January 16, 2008the farm updateHigh Button ShoeGood morning,..I was wrong. After mentioning several times that I merely limped into this century with my non technical skills, and a new year with newer yet technology facing me in every direction, I now believe rather than limping into the 21st century, I actually have crawled in, by my fingernails worn to nubs and aided along by my barefooted toes dug into the floor pushing me aimlessly along. The past two weeks have been a nightmare of finally trying to get my 2 internet servers (of a year+) worked into ONE place for my newsletters, as some of you get mail from this address and some of you get it from triton. Thinking I finally had a good handle on the technical aspects of it, I find I was completely mislead into false bravo of my abilities. And that young whippersnapper ( my grandma's term of decades ago), that is the tech service support, that assured me a year ago when I joined, that 300 newsletters could definitely go out without a hitch didn't ply me completely with full truth. I wrote down his name, as I do with all 'service' people I speak to. He, whether to get my account, OR because he didn't know much more than I did, falsely led me to believe I could send newsletters. So actually the last year has been a difficult process for me on one server. With Ronnie prodding me on for months to get this done, I finally decided with some false high expectation of my skills, that I would tackle it. What was I thinking???Also lost, along with most every brain function I owned, was my mental (but not in stone..) resolve to be more tolerant and more patient this year. A good thought, a good goal, but in order to do that, I apparently must avoid people and computers. So that resolve is now gone, vanished in thin air, or more appropriately into air thick with exasperation and a few bad words. And if I get a good day soon, I will unlock the whippersnapper service tech from the barn where I have him shackled, and temporarily dismiss the plan to throw the computer out in the snowbank. A thought I often contemplate.This computer/newsletter/tech service problem was also aided by headaches of my own doing. We have a very small room in the back of the house that has 2 stairways and a door out of it. The rest of the floor plan holds my washer, dryer, freezer, sewing machine, ironing board, file cabinet, and a big cupboard to hold stuff. This allows me a path to get to all of it about big enough to get a laundry basket through. Clothes hang above the washer and dryer on a pole designed to organize clothing closets to help with our no closets issue. So I generally have to move the clothes above the washer, which has a top loader, over to get clothes in and out of the washer. That day I didn't take enough care, and the washer lid bonked down on my head about knocking me silly, INSTANT headache and the biggest goose egg I probably have ever had. While it stayed large most of the day, it had gone down significantly just before Ronnie came home, so I couldn't even get a good sympathy from him. My theory of sympathy is no matter where your pain or injury is, you should always drag your hind leg. It often works. Like looking pathetic to get help..Anyway, as that was just about healing up about a week later, we were up in the hay barn looking for something, as is our most every day chore now...looking for something. We didn't find it there, by the way. Anyway, as I have felt confident that Fritz the Anaconda, resident barn snake Ron refuses to kill for me was probably in hibernation somewhere, my hope being that he got smushed in the shed demise or was baled up in one of the big hay bales and like Elvis has 'left the premises', AND he might still be in the barn, I always clunk things with my hoe I carry with me thinking that if I see him and can keep my wits about me (Yah, I know what you are thinking!)that I can chop him to bits with the hoe. Well the winter weather made me think if he IS in there, he will be slow moving. Like me. The barn is huge and old. Built like the old barns of its time. Has beams, old wood floors, nooks and crannys where varmits could hide. Even with the big doors open, unless the day is bright sun from the west, it tends to be dark. It was a dark day. So with little light and trying to find the lost item, which was a lost cause, I delve further into areas with less light.Only to find my hoe, that I had deemed unnecessary to carry with me in the winter months, as I stepped on the bottom which promptly smacked the handle right above my right eye. In an amazingly fast painful thud. So rather than murdering off Fritz, I bonked myself a good one. I now visualize Fritz the Anaconda, smiling and with his tail in the air marking one in the air. Fritz/one. Tilda/bonked.I suppose this incident proves Ron's thoughts correct, that I can only carry a hoe and not an axe. Again, I figured I would at least get a black eye or a welt or something...but all I had was a killer headache for days. No one could see my injury. And my head hurt too back to think of which hind leg to drag..so I didn't bother this time. Beulah thinks I should wear a helmet daily now and has offered a suggestion of if I want pink or blue. AND she offered this with a big smile. Darned kid, anyway. Wonder how that would look with my ratty old red wool ski cap I wear in winter?Like last year, a year I knew would be of significant change for us, this year will also be one of change. Once something I dreaded like a root canal, I clung to my comfort zone and rarely moved away from it. I have applied for and been accepted into two new websites to sell my work. In addition to our own website.We are at www.simplyprimitives.com/artisans/highbutton.html Check out the other artists while there! and as of yesterday (Jan 15th) we are on www.theprimitivegathering.comand will be joining www.LemonPoppySeeds.com with their February debut. I am honored to be included in all 3 of these places.So look for us in these 3 places. We also have added more bottles & tins to the homepage of the website. These are OLD bottles and vary in size. We have spring items listed in the gallery; bunnies, carrots, eggs, and our antique grass. We have added more photographs yet to the farmhouse collection CD to now number more than 230 pictures. The sun and its shadows meandering ways thru the house continues to dominate the photographs.We have a good supply of the antique green hued grasses for your spring bowl of eggs. This looks great any time of the year.I am going to begin offering more of my own collections on the Tilda Collections, but it also will be showing up in some of the photographs of folk art for sale. Look for them. We are planning a sale here at the farm for this summer to reduce 'the boxes'. And another one in summer 2009 to offer the rest of the antiques that simply there is not room for. For the moment, my bonked head shudders at the thoughts of both, as each sale will be big and a lot of work involved.I will be hosting a viewing of the old farmhouse sometime this year. More on that later. But you are welcomed to come anytime, with a phone call. As many of you visited us as a shop, you can now see the transformation back into a home.Thank you for asking to be a part of our farm and life.Should you decide not to, let me know and you will be removed.While I work in this last phase ( I hope!) of trying to get these newsletter things worked out... you may get two letters. That means you are on both my servers address books. Let me know if you do. It may also mean you are listed twice in the same address book, as you have given me two separate addresses, as is the case with some people. I appreciate your patience with this.in fond regard, Tildathe klutznon computer skilledBUT rosemary is still thriving(probably inspite of me...)