I'm B-A-A-A-A-A-ACK!!!

It is SO good to be back online. It's only been a week but it feels like a year. Our beautiful little laptop will probably have to get shipped back to HP for some warranty work. How the modem got fried, I don't know. But fried it is.

Walter and I spent a good hour on the phone(s) with HP's free support unit: Walter on the cell phone in my left ear, and HP in my right. Such a nice lady, in India. Very, very good, too.

But it was all to no avail. We were supposed to call back after doing backups and getting certain installation etc. CD's together, to do a "repair" run. But Walter knew what to do from there without them. So he and I spent about six hours on the phone, me working on the laptop in safe mode, running diagnostics, reinstalling Windows Professional - only to have it all get knocked out again upon trying to turn on the modem.

So, we ended up fixing the house computer instead. That only took an hour or two.

I read about regular people doing such things all the time. But k the phobe never, ever has. As a phobe, of course, this stressed me out. I had to work to summon up some serious self-control. It was quite an experience. We got through it. Walter was driven to the limits of his endurance, I have no doubt. So was I. I'm proud of us both.

Now I need a little catching-up time. It's been a difficult week. Better now, much. In a day or two I'll get back to you all, and answer your emails too.

It was really nice to see your notes and such, getting back online. So...cheery, and sweet. Thanks for the kind thoughts.