It's a simple task. Really, it is.

It’s been a bad couple of weeks for my ability to play well with machines. To recap:

• My circuit box went crazy to the tune of $1500;
• one of my water heaters died;
• the windshield wipers on my car take turns not working;
• my Shark carpet sweeper is refusing to pick up anything;
• I spilled a full cup of coffee on the laptop and it wouldn’t work [It’s working now, but sometimes the s won’t work and sometimes the w initiates a Windows voice recognition program while simultaneously starting msconfig];
• the server at work, for which I’m responsible, is flashing scary red lights at me and is refusing to back up anything;
• and my camera keeps resetting the date to 9 years in the future.

Nonetheless, I’ve pretty much been cheerful throughout this. Today, however, I want to go live in a log cabin without any machines at all.

I finally get up a head of steam to finish the cow bathroom. I finished spackling and sanding the multitude of nail holes that cropped up like ‘shrooms in the Spring as I moved frames around and around and around looking for the best configuration. The only thing left to do is to resize some photos and print them out, put them in the frames, and wallpaper the ceiling. [The frames have been hung, many of them empty, for months now. It’s well past time to complete this project.] None of this should have taken more than five or six hours. 

I need a drink.

I have a blue gazillion number of imaging programs on the upstairs ‘puter (an old Win2000 machine) and not any of them are the one, the name of which I can’t remember, that will allow me to resize the photos. I have cursed, thrown photo paper at the portable hard drive, and stomped around the house perilously close to a major tantrum. I cannot resize these photos to save my life. I have spent three hours trying. 

I do know that the imaging software included with Windows XP will do exactly what I want done with minimal fuss, but, given the past couple of weeks, the last thing I need to do is try to set up the XP machine HMOKeefe gave me to replace the Win2000 beast. The thought of initializing the wireless modem gives me the heebie jeebies. 

A tall one.

None of that changes the fact that I have resized and printed photos from Old Reliable before – many time, in fact – I cannot fathom what the problem is. 

I should be wallpapering the ceiling since I can’t do the photo thing. I’m now so frustrated that I’m not sure I should be trying to manipulate wallpaper glue and an electric staple gun (long story on the need for staples) while standing on a rickety folding chair and/or the toilet seat. 

What do you want to bet that WordPress will behave badly when I try to upload this post? 

I need a drink – a tall one.

[Yes, indeedy, WordPress did behave badly. Or I did. Hard to tell these days.]