Internet DTs!

Wow, amazing how much we depend on the internet for so many things in our lives. 

News - both local and global

Email - keeps us connected to friends and family from everywhere

My knitting and crochet groups - they are my inspiration

So what do you do when your modem decides to crap out on you at 2 am this past Monday? Well, crochet your heart out, review paper editions of knit & crochet magazines and books you've been putting off looking at because you're usually on the internet checking email, and updates from your knit & crochet groups. 

Then you call your internet provider and go through all the different hoops they insist you perform to make sure that it is truly the modem that's crapped out. That took over an hour of various reboots of both the computer and the dying modem as well as deleting internet connections and reinstalling said connections. Switching cables around to ensure that it wasn't the problem. Until finally, they decided that the modem (which was 12 years old) was indeed on it's last leg. It was sending packets but not receiving them. Go figure since I told them right at the beginning of the tech support convo that it wasn't receiving and that indeed it was sending.

It finally came today!!! oh joy!!! After pulling out the old modem, cables, wiring, I plugged in the new one and waited the prescribed time, then started up the computer and waited. Opened the web browser to find that it wasn't connecting, check the little computers at the bottom of my screen to see the same message as Monday's. Little or no connectivity... Ahhh!!!! Again, I go through the wire jungle, switch them for new ones we always keep on hand .... just in case... switch the telephone cord.... just in case, reboot the computer, reboot the modem... still no connectivity. While doing all these various calisthenics..believe me, to get to our computer wire disaster in the making, you require calisthenics  LOL since everything is behind the desk which is against the wall. You may think, what's the big deal... right... try having 2 giant 24 inch crt's on your desk which alone weigh 75 lbs each! the desk itself is made with 1 inch plywood doubled up in a lot of places. (anything less sturdy and the crt's would have been on the floor long ago) This desk is so solid, you can get up on it, jump up and down and dance on it and it doesn't even make a sound...so yes, it's solid! and yes, we know from experience! LOL

Anyway... while doing all this, I unwittingly unplugged the router! Ack! Noooo!!! I quickly plug it back in and all I'm seeing is the single wee green power light. Nothing else is lighting up! Oh geez.. now what?! After waiting a few minutes, the router still hasn't lit up so back to the wire jungle to figure out if something is bent or crimped. Go back to the router, unplug it again and plug it back in, reboot the modem, reboot the computer and wait (patiently? Hah!) to see if all these various bits and pieces of technology will cooperate and give me back access to my virtual world. And while praying to whichever gods of the internet there may be, I watch the little computer icon on the desktop go green! We have connectivity folks, no clue what happened, guess the stars and planets were all aligned properly, but I'm back!!! 

Btw, the one who suffered the worst from this internet breakdown was my darling husband. Poor guy couldn't check any of his groups, blogs, updates, etc... and usually, while he's going through a kidney stone crisis, he'll spend most of his time concentrating on the virtual world instead of the reality pain brings, these past couple of days have been pure hell for him. He will be one very happy guy when he will finally be able to surf again.

As for baby blanket #2, it's halfway done insofar as the top stitching or tambour crochet is concerned. I'll likely finish it today or tomorrow at the latest, then it's photo time! I will be adding this pattern to my Ravelry designs page for a free download soon.

I've also been working on a couple of new crochet designs. One is of a lovely scarf and the other is of a matching hat. 

With my Mom's 71st birthday coming in June, I want to make something special for her. So I've also been working on a design for a sleeveless  zip/button  vest-style for her. I've already decided that she will also get the scarf and hat once I'm done working out the design. 

For a lady who is turning 71, she is in amazing form. She and her boyfriend go out dancing every weekend. They are part of a Senior Sandbag League (baseball pôches (fr)) and their team is leading by over 1000 points over the rest of the league's teams which means they will be travelling to Quebec City again this year for the league finals. She has her own market garden that she tends to and a market stall from which she sells fresh picked vegetables, eggs and local in-season fruits. So my vest design will have to be utilitarian as I can see her wearing it in early spring and fall while working in the garden. She also does supervision duty at the local elementary school during lunch times throughout the school year. I just hope I'm as able as she is when I reach 71.