Big and better! But not without issues!

OH MY!!!! I did something monumental again yesterday! And in case there are any spelling mistakes because of it, I have someone to check up on me! It seems that I (and Grammarly) missed the correct spelling of MacGyver yesterday. I'll go back and correct it. 

However, today, I have a different issue, and today's blog might be short because of it. I've got a new keyboard, and well, I need to figure out how to reconfigure the darn thing because I think I set it up to map French Canadian symbols, and I've got accents everywhere when I need an apostrophe. Hopefully, Grammarly will correct it for me!

I will need to make a change to the settings!

Here's what happened! I clicked SHUT DOWN on the old computer. It was time to retire it, as it was taking forever to go through the files, and I need speed if I'm going to get a handle on this file situation! 

Shutting down the old

Here's the old computer! And the wonder of these desktop computers is that there is only the monitor, the keyboard, and the mouse. There is NO tower as there used to be in the 'olden' days. Is the computer part inside the monitor? They are pretty skinny. I've no idea, but it's nice not to have that big component to find a space for. I'm going to miss the pill bottle that held the old monitor up, as one of the hinges on the back is shot. 

The old computer

This is the mess behind the screen. That massive transformer, an Echo Dot (now in the donation box - what a stupid thing to own! We had four, now down to one in the kitchen that DH uses as a timer), and my big external hard disk, which could be replaced by something much smaller than that, but for the moment it stays, and the power tower. 

The mess behind the computer

Thankfully, the transformer on the new computer is MUCH smaller than the old one. It takes up less space, and that makes me very happy. 

The old versus the new transformer

Then it was time to dig the new one out of the box that was lying on the floor. This one has a post for a stand, but it seems a bit wobbly on that stand, and I'm not sure how I can make it more stable without putting another pill bottle under it! I'll have to figure that out. 

Putting the stand on the new monitor

Oh my— it is definitely a bit larger than the old one, and I needed to push it down on that stand because it was way too high. I have one piece - a small clip that I'm not sure what to do with, and that may be the stabilizer thing. 

The new computer

It was at this time that I found the Setup Instructions. Too late -- I'm already there! 

The setup instructions - at last!

BUT - I did read them because they had the labels for what parts were where. And I discovered this!!!!! The camera is hidden in a little pull-up thing at the top. It's easy to pull out and push back in. While that's super convenient, it's not. It just seems like a little dust trap, but I need that camera because my computer now recognizes my face and unlocks the computer! No password!!!!

The camera pops up out of the monitor

And now the camera is tucked into the monitor!!!!

Now you see it, now you don't

Then I turned it on. 

And.........

And it took HOURS to set up. Of course, I wasn't sitting here watching it, so whenever I came back, I had something else to do. But of course, it tried to force me to use Microsoft Edge as my browser, and I don't want that. It linked everything, and I had to get my password book out to make that happen. BUT, by George, I think I got it!!!

Naming the computer

Except for the keyboard, which I'm sure I can go back into the settings and change to English only. I opened up the main programs I'm using - PowerPoint, and Outlook, and all seems good. 

Opening up Outlook

I think there are only two things I didn't do on the old computer, and I'll have to go in there today and get them. YES -- there were a ton of files still in the Download folder, and those did not get transferred to the new one. I suspected they wouldn't transfer because they were on the physical drive of that computer, and I did NOT deactivate my EQ8, so I could reactivate it on this computer! Although I think I can do that online now. 

The new one is Windows 11, which uses some different protocols than Windows 10, but thankfully, I'm somewhat used to them from being on Windows 11 on the laptop. 

All in all, it went pretty smoothly. I'm also not used to this keyboard, and the fact that I made it French doesn't help. 

However, I think I'll have to run a defrag on that external hard disk because it is still a bit slow to access some files. I might run that later today, and hopefully everything will be at lightning speed after that. 

I'm off to the gym, so I don't have a lot of time this morning, BUT I got another customer quilt done. 

Customer quilt - DONE

And last night, all the quilts got trimmed and are ready to be picked up! I did not get to the sewing machine, but that's a job for later today. 

I stopped by the thrift store to see if I could find anything to make a double boiler! Oh my -- I lucked out. I found this metal trivet, with HANDLES!!!! And then found a round glass dish to melt the wax in. And it all cost less than $10. That trivet with the handles was an excellent find. 

Parts for my double boiler

What people need to remember is that thrift stores are NOT bargain stores. Depends on who runs them and what they were set up for. The one near me is a for-profit store. But most of them are no longer the place where you go to get a bargain. You go there to find treasures!! You know what they say—another person's discards (trash) is another person's treasure! 

I did not buy anything else there. No new puzzles came home with me, although there were some interesting ones. I do NOT need any at this time, and there will be interesting ones when I need them. 

WAIT—here is the link for QUILTsocial. Here is the one I couldnèt find yesterday -- all about free-form felting on the embroidery machine. 

QUILTsocial - free form felting on the embroidery machine

I had so much fun with those projects!!!!! If you have software and you have an embroidery machine, be sure to check it out!!! Heck—check it out just for its cuteness factor. I've done so many cool things on my embroidery machine that I could run the entire show-and-tell this month with just my things!!!!

I don't see day four yet, but wait until you see what I did. This time, no machine embroidery - just some creativity and some buttons!!!! 

On that note, I'd better edit this before my editor sees the mess, then get myself to the gym to see what torture Brooke has in store for me!!! 

Have a super day!!!!

Ciao!!!!