My wife had a couple extra days off for the 4th of July, and it happened to be my three day weekend off so we got in the car Monday (after the crowds abandoned Highway One) and drove to her new favorite place, Fairchild Gardens in Coral Gables, three hours north. She showed off her membership card, in the flashy limestone stone building pictured above, and we got in for free because I went as her guest and thus skipped the $20 entrance fee. We had a great time. I took tons of pictures and it was only when I settled down to load them into the computer I discovered that my longstanding technology problems were still plaguing me. A new issue reared its ugly head July 3rd when it seems American Telephone and Telegraph metaphorically stood on their own dicks somewhere in the Upper Keys July 3rd and cut the Internet connection because many users in the Keys suddenly had connectivity problems. AT&T denied this when I called them yesterday but when my wife spoke to our computer Guru, Joe, he apparently showed her how to reset the laptop to its pre-interruption state, and she assures me connections are once again brilliant. I am weary of computer problems frankly as I am a technophobe and long for the day when computers are as simple as televisions to operate. Even though I long since gave up on any television reception in my life. The TV itself is easy enough to switch on and run a DVD (hooray for Netflix! I order old TV shows and enjoy them without the commercials) but my damned computer is always telling me to wait..
These constant interruptions in my computer connections have made me painfully aware that I am internet dependent. I've known that for a while, living at the end of the road makes the need for outside connection obvious but I have missed the regular tussles with Blogger and the picture download routine which can be horridly slow when Blogger is busy or the nerds that run it are experimenting with weird new "features." I still want to upload pictures from my trip to New Mexico in May but I've been afraid of losing them altogether with the current state of my lap top and AT&T. My wife says I can stop worrying. I shall soon resemble less a bear with a sore head, and more a happy blogger.
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Perhaps I am lucky as I have a schedule that allows me plenty of time to take pictures, download them and write my narratives. Perhaps I need more hobbies (God forbid! I hate collecting stuff!) but I find the whole business of doing the blog very relaxing and I am surprised when my posting schedule evinces surprise. But I am surprised to find myself as antsy as I am simply because I have entries planned and I have been stymied...And the Trumpet is getting a new front tire so I shall be riding the wife's Vespa 150 for the next few days. Cool, I need a blog excuse to go places.
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I did manage to download two pictures for what was meant to be a tour of Fairchild Gardens in Miami and here is the other one, a gardener weeding (I think) in 90 degree heat. I got the impression he thought he had the best job in the world:
But two photographs a blog entry do not make for conchscooter so I hope to have a properly illustrated essay tomorrow, AT&T and the computer permitting. If not I shall immolate the laptop and strangle myself. And then I'll take up stamp collecting.
