I’m still working on upgrading the RAM on the computer, although I have managed to complete the first full run-through of the charts for Priscilla Gibson-Roberts’ revised edition of her book on Cowichan sweaters despite extreme slowdowns and lock-ups of the machine.
It turns out that the computer’s manufacturer uses some proprietary configuration of 184-pin DIMM 128Mx64 DDR PC3200 RAM modules that is not compatible with any other 184-pin DIMM 128Mx64 DDR PC3200 RAM modules. This would not be such a big deal except that (1) the manufacturer is out of stock on these modules and (2) if they were in stock, the modules would cost twice as much as comparable RAM obtained from other sources.
I think it’s safe to say I am highly unlikely to be buying a computer from this supplier again.
Meanwhile, I’ve been looking at this a lot:
So something happened a few days ago that would have been a delight on any day, but was especially wonderful in contrast to the stuff I’d been dealing with.
The doorbell rang, and this was delivered:
There are gazillions of different types of flowers in there (what spinners refer to as "vegetable matter," although look how pretty it can be):
I haven’t even gotten snapshots yet of the funny green globe things or the persimmon-colored paper-lantern-like objects (oh! there’s one visible behind the yellow lily) or what looks a whole lot like a small pomegranate or the green fronds or. . . .
There are some advantages to passing milestones. Thanks, J, T, & K!
Also many thanks to my daughter for her swift acquisition of a miracle CD, and for C, D, E, and F. I don’t know what C and D are yet, but E and F were an elephant and a frog.
Knitting photos to come. And photos of E and F.
NaNoWriMo: I’m plowing forward with good and steady speed. If I could figure out how to install one of the nifty widgets, I’d put a progress tracker in the sidebar. But ten minutes of fiddling this morning did not reveal the secret of doing this and I’ve had enough computer tech activity for this week.



Those ‘lantern thingies’ are, indeed, called lanterns. they are called by a couple different names in catalogues, but you can buy them. And they are perennial and survive the cold. We had one mixed in with a hedge that was wonderful every fall.
I didn’t get to write today but I hope to make up for it over the weekend. I have about 10500 or 11000 words. I wrote one day in my notebook and haven’t typed that up yet, so I’m not sure exactly how far along I am. Not too worried about getting the 50000 word goal though. I’m more concerned about generating some material for my non-knitting book.