Broadway shop window boxes                      Photo and enhancement by Chris Duffy

I'm not sure what it was about these window boxes that attracted my attention. I do remember that the flowers looked a more vibrant purple than they appear here, but then memory does that sometimes. 

Still having a problem with my StickyNotes not getting along with other softwares.  Maybe I'll have to use a different brand of StickNotes. Alice told me that there are others out there, so I may pursue that.  And then one other pesky detail to work out and I should be completely done with the change over to the new computer.   

Gate in Bourton on the Water, England                Photo and enhancement by Chris Duffy

Another gate . . . can you tell I LIKE them? Although from what you can see in this picture it could have been taken in Missosuri for that matter.  Well, maybe the short stone wall would provide a clue, but that's not conclusive.  This one was in the town of Bourton on the Water.   Don't you just love some of the names of these little towns in the Cotswolds? 

Well, I'm still only 95% complete on the whole new computer thing.  Oh, I have all my data transferred over and all of my software loaded, but I can't seem to put the icons of Word, Excel and PowerPoint on either the QuickLauch bar nor the Start Menu.  Every time I try it ends up being the icons for the lower versions that came as a 60 day trial on my new machine. I don't want to use the 60 day trial copies since I already have the Professional versions on a CD that I've loaded.  And I can't just UNInstall the lower version, because that would delete Outlook Express (I think) which is the only mail delivery system that my ISP supports (Comcast).  Although I prefer regular Outlook to Outlook Express, I am forced to use Outlook Express since that's the only one that Comcast will support.  If you use Outlook and run into a problem, Comcast just says, "Sorry, we don't support that software" and refuse to help you with your problem.  I know, because I tried that a couple years ago.

But I'm confident that eventually we'll get everything working, and in the mean time, I'm happy to see how fast the filters in Paint Shop Pro work on this new machine.

Lygon Arms Hotel in Broadway, England                Photo and enhancement by Chris Duffy

SavonDuJour mentioned that she had eaten at the Lygan Arms in Broadway some years ago.  I just happened to have taken a good shot of that hotel while we were walking through Broadway . . . in between rain storms.  It's a really old place, because when we went in to have tea there, the floors were not level and they creaked, and some of the beams even looked crooked.  But that only added to the "character" of the place for me. 

I am 100% complete on the transfer of data from one computer to the other.  Now I just need to load the rest of my softwares. 

Broadway shop door                        Photo and enhancement by Chris Duffy

Nothing special about this shop door in Broadway, England . . . I just liked it.  It's unusual.  See the eight panes of glass in the top of the door?  The middle of each pane looks like the bottom of a wine bottle.  They are obviously hand made.  I guess that's another reason I liked them.

I can tell you again that great progress is being made on the "new computer" front.  I can get to the internet and I've gotten my e-mail working again.  I had to key in all my contacts a second time because of the QUICK RESTORE.  I've installed Paint Shop Pro, Calendar Creator Plus and Sticky Notes, as well as most of my data/picture files.  I have 3 more CDs of data to transfer out of 11 so that's about 72% complete.  Then I'll load Office 2003.  Then the only thing I'll need to complete it is to activate my AntiVirus and Security software.  I think my hubby thinks I'm glued to the chair, so I'll have to take a short hiatus from the computer once I get it all done.  Maybe that's another Father's Day gift I'll give him.   One whole day without me going to the computer room.  Hmmmmm.  I don't know if I can actually DO that though. 

Oh, and by the way, Alice has posted a BUNCH of pictures of her new house and I must say she's done a WONDERFUL job in two short weeks.  

Bibury, England                                                       Photo and enhancement by Chris Duffy

Well, we're back to square one . . . well, maybe square 3 or 4 really.  At any rate, I had to perform a QUICK RESTORE which brought my computer back to exactly where it was when I took it out of the box.  I was about 95% complete on the transfer of all my software and all my data and picture files over from the old computer to the new one when two of my softwares got into a squabble . . . neither one of them won, and the aftermath of their squabble was that several things did not work correctly after the fight.  I tried un-installing both and reinstalling the important one (Sticky Notes) but even that didn't work . . . so . . . I did as my techie suggested and did the QUICK RESTORE.  So far, I have my email back up and running, I can get to the internet, and one of many softwares back on the computer.  It was after 10:30 and I was getting those "Do you realize how late it is?" comments from hubby, so I'll work on it more tonight after work.  I really think it will go faster this time, since I know more or less what I'm doing this time.   But I couldn't go another whole two or three days without blogging, so I'm blogging from work today.

Church Yard in Burford                           Photo and Enhancement by Chris Duffy

You didn't really think that I could go on for very long without going back to a graveyard, did you?  This one in Burford was one of the prettiest ones and very well kept.  This is also the church that we attended Palm Sunday services.  I think the above the ground vaults are interesting.

Work progresses on my new computer (I'm blogging from it). I just have the Word, PowerPoint and Excel to install and I think I'll be mostly done then.  I still have a few minor housekeeping things to do, but they aren't critical. 

One very nice feature of my new computer is that it has slots for reading the digital camera media cards right on the computer, so I won't have to do the USB cable thing anymore.  And it sure is a lot faster downloading pictures from the card this way. 

Well, I've spent almost 9 hours at the computer today, so I'm ready to call it a day.

 
Barton Creek Resort grounds in Austin, TX                                  Photo by Chris Duffy

This is where I was the past three days.  I forgot to take the power cord to my laptop so I couldn't post from the hotel.  Besides, if I had brought the power cord and posted to my Xanga site, it would have cost my company $9.95 every time I went to the internet, and that wouldn't be fair.

Barton Creek Resort Veranda                                                    Photo by Chris Duffy

I really liked the way the sun created the shadows with all these columns and chairs out on the veranda of the hotel.  Resorts are nice, but I'd rather be hiking.

Barton Creek Resort Nature Trail in Austin, TX                         Photo by Chris Duffy

The resort did a good job of making good use of the land.  What wasn't part of the hotel grounds immediately around the main buildings was golf course, and one section that had this creek running through it was nestled inbetween two of the golf holes.

Barton Creek Resort Nature Trail in Austin, TX                         Photo by Chris Duffy

Funny thing, though you would never know on the Nature Trail that you were anywhere near the golf course.  The brush was pretty thick and the trails were positioned so that you were never close enough to the golf course to see it.   

Barton Creek Resort Nature Trail in Austin, TX                         Photo by Chris Duffy

The trail meanders through the woods and ended up being a little over a half mile from beginning to end.  I did it twice one morning and then once again one of the afternoons.  I took quite a few shots of the creek.   

Barton Creek Resort Nature Trail in Austin, TX                         Photo by Chris Duffy

We got plenty of rain the three days we were there, as it rained every day.  Still several of our guys took advantage of the afternoon sunshine and got in some golf.  Me, I was content to wander through the woods, take pictures and think about all the similar hikes our mom and dad had taken us on when I was a kid.  I kept wishing that my sister could have been there too.

NEWS FLASH !!!   I'm able to get to the internet from my new computer.  I have sound and a screen, so we're making progress.  Now I have to take the time to load all my software, but I'll be out of town at a business meeting for three days, then on Saturday a wedding to go to, then Saturday evening, company coming, then Sunday evening we go to someone else's house for dinner.  That doesn't leave much time for what I'd REALLY like to be doing, and that's playing with my new toy and getting it all set up.  But, this area of my life has no deadlines, so it'll happen when it happens.

Thanks for the encouraging words.

Old Market Center in Chipping Campden, England                                  Photo and enhancement by Chris Duffy

Oh my, what a frustrating evening!  I'm glad no one was there to hear me because I'm ashamed to say that a few choice words came out of my mouth. . . come to think of it, it would have been better if someone WAS there to hear me, because then I probably would have stiffled myself better. 

First of all, it was a challenge just to get the old computer taken out of the computer cabinet.  All that "spagetti" had intertwined itself and you couldn't tell what was attached to what.  And you have to practically stand on your head to get down where the CPU is housed.  And of course there is no light down there and all the flashlights in the house were dead.  But finally I prevailed and got it out and all the cords to the speakers untangled and removed. 

Got most all of the cables hooked up to the new CPU . . . monitor, keyboard, mouse, cable modem, etc.  However, when I got to the speakers I didn't know what to do.  There was not a slot to plug in the external speakers AND the speakers built into the monitor.  I finally opted to use the external speakers, because I figured they would provide better sound quality.  But then when I turned on the computer, wonderful sound came out of the speakers, but no picture on the monitor.  It took me over a half hour to figure out how it was that the monitor was not getting any electricity.    Then, like it was demon possessed, as soon as I got a picture on the monitor there was NO SOUND. NONE AT ALL!!  I fiddled and fidgeted with it for the next hour, but still no sound.  When I started crying I figured it was time to quit for the evening.  But . . . since it was still in it's "Let's set up your computer mode" I couldn't get to the shut down window.  I tried Control-Alt-Delete several times, which produced no shut down window. I tried the Windows key on the keyboard, but no luck their either.  So back to the only method that's been working for me on the old machine. . . I pulled the plug.  Sorry XP, but it was either that or leave you on all night.    I'm thinking that having my Systems Engineer friend come over and bail me out is not such a bad thing . . . just hope HE thinks it's not such a bad thing too. . . otherwise it's Geeks On Call again for $200.    And after paying for the computer, I really don't have $200 to spend on a Geek. 

Rock wall and Gate near cottage we rented in Burford, England
Photo & enhancement by Chris Duffy

I found this rock wall and wroght iron gate one morning as I was taking a walk near our cottage, while I waited for hubby to get up and ready to head out for another day of English village sight seeing.  Wouldn't that be just perfect for my garden?  Fat chance!!

Well, I'm getting ready to pull the plug on the old machine and set up the new computer.  So, we'll see how long it takes for me to get back to the web. Wish me luck.  (If it takes me too long I'll have to drop in to XangaLand from work).