A New Day, with New Things. Not Old.

I feel like a complete technological dud.  I shouldn’t even be allowed to parent this day in age.

I’ve had a Macbook Pro for a few years.  The kids have used our old PC desktop for the last few years for computer things, but it’s in the basement, and it was really hard for me to monitor.  I would send them downstairs for something and I’d lose them to the computer.  I really wanted a laptop for their schoolwork, so they could their work at the kitchen table or on the couch, or someplace that wouldn’t require more stairs for me.

Alas, our old PC crashed last time Knut tried to update it.  It’s just ancient in computer years.  I had been saving up for a new computer, and so I replaced my old Macbook Pro for a new one, and gave my old ones for the kids to use.  We figured it would just streamline everything and make everything simple that way.  Plus, the old PC has been limping along and the kids have been doing their schoolwork on my laptop the last few months, and it has really impeded my ability to publish any knitting patterns, and made even writing blog posts tricky as I had to get on the family schedule.  No more.  I have my own password protected laptop all to myself again.

Did you know the new Macbook Pros don’t have a cd drive?  I asked the guy at the Apple store why that was, and he was like, “Not to make you feel old or anything, but nobody really uses CDs anymore.  Everything is digital, or uses a USB port.”

You’ve got to be kidding me.  And yes it made me feel old.  I felt like my mom walking into a Best Buy looking for a VHS player.  (No offense, Mom.  We’re in this together.)  And digital is fine and dandy for people who have super fast access to internet all the time.  That wouldn’t be me in the middle of nowhere, with internet that randomly goes out for days a few times a year, and will slow to a snails pace from time to time for no reason as well.  It’s as undependable as you can imagine.  Downloading something from the internet to me means shutting down my internet for the day.  I hate digital.  Plus my iCloud storage is always full, and I don’t even really fully understand what an iCloud is.  My closest understanding is it’s imaginary storage somewhere that I need for some reason.

“But my kids use a laptop for their schoolwork, which is not available in download, lots of which uses software on a CD.  But I suppose I don’t need to use their curriculum on my computer.  I guess I’ll wait and see if I actually need an external drive or not.” is what I told 23 year old smug Apply guy.  I mean, it’d be handy, but do I really need it?  That was the big question.  I can be hip.  I can try to be digital.

So it was supposed to take me about an afternoon to transfer my old files to my new computer.  It took more like 3 days and a purchase of an expensive cord later.  But everything finally got transferred.

But none of my purchased software like Scrivener (which I use to organize my writing), or Photoshop worked.  I tried entering the old activation numbers, but it kept telling me I needed to reinstall.  Scrivener was easier to take care of, as their customer service rocks.  I went to reinstall my old Photoshop and lo and behold…

I need a CD drive to do that.  OK, fine, I’ll get the stupid external drive.  Just take my money.  It will be here sometime next week, because Apple stores aren’t exactly down the road from the farm.

So I plug in my USB camera card reader to my new laptop, to at least use some old pictures I had taken, as I have a bunch to choose from there.  My new laptop does not recognize my old card USB thingy.  Like, it doesn’t even care if it’s there.  It doesn’t see it, recognize it, say “howdy”…nothing.

I. have. no. idea. why.

So I put it somewhere special, to dedicate an evening to why it wasn’t working, and now my camera card and the reader are missing.  So I can’t even take pictures.  Why do I put things in a “special” place?

I’m beginning to wonder if I like new computers.  Right now I hate getting a new computer.  I think this new computer is cursed.

I’m probably just getting old like the Apple guy said.  (Not bitter.  Not bitter at all.)

So quick catch up friends:

• Knut did his big ski race in Wisconsin last weekend.  I stayed home and was sad I couldn’t go.  I couldn’t leave my kids again so soon, though.  He was gone from Wednesday to Sunday and the kids did great but it was long.  Knut was sick the week before with fever and chills.  The race ended up being super hard for him, and I think the issue was he just lost so much strength and his back was extremely tight.  But he finished and I’m very proud of him.
• I’m counting down the days until I get an ultrasound and we get to take a closer look at this new babe.  I have a funny story about that to share soon.
• We’re getting a new puppy today.  Like we aren’t juggling enough.  No seriously, though, we’re getting a new livestock guardian, which we desperately need.  In fact, I think a puppy right now is exactly what this family needs.  Getting one of these dogs is like getting the most enormous helping hand around here.  It’s like a step towards living in Downton Abbey.  In fact, she’ll be my new nanny.  That’s what we’re naming her: Nanny.  Well, her full name is “Nanny Penny.”  Penny was her kennel name, because of her markings, and we almost kept that.  The kids were divided.  I’ve always wanted to rename our last dog Nanny, because it fit her so well.  Knut wanted to name the new puppy Ragnhilde, which the kids all vetoed.  I tried pulling for him, saying we could call her “Hilde” (Hill-dee) for short.  Silje considered it, but the rest still said there was no way.

I’m thinking it will be a good 2 years before I get this Nanny trained in, though.  I’m sure the Dowager Countess can relate.  Good service is so hard to find.

Actually, besides being white all over, she does have copper markings by her eyes, not unlike Peter Pan’s (or I should say Wendy’s) Nana.  Every nursery/farm needs one.

Some wanted Nanny, some wanted Penny, and as our inside dog: Lena’s full name is “Lena Blackberry” I’m guessing we have so many kids involved that getting it down to 2 names is pretty good.  Nanny Penny it is.  But I’m totally calling her Nanny for short, like Lena Blackberry is my Lena.

Pictures of puppies and children will be taken today.  Check up on my Instagram if you like that sort of thing.