That is probably the best way for me.

While running an Ethernet cable would undoubtedly be the best thing to do both from a performance point of view and in the interests of simplicity, the logistics of doing so are... untenable.

I suggested making a hole in my floor/her ceiling to my (for lack of a better term, handyman) and he got this deer in the headlights look with an expression of panic on his face and just shook his head. He was foreman of the crew that built this house and knows its construction better than anyone else, and is highly resourceful. It would be enormously difficult.

So, we'll stay with wireless. However...

You must assume that I have heard of the concept of wireless data transfer, and can even mouth buzzwords like WRT54G, router, bridge, Ethernet, and Cat5 cable in an attempt to impress people and make them think I know what I am talking about. The sad truth is that I am almost totally ignorant about such things. Probably it is a no-brainer to stick another WRT54G out on my neighbor's deck and have my router then talk to her router and re-propagate the signal. I have not the faintest idea how to go about doing that.

My router gets its input signal from my cable modem, and somehow magically transmits that signal into the air. How would I then tell her router not to look for a cable modem but to look for the signal from my router? What about passwords and access codes and stuff? How do I go about setting this sort of thing up?

I can buy WRT54G routers on eBay quite inexpensively. They seem to come in two flavors (see pictures below). Are they interchangeable for this purpose? Mine is the disc-shaped model without the protruding antennae.

Can you explain these things to me, preferably in words of one syllable or less? It's OK to laugh and make fun of my ignorance.

tanstaafl.