Life is like riding a bicycle. To keep your balance you must keep moving. — Albert Einstein
I've been sick. A virus that morphed into Sinusitis. Not particularly unusual for me, but the virus laid me flat for a few days. On about day 5, I realized I had Conjunctivitis, which I tend to get when I have a bacterial sinus infection. The doctor would not prescribe an antibiotic over the phone, which really frosted my cookies. Twisted my knickers. Annoyed me. I decided to ride it out without benefit of antibiotics.
The first week was a complete loss as far as being able to do anything beyond making breakfast. My mother stepped up to the plate--kind of. She unloaded and loaded the dishwasher. My only accomplishment that week was to get my laundry done.
I got paid in the middle of the second week. I ordered groceries from Peapod. I fortuitously received a "Free Shipping" coupon via email. Then, when I opened my account, I also had a "Take $10 off" promo because it was my second time ordering from them. I found a few sales and bit the bullet for a few regular priced items. I was a little dismayed by what they didn't have. They did not have No Sugar Added Nesquik nor Cream of Wheat. There were some items I just refused to buy though them since the price was outrageous. Like the Purina Cat Chow Indoor Formula. I get the big bag--approximately 17 lbs--from Target for $12.49. Last time I bought it at WalMart, they had it for $11.99. I've seen Jewel have it on sale for $13.99. I was prepared to grin and bear it at the $13.99 price. But Peapod's price was $17.99! Holy catnip! At this time, nearly two weeks later, I still have not gotten out to get that cat food. The bin is getting mighty low, and I think the cats have started plans for a mutiny.
Towards the end of that second week, I was feeling a bit better, although I had lost my voice. So I went to Target. I had a list and was pretty good at sticking to it. When I got to the cat food aisle, they were all out of the Indoor Formula! Arggh! They did not have Brawny paper towels, nor Angel Soft toilet tissue. I looked at lamps because my mother needed a better reading lamp in the living room. The one I wanted--or rather, was willing to get--was $70. We had agreed to only go to $60. It was a torchiere (a style I am not fond of) with a task light in the middle. It was a bronze finish with a little marblizing in the shades. More tolerable that all that chrome junk. (If you like chrome, fine, buy I make no apologies. I abhor chrome.) Anyway, I passed on it, thinking I'd do some internet research. But, on a whim, I figured I'd stop at Menard's since it is just down the street from Target. Thankful that I had no frozen goods. With a surge of excitement, I entered the yawning portal to DIY heaven.
I grabbed a basket, optimistically planning to need it for the lamp I was sure I would find. That was when I remembered where the lamps were. On the second floor. Yes, this Menard's has two levels. No biggie, you would think? I go up to second floors in stores all the time. Carson's has two levels. So do Sears and JC Penney and several other places. But Menards has only half-walls around the second level. And those half-walls are glass. My stomach gets squidgy around half-walls on upper levels. Glass half-walls are a whole extra level of squidginess. More like squinky. (I don't know if "squidgy" and "squinky" are in Webster's, but they work for me.) I zeroed in on the elevator and my squinky stomach lurched. Tough tootsies, I told it. We're going up to look at lamps.
The elevator made horrible groaning sounds. And three sides of it were glass. I kept my face to the doors and held my breath as we groaned and grunted to the second level. I had to make my way to the lighting section in a big U. Surrounded by glass half-walls. I stayed as far away from those walls as possible, my stomach lurching every time I had to swerve close to those glass half-walls. Fortunately, the lamps were not near the glass half-walls. I found one very similar to the one at Target within minutes. The lamp was on sale for $26! I looked it over carefully, making sure it was what I wanted. Yep, similar color and style. Done deal!
I meandered through the light bulbs, buying the newest, long-lasting bulbs for the lamp. I opted for bright white for the task light. And the new bulbs are now available in 3-way! Awesome! With my purchases ensconced in my basket, my stomach was better behaved for the trip back down. Although I still kept my eyes on the doors of the elevator.
As I got off the elevator, I saw mirrors nearby. I had looked at mirrors at Marshall's and TJ Maxx's Home Store, but they had been a little pricey. I found a nice simple walnut-look framed mirror for the hallway leading to my bedroom. So I got the lamp we wanted, a mirror, and expensive lightbulbs--all for less than the lamp at Target.
When I got home, I assembled the lamp and set it up for my mom. It's not too bad. I really don't like torchieres. Did I say that already? Well, it bears repeating. The bulb for the task light said it was equivalent to a 60-watt incandescent bulb. Well, when my mother turns that task light on to read, you could land a 747 jet in our living room by that light alone. If we were anywhere near a large body of water, ships would be coming aground in our front yard. You think I'm exaggerating? We live in a flight path for Midway airport. I am seriously concerned about small planes crashing into our house. My mother, however, loves it. She says it's the best reading light she's ever had. O--kay.
After my shopping adventures, I felt horrible again for two or three days. Back to dragging myself around. The beginning of the third week was Memorial Day weekend. My daughter and her significant other were going to hit the sales at Best Buy and other stores. She announced that she was going to buy me a new laptop. I thought she was joking and just smiled. She looked at me and said "I'm serious. I'm buying you a new laptop to pay off the rest of the loan." My heart stuttered. I had loaned her money for a down payment on a car five years ago. She'd been paying it back in dribs and drabs and still owed me a few hundred dollars.
I am now the proud owner of a new HP Pavilion laptop. The screen is a bit smaller, but I love it! I have to laugh when I play some of my Facebook games. This has so much power, the little avatars in the games look like they're on speed! Like someone hit the fast forward, they scurry around the screen. I especially like it in Treasure Isle, where the little figure digs for treasure. When a treasure chest is uncovered, the avatar jumps for joy. On my old laptop, the jump was like slow-motion. On this laptop, it happens so fast I can barely see it! It has Window 7, Blio (which is for eBooks, yay!), and so much more!
My brother was going to send me his old printer. When we found out what my daughter was buying, we discovered his old printer wouldn't work with my new laptop. My mother insisted I get a new printer. I kept saying it would have to wait until the end of June. I had just gone to the doctor (finally) and didn't even have a day's worth of antibiotics in me. To appease her, I said I'd research printers online. I selected HP printers, since I knew it would be a snap to set it up with my laptop. I had only one firm requirement: it had to have photo-quality printing. I also had a couple of preferences: it would be a printer-scanner-copier; and it would be wireless. With a little research on the HP website, I found two I liked. After searching a few sites like Amazon and Google Shopping, I was finding the printers to cost around $75 or so. A big problem is that when you buy a printer nowadays, you don't always get the USB cable with it. That cable is what you use to connect the printer to your computer. Why are they not including it? I have no idea. Sounds stupid to me.
Anyway, a couple of days into my printer search, I went on eBay. I found quite a few of the model I wanted. I selected only new printers. When I sorted the list by price, there was one that was quite a bit cheaper than the others. Hmmm, what was wrong with it? It was listed as "new--other" meaning it was not used, but may not have all the packaging. I read the listing carefully. The seller was including the USB cable AND ink cartridges. The seller had a return policy and the purchase would be covered by eBay's Purchase Guarantee. The pictures showed the printer and accessories and even the packaging that comes with a new printer. It was a Buy-it-Now price of $38.99. Why so cheap? The original box was beat up. Dented and torn, they couldn't sell it in their retail store. Even with shipping of almost $18, the total was less than $57!! I reread the details and checked their return policy again. And I went for it.
The printer came today! I immediately set it up and installed the software. So simple! I printed the test sheets and alignment page and it works! Also, an extra power cord for my laptop came today. I could use the laptop without the power cord--for awhile. Actually, a long while. It lasted more than three hours on it's battery. My old one lasted 30 minutes--if I was lucky. But I like to have any extra cord, just in case. Now I have to get a cover for the printer. Too much fur and dust in this house to leave it uncovered.
I've had plenty of excitement during my illness! Keeping on shopping isn't all that's been happening around here. Part Two will tell more. Keep on checking my blog!
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