Dear Reader:

As much as I try to convince myself that I am not “into” technology and have mixed feelings about its use and direct correlations on many escalating social problems like bullying…I must confess we are at a point now…where it is almost impossible to live without it.

Technology is the foundation for an infinite number of innovations that we already  find nonviable…if missing from our lives.

Admittedly it has proven itself crucial in maintaining social contact with family and friends, church services, work-at-home jobs, and countless other infrastructures (that have kept the world afloat) during this pandemic.

Monday was one of those days when I personally, was startled awake, by a hint of a world without me being able  to text or call out or receive calls on my iPhone…I  later discovered, also, that I was no longer allowed into my private WordPress account which meant I could not write a blog.

I literally fell asleep after lunch and woke up to a new world. It was the strangest Rip Van Winkle experience I have ever had…

Monday was cool (almost chilly) …a perfect day to work in my garden…so I did…all morning until early afternoon when I came in, exhausted, and fixed some lunch. Around mid-afternoon I could feel my eyelids closing and finally gave in to a nap in my recliner.

My iPhone was right beside me on a small metal table where I would have heard any calls…even beeps from texts arriving. I sleep lightly when napping but no such sounds appeared so I slept about a hour and a half…waking up a few minutes before 5.

I picked up my Iphone and saw a call had come in from Kaitlyn a little after 3 saying Pip was 6 votes away from making  the last slot of the top 10 contenders for the dog model monthly calendar. It was now 10 minutes to 5... when the contest officially ended!

I hurriedly went to call  Kaitlyn to see if they got six more people to vote…and then discovered my phone wasn’t working…I tried Tommy and then others in the family…none of the calls were going through…“failed call” kept popping back up.

So now I tried texting…and the texts came back “failed to send“..I have to admit it was one of the strangest sensations of isolation and uneasiness for me.

To make matters worse…I decided to leave the iPhone situation alone and go on and write my blog post…so I went to turn on my computer and it was acting “funny.” I could get into the day’s blog post but when I went to enter my private account with my password…it wouldn’t let me in. If I couldn’t get in… I couldn’t write another new blog post.

Occasionally a rare email would get through the ‘tech maze’ and I finally discovered that Pip had tied for the 10th and last spot for a month model on 2021’s dog calendar. (The calendar raises money- with 100% of the profit from the calendar sales going to benefit local rescues and shelters.)  We would have to wait until yesterday to find out what they decided to do about the tie.

By Mondy night I had a headache…a rarity for me…definitely stress-induced…so I decided to unplug the modem and let my desk top computer get a good night’s sleep and turn off my iPhone for the same reason. (Then pray hard that a new day would provide a new way to get things back to normal.)

When I woke up yesterday morning it took all my courage to first check my iPhone while still praying hard…my iPhone was working in all departments…phone, text, email, and google. Hallelujah!

Boistered by this great news I, literally, ran to my desk top computer…plugged in the modem and it popped back on…no security issues glaring at me…it was as if yesterday never happened…I was allowed in everything on the computer sites.

(Ging-i said one of her sons was reading the newspaper Monday and it mentioned that there were numerous spots around the country experiencing technical problems…stemming from  different major computer companies…perhaps that is a possibility to my “Freaky Monday” instead of Friday. 🙂

***I will have to say that I spent a restless night Monday… worried about the “what if’s”…Had both my iPhone and computer systems been affected or even obliterated by some virus in technology? Just what I needed I thought to myself- Covid19 for humans and now some mysterious virus for computerized apparatus. A nightmare!

Miraculously… somehow though… my computer was working again…I wrote a quick explanation to all of you yesterday morning about the computer ‘gremlins’ bizarre and troubling unannounced visit.

I then anxiously awaited the final standing for Pip…it arrived about 10:00 a.m. yesterday. Kaitlyn told me to check my email…there was the website for the lowcountry dog magazine.

This is what the promoters wrote about the contest:

Of the 436 dogs that originally entered the contest; 40 were chosen to compete in our 2020 Lowcountry Dog Model Contest.

We had over 10,000 people vote over the last 2 weeks and it was a photo finish to see who made the top 10 and would join Luna and Rooster (winners of previous contests) as our 2021 Lowcountry Dog Calendar Models.

*We actually ended with a TIE for the final slot so we may need to add a month to 2021 but we have some creative ideas. The top 10 dogs will get photo shoots with Southern Vintage Photography for our annual print calendar that raises money for rescue and shelters.

If not for all your votes little Pip would have missed the last slot with the tough competition….instead he tied with another dog named Benne…so they will get their “day in the sun” as monthly calendar dogs.

And now here is our beloved family winner…thanks to all of you! The family is so appreciative for your gifts of time to vote… most fervently…a great Father’s Day (and Mother’s Day) gift Pip! 🙂 Way to go! Congratulations little Pip!

So until tomorrow…”All’s well that ends well” …yet don’t we all wake up some mornings and show our greatest courage by simply facing the day ahead and praying hard for solutions to our everyday problems?  Through it all…God is there for us!

“Today is my favorite day”  Winnie the Pooh

This year, for the first time…I have so many diverse beautiful colors of lantana…with all the rain they are now spreading quickly…filling in the gaps between plants and flowers. So pretty! The garden loves them!

Just in! Anne texted me last evening to let me know she had rented a car and was making a 13 hour trip to Connecticut today to stay with one sister overnight before heading on up to Maine. Another sister, Nancy, has been under hospice care recently for breast cancer and it is time now to be with her.

Our wonderful Kathy Worthington at church (who heads up our prayer chain) gave a beautiful send-off to Anne…so I want to share it with all of you today and please keep Anne in your prayers…both traveling… and for precious time spent with Nancy.