Wednesday, February 17, 2021

Detail Season

 






During the winter months, we spend a lot of time looking forward to the next moments of excitement--any excitement---to our lives. 

Once spring comes, that attitude changes dramatically.  

From "looking forward to" our mindset switches to a constant sense of urgency aimed at how we're gonna get everything done in preparation for upcoming events.  

Yesterday meant an end to the most recent few days of relative excitement Pandemically speaking.  Annie left and went back to Seattle. 

It was a better visit this time, comfortwise, especially for Annie.  

Thanks to masks and a new sense of calm that both Bill and I had received our second vaccinations, we were able to set up a safe situation here in the house. 

That meant Annie didn't have to stand outside freezing at the open sliding-glass door to visit with us, as she did each day during her Christmas visit.  

For all who think we're crazy, we may be, but all of us in our family take the guidelines for Covid safety very seriously.  In some minds, that might seem overboard, but we don't care.  We are all still alive, and none of us have had Covid.

During this visit, Annie sat inside the house far across the rooms from us, but she could be comfortable, and so could we, knowing that she wasn't miserable and that we could enjoy each other's company.

Heck, we even watched an episode of "Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman," kinda like old times with the Hallmark Channel pre-Pandemic.

Once it ended, Annie said "good bye" to Foster, whose forlorn expression let her know that his heart was breaking.  

Foster always knows when she is leaving, and he lets her know how sad he is. 

The minute Bill and Annie went out the door, my mental switch flipped on and I flew into immediate action with my list of "to do's" regarding house work, taxes, story assignments, and other little bureaucratic items that have been waiting for some quiet time.

Unfortunately, as is often the case with technology, one afternoon project took much longer than anticipated.  

Yup, it took me at least an hour to print off 11 pages of information about my investments. 

My printer is a relic, and, from what the local experts tell me, it's best to stick with it as long as it still works because the new models tend to overdose on printer ink. 

I'm pretty sure that I've been using my Hewlett-Packard Deskjet 932C for at least 25 years.  

And, it behaves like it's on its last legs, but if I stick with it, the machine still does the job, albeit with paper-feed problems and paper-jam problems.

Each copy takes at least five punches of the button to make its way through the printer. 

And, when the paper jams, that means that particular page will have to be programmed to print again. 

During this patience-testing session, I learned that the printer has picked up a new glitch.  Three pages of the 11 yesterday needed to be reprogrammed.  

That's when I learned that the printer's hearing must have also gone bad with age.  It took a few copies at five button punches apiece to learn that if I wanted page 4, I was going to get page 3.

I also learned later that if I programmed page 5, I was gonna get page 4.  

So, by trial and error and many, many button punches, I finally printed off all 11 pages after throwing away at least another 20 partially printed or duplicates of what I had already printed.


I tend to put off these kinds of mundane but necessary projects, so I was quite pleased with myself that, as each was completed, I moved on to the next. 

It's this time of the year that we must get these things done because once the blahs of winter disappear, they would sit gathering dust for months on end----'cept the tax project, of course!

I'm also in the midst of two story assignments, so this stretch before spring offers a good time to get at them and get them done. 

And, there IS another bit of excitement coming up this week, even though we'll be participating by listening from afar.

Willie and his basketball team took off this morning for Meridian in Southern Idaho where tomorrow at 1 p.m., they'll tip off for their first game in the state tournament against Columbia High School of Boise. 
 



 So, along with attending to the odds and ends of winter blahs, we're excited.  

Safe travels and good luck, Bulldogs. 

Happy Wednesday. 













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