One Woman and Her Mac

An Historic Apple

I had high hopes for my 51st year. High hopes that I would be able to publish at least one post a week, or even everyday, like some bloggers. Unfortunately, my equipment let me down!

No, I don't mean my brain :D

I mean my trusty ten year old laptop! And Yes, I did say ten years old! 

But this is no ordinary laptop, no. This is a Mac.

And no ordinary Mac either.

This is an Apple PowerBook G4, once the ultimate in cool technology in its pearlesque titanium casing.

Of course, that was when it belonged to my dear Hubby!

It now belongs to me and it seems to be reflecting my own inability to quite get to grips with the frantic pace of Twenty-First Century living. Nowadays the casing looks, well, more grey than shimmery and as for its aging abilities...

It's getting slow and unable to take in some of the new-fangled software and updates that Apple want to throw at it. 

Just under two weeks ago, it all became too much for my Mac. The charger cable was beginning to get a bit thin on top. The joint between cable and adapter was no longer as flexible as it used to be and the battery wasn't charging fully. One minute my Mac had 99% of life left in it, then within ten minutes, nothing, zero, zilch, dead as a dodo :(

It wouldn't respond to CPR, (that's computer power recharge, as far as this post is concerned); and it seemed like I finally had to say 'goodbye' to my faithful old Mac and let it go...

I was very sad. Hubby tried to cheer me up by giving me a shiny sleek iPad for my birthday. It just wasn't the same. You see, my Mac and I shared a history - a life to which this young iPad can only aspire and never match. My iPad, as lovely, portable, accessible and new as it is, just cannot do all the things I need it to do. It can do a lot. Wow, yes, it is frighteningly gifted in some areas. Scarey, in fact! (For the purpose of this post, scarey means I don't fully understand it!) But what it's lacking, is that history...

All my photos are on my old Mac! And I don't know how to upload photos on to my iPad, or even if I can. So, I was unable to fully blog. I could comment but somehow, even that seemed complicated on the iPad. But, my goodness, the blogs do look good framed by its dark silky sides. And as for recipes, they look positively edible on its gorgeous back-lit screen. 

But the true beauty of my old Mac was more than just skin deep.

So Hubby, because, well, he's clever like that, did something that is never normally recommended with old laptops. He opened it up! Yes he took the back off the Mac...and fiddled! And only he knows what he really did - I dare not ask and wouldn't understand anyway even if he told me, but now, my old Mac can knock spots off most of its young PC competitors. It has a new lease of life, a new charger, a rejuvenated battery, a future in this world...And a new close friend, my iPad. They have long conversations, bounce ideas off each other, push boundaries, share platforms. It's love.

A close-up of the gorgeous roses from my dear sister

And I can access my photos.

These beauties came from my Brother-In-Law and family in France

The sun is shining again for me in blogland.

A Special Day

Today was a special day.

"Why?" I hear you ask.

Perhaps this will give you a clue.

Or this...

Or perhaps this...

Or maybe this...

No? Well, I will reveal all tomorrow when I've recovered from celebrating this special day :)

Everythings Coming Up Rosie!

I've just come back from walking Rosie and I'm glad to say the sun is shining! The day started off rather dull and wet but now it really is a beautiful Summer's day - about time too, I hear you all shouting!

I remembered that I had some pictures of the garden on the camera from last week which I had intended to use for my blog, so here they are, or most of them anyway.

For some reason, my garden is lush and green but I seem to have very few flowers at the moment, so hopefully this sunshine will make a few more bloom. This Clematis has started to twist it's way up through the dense Buddleia to the sky hoping to catch some rays.

And these Mallows just grow everywhere like weeds but I haven't the heart to pull them out, so these pink pretties are by the edge of the lawn.

I've no idea what the other pink flower is in this photo but that also grows everywhere. If you know what it's called, please let me know! It has spikey leaves along the stems, although they are soft to touch not prickly.

This gorgeous Passion Flower is one of the climbers we've added this year. I'm hoping it will fruit next year. We are very well stocked for fruit, especially the traditional soft fruits and orchard fruits but it will be nice to have something more exotic too. We are also really excited to have our first home-grown olives! I'll let you know whether they ripen or not in our English climate. They are looking quite impressive at the moment though!

This small tree had cream hydrangea-like flowers earlier in the Summer but now it has bunches of shiney red berries. I've no idea what this is called either but something is enjoying munching through it's leaves!

We have several Rose bushes and Climbing Roses. Thank goodness for them because they have been the only constant flowers we've had this Summer. Some have very little fragrance but the orange rose pictured in the last post has the most perfect fragrance and grows on long elegant almost thornless stems; everything you would wish for from a rose.

I can't imagine a flower garden without roses.

And I certainly couldn't imagine my garden without this Rosie!

Rainy Days and Sundays

We've had quite a lot of rain this week, and today has been no exception. I had hoped to go off on a jolly jaunt to some nearby seaside resort but nobody else was keen on that idea. The seaside can be so special in the rain though, don't you think..?

So instead, I have been doing the jobs  I like to put off until a rainy day!  

I have washed the kitchen floor - yes, I know rain, Rosie the dog and clean floors are never a good combination but why waste an hour on a lovely sunny day doing such chores when I could be outside with Rosie. 

I've dusted the living room and asked myself again: "Why do I have so many nicknacks and candles?" "Clutter" is how my Hubby refers to all my precious bits and pieces. 

I've remodelled an old favourite strappy t-shirt to make it look a little less nineties!  

I've read issue four of 'Mollie Makes' and was especially pleased to see Dottie Angel on page nine. I love her blog, she always makes me smile! 

I've checked eBay to see if I've sold or won anything, and trawled through the listed upholstery fabrics for any bargains - nothing doing there. 

I've edited and cropped some of the photographs I had taken earlier in the week for my blog and now I'm playing with the layout and fonts and wondering what else I can do to increase my blog following.

But, It's no good, I can't put it off any longer. I need to take Rosie out for her walk even if it's raining - a dog has to do what a dog has to do!