Bugs -and MORE Bugs!

Bugs! I hate 'em!

Computer bugs are a royal pain in the dupa to contend with and learning how to operating a new type of software fills my pea brain with loads of bugs! First it was trying to figure out how to operate the photo software my neighbor told me to download so I could start working on extracting pictures from various other photos I have on my computer or that were given/loaned to me to use for the special dedication page we want to have in the cookbook I've been working on.

Then, it was learning to work with Publisher's software -since I have the new version of WORD which comes with Publisher. Ah, more fun and games, for sure. Thankfully Pastor Carrie arrived to bail me out as she knows a whole lot about working with Publisher as well as how to lay photos out too -so they are more eye-appealing and offer some better asthetics that way to our page.

She got the Dedication page up to a point where I could submit it as a test piece to the publisher -to ascertain -hopefully -that what she had done would be acceptable with their formats, etc., etc.

But to upload it to the cookbook publisher, I first had to compress the files so I did that -or thought I did that anyway -and it clicked it into the upload and roughly 45 minutes later, I was able to use my computer again after the upload apparently went through! Yes, it's a large -very large -file!

One of the things the upload page says though is that the best -and safest -method to send files to them is if they are prepared with PDF format. Hmmmm. I think that requires Adobe to do that and I think I only have Adobe reader on this lovely little old computer. Anyone know how I can convert files -from say Publisher to PDF? Is there a freebie program I can download to be able to do that?

So, I'm dealing with those bugs doing free-floating -or maybe it is free fall -in my brain but I also realized over this past weekend that I have another type of bugs I have to contend with now as well.

Except these bugs are of the real bug kind. The ones that are alive and way, way too well for my liking and they are living in my garden, feasting quite heartily on my yellow squash plants!

YUCK! Judging by the look of the leaves on many, many of my yellow squash plants, there must be a kazillion ugly little old squash bugs that are dining there, as I write this!

I tried a very generous sprinkling of lime around the plants and on the leaves and maybe I slowed down the progress of oh, at most maybe 10 of these little buggers but apparently the only way to deter them is to treat the ground around the roots of the plants early on in the growing season. Wonderful. NOT!

Right now, if there were such a thing available like an online life insurance policy for plants, believe me, I'd be right there, signing up for something like that as that apparently would be the only way I could then "collect" -shall we say -on the demise of those poor baby plants! Unfortunately, I think those things only apply to people, don't they?

There goes my idea of having lots and lots of yellow squash for supper frequently throughout the rest of this summer. Luckily though, according to what I read online about these ugly bugs, they don't like zucchini squash or acorn squash plants either so hopefully the few acorn squash plants I do have growing and that do have some acorn squash on 'em now will be safe from the muching and life juice sap sucking of these vultures in the vegetable world!

Anyway, needless to say, I do really, really REALLY HATE bugs!