Had Myself a Merry Little Christmas

This year our daughter, son-in-law, and two young grandchildren were coming here for Christmas, which would be the first time in many years we’d had Christmas here.  After Christmas our grandson would stay with us for a few days and we’d take himback home the next weekend (the littlest grandchild being too young to stay with us.)  Christmas Day would be so fun with the little ones.  Then after Christmas we’d take grandson to Zoolights, and the Children’s Museum, and to the Mountain to play in the snow.  It would be a blast.

Two weeks before Christmas the plans crashed.  Our daughter and her family would not be coming after all.  No little ones on Christmas.  No small person to take to Zoolights, the museum, the snow.  Hubby and I were pretty bummed.  But such is life and Happiness is what you make it.  We’d do other things with our time off.  Like paint the ceiling in the house.  That sounds like a heap of festive fun.

And I could make Christmas  cookies to share with the neighbors, a decades long family tradition that I have not been so consistent with since the girls left home.  But this year I had no excuse not to.  So a couple days before Christmas I lit a fire in the wood stove and began measuring, mixing, and baking.

After a bit the fire began waning so I went over to stoke it.  And look out the window.

It was snowing.  Christmas would be quiet but it would be okay.

The White Screen of Death

It happened.  I was using my computer, Quickbooks, to be exact.  I walked away for a bit and when I came back I had the White Screen of Death.   I pushed buttons. Nothing.  Shut down and started up again.  I’d get Dell and start up. Then the White Screen of Death.  I shut down and left it over night then tried again.  Still just the White Screen of Death.

I googled White Screen of Death on my phone.  Didn’t get a lot of ideas but it did make me think there may be help out there.

What better place to get help than from the family geeks who gather for Thanksgiving?   I packed up my computer with its White Screen of Death and took it to the family Thanksgiving gathering.  I waited until the day after Thanksgiving, after the Fred Meyer sock sale. And I gave it a try.  I shared my tragedy with them.  Anyone have ideas?  I did manage to get a couple of them to look up from their phones and say, No ideas.  Sounds bad.  Have to take it someplace for help.

But my brother was up for the challenge.  I don’t know what he did.  Things I do not understand. But he got it back.  My Hero!!