Computers: Upstairs/Downstairs - Unexpected visit from Donna Cartagena requires my lagging hostess skills

So. I've told you before that every writer experiences demons. A forgotten novelist labored for five years and is delivering his masterpiece to the publisher in Manhattan.

What happens? He leaves it on the train. He had to write the whole thing again.

I worked hard on my short story "A Hurricane for Mr Robertson" and wanted to submit it to a lit journal. The story is on my upstairs computer.

What happens? It's impossible to send any emails. I try everything I can think of. If only I can get the story downstairs to my living room laptop.

But if the email doesn't work, how ya gonna get it down there?

There must be a way, I think.

What I do is to create a New Post on the New Directions website. Then I can go downstairs and transfer the entire short story from the Post onto a Word Document and send it over to Red Branch, one of hundreds of lit mags online.

Wish me luck.

When Scott and I were napping yesterday, I asked him what I should write about next. Rhetorical Q. But as I was falling asleep, I got an idea, which is what I'll work on tonite.

RING RING RING!

Hi Donna. Sure c'mon over. I'm home.

It was such fun having company!

I served our garden beefstake tomatoes, with ricotta, basil and thyme from the garden and a drizzle of olive oil.

Ricotta? I told Donna I got the idea from Lidia's Italian Cooking.

She remarked about what a great influence these TV chefs have on viewers.



Lidia Bastianich has had a fascinating life, including being part of the Istrian Exodus. Yes, the more you learn, the more you realize you don't know nuffin!

Donna and I sat on the twin red couches when she jumped up.

"Look!" she said. "There's a hummingbird!"

Dan showed me how to take close-ups with my camera. Hard to believe but a h'bird is sucking one of the pretend flowers on the Right. It's camouflaged on the grass.

Liar! Liar! Pants on fire.

The bird(s) has come around for a few days and I besieged Scotty to Refill the Feeder.

Finally, he did. It was full of bugs, he said.

Here's Scott pretending to like me.

Donna and I both can't believe how fat we are. Big bellies. All the better to stick your needle in. In the summertime when my flesh is bare, I use the outer banks of my arms and thighs.

We also talk about, "I can't believe how old I am!"

Told her I called Aunt Selma today in Cleveland. She's got her mind but not her eyesight at 93. Her daughter Linda and husband Jack Fogel drove to DC to visit their married son who's got a job in politics.



Oh look! You can find everything on the Internet. He's director of Fair Vote.

Wait'll I tell Donna.

RING RING RING!

Even tho I'm lonely, depressed, craving human companionship, socially isolated and rapidly losing brain function due to it, I refused to get up and answer the phone.

My main callers are:

UNKNOWN CALLER

and

215 784 8387.

Here's what some idiot wrote about the latter. WHY on earth would you believe a stranger who tells you:

2. 
   

   215-874-0370 / 2158740370 - Phone Number Comments

   800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-215-874-0370‎

   Got a call from 2158740370 / 215-874-0370? ... This phone number (215-874-0370) called me and I only have one credit card, so don't know why they would ...

Okay, gonna drive Scott to work cuz I need a few things at the Giant.

Donna told me a new Weis Market is opening up at the old Pathmark on County Line Road in Huntingdon Valley.



I called up Weis to find out the pronunciation.

WISE.

Interesting history. We wonder if the Weis brothers are Jewish or German or both. Their first names are Harry and Sigmund.

Yes, hi there, operator. Listen, I was wondering if the Weis Brothers are Jewish b/c I wanted to buy them a gift of Kedem Wine.