that, I always take it as a little reminder to back up everything that I would hate to lose. I've had that happen and lost over 2000 photos once. Never again.

Pat said...

Fingers crossed for the computer. I have to sign in practically every where I go. Such a bore. Be with you in spirit for the lunch.

tiff said...

Yup - it's gorgeous around here this time of year.

When it ISN'T RAINING. :)

sage said...

I agree with the others that it sounds like you have some kind of virus in your computer--I hope deleting the cookies help.

Spring in the Carolinas, with the dogwoods and azaleas, is beautiful.

Jamie Dawn said...

Hooray!!! I can comment again!!!!
I tried again yesterday, but still could not comment.
Okay...
That's a bummer about your computer woes. I've used my MAC laptop for years now, and one of these days, I just know it will poop out. So far, it has been an excellent computer overall.
Our temperatures dropped down into the 30s over Monday night, and yesterday was on the colder side.
I agree that when it's FULLY spring, then one can truly enjoy it.
I love the dogwood blossoms! We have several dogwoods in our yard, and I wish they were bigger because I think they are so gorgeous.
I visited our local gardens to see the tulips last weekend, and they were really pretty. BUT, sections of them had been beaten to heck by some recent storms. They were not nearly as beautiful as last year's. Those poor battered tulips looked sad, and quite a few of them had their entire bud knocked off and there was nothing left but the sad little stem sticking up. The sections that were not battered were gorgeous, so I guess some varieties of tulips are heartier than others.
You and Naomi are now hostesses for Ladies Who Lunch.
:-)

rosemary said...

You saw my spring post.....as for computer glitches, I remember emailing you when i first started blogging asking for help....you know i am no help now!

Beverly said...

I hate it when computers act up. I have a good friend who works on computers as a hobby. He isn't outrageous with his charges. I'm glad he's available for me when I have a problem.

BTW, congratulations to the Tarheels. State surely didn't make much of a showing, did they.

Grannymar said...

Sorry to hear about your problems Judy. Enjoy the lunch, wish I could join you.

Traci Dolan said...

We have escargot and creme brulee. Come visit me!

Darlene said...

Computers, bah, humbug. Mine works fine for about three hours and then just stops. I have to turn it off manually - I know, you're not supposed to do that - and then it's good to go for another three hours. It's maddening when you are in the middle of writing your blog and haven't saved everything. Arrrgh!

Smiler said...

Oh, I do wish for your sake that your computer continues to cooperate! I hate clearing the cache too for the same reason you state, but I guess it's a necessary evil.

Hello, it's been ages I know...

I can relate on the weather front since we've had similar here. It was all warmish the last couple of weeks and then last night the ground was covered in a layer of snow again. A thin one mind you, but any snow is unwelcome by this time of year.

I love escargots and crème brulée too but just the thought of a meal like that makes my liver hurt. Makes me yearn for the past, when my stomach was seemingly made of lead and could take anything you threw at it!