A salutary lesson learned - BEWARE of new computer programmes

Hello Everybody  - as Cy Bear is taking a well-earned rest this week (I mean two weeks on the trot could be described as hard work for this Beaver Lamb Ted), the post this week has been deemed to be my responsibility - with reason, perhaps.

After a potentially disastrous week vis a vis my computer (yes - yet again, I have had issues, but this time it's probably mostly my own fault - more later), I have spent most of this afternoon (when I normally work on the blog - with or without Cy Bear) trying to get re-organised,  So, while telling you about my computer woes, I'll illustrate this post with some photographs of the two Foxy Critters that didn't get shown last week. You may recall, there were four Cy Bear spoke about.  Three have been listed in our shop (www.COLDHAMCUDDLIES.etsy.com).  There is still one in draft format and the other has yet to be uploaded.  I promise that next week, I'll tell you about my recent Wiltshire trip, and include some photos of my canine and feline friends who have all grown up since I left just about a year ago!! That could account for two future posts - enabling me to get some Cuddlies replaced or newly made in the interim!

I am somewhat relieved to find that, actually, the disaster is perhaps not as bad as it could have been. It is all down to my ability to click on buttons without always realising the consequences - and it's time lessons were learned.

Our new Wolf dressed in Blue and White Printed Poplin

Thanks to an invitation to upload Windows 10,  I followed through - and now live to regret it!  SO BE WARNED EVERYONE!  Be very, very careful before you go down the route.  Admittedly, the programme is so new (having only been made available July 29) that the usual gremlins in any new computer software have still ALL to be ironed out.  But on the basis of thinking that having reserved my place in the waiting list, and the invitation having arrived (the day after the programme was offered to the public) the time was right, I went ahead on the basis that in the normal course of events, the current Windows 8.1 will eventually become unsupported by the great Microsoft engineers, so I might as well do it now rather than later.  BIG MISTAKE.

The installation began early evening, just as everyone in the UK was closing down - and since I don't know from which continent the actual process was being carried out from, it hadn't occurred to me that the techy guys I contact in times of crisis would not be available when needed.  All went well to begin with - and the evening meal was started

That was speedily curtailed (I'd almost finished) when what looked like the final stage was obviously not going to plan. My usual desk top picture on the screen began to behave like a mad thing - flashing on an off and when I tried to control it with mouse, cursor or any other thing that USUALLY works, nothing happened - except the flashing screen.  Alas, the computer's Help Desk had closed for the evening - so........

A speedy telephone call to my local Help Desk - also known as Son in Law - (who had advised me - though not as strongly as usual in such circumstances -  NOT to go with Windows 10) indicated that the computer was in for a long night (not to mention yours truly!).  Apparently one does NOT close down a madly performing computer in the middle of an upload, and so it wasn't until 0830 BST on Friday morning - on the dot - that contact was made with Hewlett Packard who made the computer (an HP Sleekback laptop, if any one is interested) and got the bad news that because the programme is so new, they hadn't yet developed reliable counter measures for such disasters!  A complete "Restore to Factory Default" setting was therefore prescribed - and needless to say, I hadn't backed up EVERYTHING to do with my personal settings - so have lost most of them.

Our new Coyote (the first Lady version) made with Chenille (new too)

Once the Restore mechanism had done it's stuff, I had to reapply as much as I could remember I usually use to operate the darn machine.  You know Browser(s), Skype (yet to be done), and so on. 

The computer was still having sporadic hissy fits, because it kept saying that I wasn't connected to the internet - although I'd already done that and got things done before it decided on that route - so I rang my reliable OnLineTechyGuyz and asked them to get me sorted with such important things.  By Friday evening operations were approaching "normal", although not at full speed - that's going to take some time to achieve, because I've got to find out what I was doing before this all happened!!  Technology is so fast and I'm getting increasingly slower - that alas I fear such hiccups are going to recur with increasing frequency.

Saturday was spent with the family (Philippa having joined us for the week-end) visiting a long time family friend, so not much computing was done yesterday. 

Our Fantasy Fox (listed already) from the rear view

Having spent this afternoon loading my devices back on and uploading pictures that were still on my camera (normally, they get deleted once I've uploaded them to the computer) I did find there were some for the Foxy Critters Cy Bear wrote about last week,  as well as the photographs taken when I was away in Wiltshire, so at least there will be something with which to illustrate this, while I'm on line at the moment.  

I wish I could say I've finally learned my lesson - but I THINK I've realised one doesn't upload a NEW piece of software when it is barely 24 hours old!!  There will undoubtedly be more mistakes to make as life goes on!!!

I'll end this post with another photograph of our latest, more traditional, Lady Fox Toy and - as mentioned before, I'll look forward to telling you about my trip to Wiltshire (and other news that will be happening last this week) at our normal posting time next Sunday.

This Toy was listed on Thursday - before the problems set in

Hope everyone has a really good week - and I'll try to keep on the straight and narrow internet path from now on.

Isobel

Follow up description of the latest Fox creations.

This is Cy Bear back again for the promised follow up on our new Foxy characters - even though I did suggest in the post last week that may be Isobel would tell you about her trip to Wiltshire.  However, we both felt that it made more sense for us to finish telling you about the latest Coldham Cuddlies additions before that happens.  So, here goes:

Having finished the under wear for the new Ladies, Isobel began creating the dresses - beginning with the skirts - which are essentially pieces of fabric 36 inches long (91.4 centimetres) and 10 inches wide (25.4 centimetres).  The bottom is turned up to make a hem, and Isobel - who actually doesn't like hemming that much - then tacks the seam and adds ric rac trim which she sews on with embroidered french knots.  (Before proceeding, one of our "COLDHAMCUDDLIES" labels are fixed onto the back seam of the skirt, on the underside of the dress).  The top of the skirts are then gathered and fitted over the body and sewn into the "waist" of each toy.  Then having sewn up the fabric paws, she stuffs the arms and sews them into the bodice and then fits it over the skirt top - to create a look like this:

Fitting  - or nearly - on to a pillow

Then her creativity is allowed to let rip - this time on the white felt collars with which most of our lady toys are provided.  Here is what she did for use with the yellow dressed toy:

Followed by the one for the Light Brown Chenille Coyote:

The Grey Plush Lady Wolf:

Last - but by no means least, our more familiar Chestnut Plush Lady Fox:

This results in our reaching the final stages of each Lady Toy - whether it be a Fantasy Fox (the yellow version), the Coyote, Wolf or Fox.  The order in which Isobel tends to do this is to add the tails on first, followed by adding the Head.  Finally, the collar is attached  - and here is how the Coyote and the Fantasy Fox now appear:

By the time Isobel had done everything described here last night, she only had time to do these two. The other two will be done later today, and then she proposes to list them in our Shop (www.Etsy.com/shop/COLDHAMCUDDLIES) over the next week. 

 Some of them, together with other Cuddlies, are going to be taken for display on the shelves of "The Artful Buttoner" - the haberdashery outlet in our local town, Kirkby-in-Ashfield.  Several Cuddlies have been on show there since just before Easter, and we've decided that it's time they came home, and other Cuddlies had a chance to be seen in the "outside world" - and possibly find Forever Homes for themselves!  Several Cuddlies have been adopted from this venue - and who knows what will happen to the selected ones this time around.  (Should any one of these four find a Forever Home while on show in the Town, it's not difficult for Isobel to pick it up and bring it home for me to participate in the Farewell Ceremony that happens whenever a Cuddly leaves us, and then for it to be packed up and mailed off to wherever it is destined).

I'll keep you posted, of course - and show you what the Wolf and Traditional Fox end up looking like next week.  Meanwhile, wishing everyone a good one - and here's hoping our weather will improve somewhat.  We're all feeling as though Summer will never arrive in this country!

Until the next time - your Friend, Cy Bear.