To Do or Not To Do?

I started one day last week with a to do list -- a simple list of quilts to be finished on the longarm, some baby quilts to be pieced for the Guild Kids' Quilts project, and a few computer items that would take only a few minutes to finish. Six hours later, I turned off my laptop and went home. I had contracted the "Antivirus360" virus on my computer which is a nuisance virus that continually tries to convince you that your computer is about to crash and that all of your personal information is being broadcast onto the net. If one ignores the first popup and simply closes it, it goes away. But gullible me, I clicked on it to see what was wrong with my laptop and the virus went everywhere.


I contacted my protection provider after trying for two hours unsuccessfully to get rid of it myself. After chatting with "Aslam" for about fifteen minutes, I admitted defeat and agreed to pay to have him de-virus my laptop and turned it over to him via remote control. Fascinated, I watched my computer screen, as Aslam cleared the virus -- often going into areas of my computer that I would never attempt to enter because I would just make it worse. It took Aslam, the real expert, approximately a half hour to fix my laptop and then he gave me some advice on how to avoid this type of problem. He helped me print it and it's sort of like "protection for dummies." Basically, the biggest thing is "Don't click on any pop-up." That made sense to me as I have a program that supposedly stops all pop-ups so any that make it through must be malware (Aslam's word).

Needless to say, my to do list is still not finished, but my computer is running top-notch!

Got Socks?

I never thought of socks as an edible item but evidently, Lily, the wonder puppy, definitely does; and in spite of great care on the part of her owners, she ate a pair. They were tan with little flowers on them. One sock was immediately thrown up but the other one became lodged in her intestine. After a trip to the vet, it was decided she had to have surgery to remove it. All pet owners are distraught over any situation like this, and my daughter was definitely upset. However, my son-in-law is one of the most tender hearted animal lovers that I know.

A case in point, I was driving in extremely bad weather with Lisa and Jeremy in the back of the van when a deer leaped in front of the car. I kept my car steady and didn't hit the brakes but slowed as much as I could by taking my foot off the accelerator, and we hit the deer. Shaken, Jeremy was sure we should stop in the middle of the ice and snow to check on it. I had to share with Jeremy that if I didn't kill the deer when I hit it with my car, it certainly expired when it cartwheeled away, flew over the bridge abutment, and landed in the Licking River. Now I think deer are gorgeous when they are frolicking in the fields or standing still as stone in the morning frost, but I am a country girl and this isn't the first deer my vehicle has taken out.

Anyway, Lily, a gorgeous 6 month old chocolate lab, is totally different. We all were upset and worried about her. She is fine after surgery and comes home today from the vet's. She is officially their most expensive pet now (the vet was nice enough to neuter her at the same time). She will wear a cone around her neck for a while to keep her from licking the incision; and I am sure Lisa and Jeremy will use even more vigilance in keeping socks away from her.