I've been banished from the Internet! I feel like I'm living in an abyss!
My ISP went down on Friday. They are having problems with "the line" and "hope to have things working again in 48 hours". 48 hours means business days, so since I reported the problem on the weekend, I will be waiting until wednesday. Aaaaccck!
I don't get online every day, but when I CAN'T get online, everything I need to do sure seems like an emergency.
Tuesday, October 26, 2004
Monday, October 11, 2004
Poultry Palace
It's official. The new Chicken House is now complete. After 5 or 6 weekends of plugging away at it, Clint put the roofing on and finshed the yards. I'm telling you, this is a deluxe set up. There are four rooms (separated by chicken wire, of course). A large room for the main flock, two smaller areas for Shelby's breeding stock or specialty birds, plus a walkway between them with shelving for storage and plastic trash cans for feed storage. Each room has it's own yard, so there are three separate yards, each with an exterior entry door and ramps up to a bird sized entry into the building.
Shelby is in chicken heaven! I am happy because the birds like the additional space, and I think we will be able to keep the new house cleaner because of our design improvements, such as a droppings tray under the roosts.
Shelby is in chicken heaven! I am happy because the birds like the additional space, and I think we will be able to keep the new house cleaner because of our design improvements, such as a droppings tray under the roosts.
Computer News
We took the plunge and bought a new computer! It's an HP 200 GB Hard Drive with 512 DDR SDRAM, DVD+RW/CD-RW drive, DVD ROM drive, 17" flat panel LCD moniter, and MS XP Home OS.
Now we want internet on both computers. To do that, I have to get them set up as a network, something I know nothing about. I think I'd like to go wireless. I don't think the old computer has a network card, so I'll have to do that. The little research I've done gives me the impression that I'll have to upgrade Windows on my old computer, which runs Windows 98, to at least Windows 98SE, or it won't be supported. So do I get a second license for the Windows XP, and use that? I thought I heard XP was problematic.
Then, can I even install a new OS without running into problems? I did some cleaning last week on the computer, and messed some stuff up. I moved stuff around and the computer can't find it. It's nothing major, just games, but I'm getting "fatal exception" every time I try to get into Explorer to clean things up. So, I think I'm going to have to resort to calling in a computer guy to fix it. I just have to decide whether to load a new OS first, or to wait and do it after. Could loading a new OS solve the problem with Explorer? Or could it make things worse?
Aargh! One more thing to do!
On the plus side, the girls are loving the games. Sims, Zoo Tycoon and Barbie Swan Lake are so much better on the new computer, and we got Age of Mythology, which Shelby is having fun with. Clint is very bummed, because he wants to use the new computer to get online, since the screen is so much better.
Now we want internet on both computers. To do that, I have to get them set up as a network, something I know nothing about. I think I'd like to go wireless. I don't think the old computer has a network card, so I'll have to do that. The little research I've done gives me the impression that I'll have to upgrade Windows on my old computer, which runs Windows 98, to at least Windows 98SE, or it won't be supported. So do I get a second license for the Windows XP, and use that? I thought I heard XP was problematic.
Then, can I even install a new OS without running into problems? I did some cleaning last week on the computer, and messed some stuff up. I moved stuff around and the computer can't find it. It's nothing major, just games, but I'm getting "fatal exception" every time I try to get into Explorer to clean things up. So, I think I'm going to have to resort to calling in a computer guy to fix it. I just have to decide whether to load a new OS first, or to wait and do it after. Could loading a new OS solve the problem with Explorer? Or could it make things worse?
Aargh! One more thing to do!
On the plus side, the girls are loving the games. Sims, Zoo Tycoon and Barbie Swan Lake are so much better on the new computer, and we got Age of Mythology, which Shelby is having fun with. Clint is very bummed, because he wants to use the new computer to get online, since the screen is so much better.
Monday, October 04, 2004
Our Weekend
Saturday morning Gillian had a soccer game, which we all attended together.
I spent the afternoon figuring out where our money situation is. I have to do this about every ten days or so. How come I never hear about anyone else doing this? It's truly incredible how many things we have to pay for. It takes the entire afternoon to balance the checkbook, enter all expenditures since the last time I did it, sort through and enter cash and cash card reciepts, open all the bills I've recieved and figure out what I can afford to pay, pay payroll taxes and any business taxes that have come due, estimate what our upcoming bills will be, including business and fishing expenses, and finally, calculate how much money we will have left to live on until the next time we get money.
Clint and Shelby spent the afternoon finishing the new chicken pen to the point that it could be occupied. Clint built nesting boxes, roosts, a door into their yard, a chicken-sizeddoor into the building, and a ramp. They love their new place. Much more roomy than the old one. Cleaner, too. It's still not done though. We have two more doors to build, and the brooding pen, storage shelves, and droppings pan.
Sunday morning we reluctantly fulfilled a family obligation and went to see Clint's nephew get baptized. Not being members of the church, we felt a tad awkward, but everyone was very warm and friendly, and Clint got to see some people he knew in high school.
Sunday afternoon we burned the burn pile, pulled goatheads, and cleaned the garage. I'm so glad to have that huge brush pile gone from my front yard! We burned lots of other stuff, too, like some of the leftover lumber from the remodel that won't be useable in the wood stove. I love getting rid of my yard garbage! We always seem to have way too much of it. And the garage! I'm SO happy to have that done. Well, it's not really done. The floors are swept and all the boxes and big articles are neatly stored. But the counter is still a wreck, piled high with all kinds of crap. Sigh. I'm hoping I can get Clint to come out with me a few evenings this week to chip away at it.
I spent the afternoon figuring out where our money situation is. I have to do this about every ten days or so. How come I never hear about anyone else doing this? It's truly incredible how many things we have to pay for. It takes the entire afternoon to balance the checkbook, enter all expenditures since the last time I did it, sort through and enter cash and cash card reciepts, open all the bills I've recieved and figure out what I can afford to pay, pay payroll taxes and any business taxes that have come due, estimate what our upcoming bills will be, including business and fishing expenses, and finally, calculate how much money we will have left to live on until the next time we get money.
Clint and Shelby spent the afternoon finishing the new chicken pen to the point that it could be occupied. Clint built nesting boxes, roosts, a door into their yard, a chicken-sizeddoor into the building, and a ramp. They love their new place. Much more roomy than the old one. Cleaner, too. It's still not done though. We have two more doors to build, and the brooding pen, storage shelves, and droppings pan.
Sunday morning we reluctantly fulfilled a family obligation and went to see Clint's nephew get baptized. Not being members of the church, we felt a tad awkward, but everyone was very warm and friendly, and Clint got to see some people he knew in high school.
Sunday afternoon we burned the burn pile, pulled goatheads, and cleaned the garage. I'm so glad to have that huge brush pile gone from my front yard! We burned lots of other stuff, too, like some of the leftover lumber from the remodel that won't be useable in the wood stove. I love getting rid of my yard garbage! We always seem to have way too much of it. And the garage! I'm SO happy to have that done. Well, it's not really done. The floors are swept and all the boxes and big articles are neatly stored. But the counter is still a wreck, piled high with all kinds of crap. Sigh. I'm hoping I can get Clint to come out with me a few evenings this week to chip away at it.
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