One of those days!

Have you ever had one of those days? You have things planned, and all the tools and supplies are in place, and then BAM - something goes wrong, and the rest of the day aligns with that? That was yesterday!

The first item on the agenda was to set up the new printer so I could print the pattern I needed to make the blocks for the class on Saturday. How hard can that be? It's a printer. Right? Wrong! 

I unboxed the printer, which I thought was very cleverly packaged. The printer was on its side in the box, and a strap around the shrink-wrapped box made it super easy to remove. 

A strap around the printer to make it easy to remove

Then, when it came time to remove all the tape, one end had been turned under, so it was easy to remove. 

One end of the tape is folded under

And then it went downhill from there! I plugged it in, and I'm not sure what happened, but it seemed to want to do the setup on its own and connected itself to the WiFi without a password. I don't know what that was all about. BUT the big issue was the ink cartridges. 

We used to joke that buying a new printer was worth it because of the included ink. Well, no more. There are TRIAL ink cartridges in the printer; they are good for printing some test pages, but not enough to print anything substantial. Well, it's probably not quite that drastic, but they are not full ink cartridges. 

I took off the plastic film and inserted the cartridges. Technically, that was easy because there was a short video on the printer's screen showing me where and how to do it, since the inner mechanism was new to me. 

However, I then got an error message saying the printer didn't like those cartridges. It would NOT recognize them. So I did some troubleshooting. I cleaned the head; well, I tested that the ink was flowing. Then I took them out and reinserted them - multiple times. I turned the printer off and then back on. NOTHING. Still got an error message. 

What to do? I called HP Support and ended up on the phone for 90 minutes, where we tried a few more things, but NOTHING. That was interesting, and I've done this before for something, but they connect to your cell phone camera, so they can watch what you are doing! I guess that's easier and more trustworthy than relying on the consumer to correctly relay all the information. 

Bottom line: the brand-new printer is defective and needs to be returned. Now here's a funny thing - I've been known to buy something new (like my computer) and let it sit for months before I actually crack open the box. I opened the printer box within two days of purchasing it, and I had 30 days' grace to return it, no-questions-asked. 

Before I could get back to Best Buy, someone stopped by the house. And we chatted for a couple of hours! I didn't mind the distraction because the conversation was great! But the clock was ticking, and I still had homework to prep. 

Once they left, I hopped in the car and went to Best Buy to exchange the printer, which was easy and relatively fast. 

I wasn't going to trust this printer, so I had put the file I needed on a USB and stopped at Staples on my way home. Printing the document to their printers wasn't good enough because I needed these patterns to be a specific size—I had taken a ruler to double-check, and nope—they printed to FIT, not actual size. So I had to wait and get a staff member to print them. She didn't charge me for the printing, and I was off. 

It was only when I got home that I realized I left the darn USB at the store. So I have to go back today and pick it up! GRRRRRRRR 

However, I got home, got to work, and made pretty decent progress on the homework. The one presentation is up to date with all the pictures I currently have, but I still have more work to do. I've done a presentation with less prep work, so it'll be OK, but I'd prefer to get it all done. Let's see what today brings! 

When Miss Murphy and I were out for our walk, this big hawk swooped in front of us and landed in a tree. While I tried to get a picture of his front, Murphy was barking at a motorcycle, and the hawk moved. So I got his back, not his front. 

A big hawk in the tree

There are tons of them in our neighborhood, and they are looking for prey on the ground. Good thing Mr. Bear isn't around. He's just the right size. It's funny because until that hawk swooped around us (Bear and me), that one day, it never occurred to me that danger was in the sky. I was always worried about coyotes. Well, I guess I don't have to worry about my girls because they are too big to be carried off. 

When I turned around to look at Murphy once I got my picture, she was standing like this! The better to see the neighborhood! 

MOM - the view is better up here!

I worked on the homework for the rest of the afternoon, stopping to make dinner! Yes --- me - making dinner! But I said I would, and that's OK. 

I did a bit more homework, and at 7 PM, I felt I had done enough for the day, so I took an hour to work on the puzzle. Oh boy -- this one is crazy. I've never had a puzzle that got put together like this. I'm all over the place, and while it's pretty solid, the border is still not intact. I think everything is now connected to something else. 

Progress on the puzzle

The border pieces are different shapes and don't even look like border pieces. I think there are six or seven border pieces still missing. 

Missing border pieces

 

I did a wee bit more research early in the morning on the puzzle association, and it seems quite active in Canada, which is nice. I might just participate in some of the events. Well, it's not an event - they have themes for each month, and you pick a puzzle in that theme and post it online. That is cool because you get to see what others are working on. That is something I can do!!

And YES—there is a Virtual Retreat this weekend. Here are the links. 

Saturday, May 23, Starting at 6 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89610782501?pwd=7dCrhiL5t8Xa4TVwZPvhL6cOymbcjK.1

Meeting ID: 896 1078 2501
Passcode: 148311

Sunday, May 24, Starting at 3 PM

Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89869001291?pwd=h57kT9axwTnd2xtJvuO0z2UOmUo45w.1

Meeting ID: 898 6900 1291
Passcode: 136711

Let's hope today is a bit less dramatic and that I don't forget to pick up the USB stick!

And it's Friday, and that means I don't have to cook tonight! Yeah!!!! Going out on Friday is going to hold a lot more meaning than when I didn't cook!

By the way -- I have found the serial number for the stove, but just haven't had a chance to call yet. It's on the to-do list!

OH -- one more thing. I'm almost caught up with all the books in my current reading shelf in Libby. I have two audiobooks and one ebook. Phew!!!! But there are many books on suspend hold at the moment. I'll release those one at a time! The audiobook I'm reading is excellent and was recommended by M. She had the hard copy with her when we were in Italy. Hmmm—I would never take a big hardcover on vacation, but she likes to travel light!

Anyway, the book is called The Sicilian Inheritance and takes place in Sicily. It's fun to hear about the places we visited, BUT more importantly, it goes back and forth in time, and it's interesting to hear about some of the culture. It's not historical, but I bet that some of what is said actually took place. An interesting place! The book is a murder/mystery and very good.

OH -- speaking of books and puzzles, if you live in or near Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, you have to check out this store! It's called Cowtown Kids Toys and Candy, but they also sell many jigsaw puzzles. I'm tempted to visit the next time I head out, but it's a FOUR-hour drive from my parents. Yikes!!!! But you never know -- life is all about adventuring, and why not?

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!