Not getting my "new" laptop til Monday... My computer is still in the shop -- contents of old hard drive being transferred to "new" computer that I bought last February. Plans for backup computer arrangement went pear-shaped so I'll deal with that later. A friend is rescuing the old drive for free, so I can't really get impatient when he has paying jobs to work on. But I'm going nut zooid without a computer. The iPad is great, but I have no access to data, etc. I've got a lot of backup material on DVD or flash drives which I can transfer to the laptop so I'll be back in business again, more or less.

No bit of fun goes unpunished, it seems. Got to bed too late last night and woke up too early. Felt initially okay, considering, and got some stuff in the house put away in anticipation of my up the hill neighbor coming down to help me with some cleaning. But just couldn't deal with the major schleppage to the cellar. Called Izo to tell her I was feeling less than optimal so maybe we should reschedule. Turns out she hadn't gotten to bed til 4 am because she was cleaning HER house... We got together, though, and I gave her some clothes I de-accessioned. Did an errand, then went home and took a nap and ended up feeling worse after the nap. Not sure what I got into.

The fun was last night. First went to a talk at the Portsmouth Athenaeum by the author of "Mortal Sea: Fishing In The Age of Sail" ( he's a very engaging speaker), then crossed Market Square to RiRa to see Great Bay Sailor. Sat with friends who were already there and was surprised when the band invited me up to sing. Sang "Bridget Flynn" with some really nice accompaniment, then returned to my Guinness. And a bit later Jim started playing "Fisher Row" and very nicely insisted I return to the stage to sing it...and he really did some nice guitar work behind it! Stayed longer than I'd intended to, but there were a lot of friends in the audience and, of course, the music was really good. GBS has managed a miracle in taming the wild acoustics of that pub. I've been avoiding it because the sound bouncing around (it's a former bank building) is painful and good for an instant headache that sticks even after I've escaped. But Jim and Steve have figured it out and keep the volume comparatively low and restrained. Sounds good!

I have an early appointment to get the oil changed in the car tomorrow. Then a pretty busy day. Hope I feel less like doggy doo after a good night's sleep.

Linn