Update

Here's the verdict: my HP Pavilion laptop needs a new motherboard, at a cost of $700. I'm not sure this even includes labor -- doesn't matter, as the price is unreachable in any case.

Here's the plan:

• consult with brother-in-law, who knows about computers and may be able to get me a cheaper, used, motherboard (if that's sensible)
• consult with WeLL experts for further advice (one of the several things that makes the monthly WeLL membership worthwhile) 
• hoard energy for less-frequent posting on this tired old desktop
• decide what can be cut from monthly budget to save for repairs or new laptop
• start buying lottery tickets?

Surprisingly, the most frustrating thing to me is not being able to play with photographs as quickly and easily as I could on the laptop. This machine is just too creaky, and sitting up wears me out. I do have everything set up well -- good ergonomics and all that. What I miss next, is reading the blogs I usually spend time with each day.

So, I will be here, and on Flickr -- but with less frequency. Priority here will probably be Friday Cat Blogging, since that's the most popular feature I have.

In the meantime, it's spring, the garden is booming (so full already I can't imagine where everything still to come will grow) and I can sit outside with actual paper books. [Yes, I did mean "booming" -- "blooming" isn't big enough to really express it.]

Last night I dreamt that I was visiting a friend in some fantastic landscape, and telling myself to just enjoy what I was seeing, and quit fretting about what happens next.