A SHOUT COMES IN THE MORNING

You get the idea that I'm a proud mama?

Kind of like a new grandbaby... Not!

Isn't this just the yummiest color of coppery brown?

A reference from Psalms to God's provision in times of stress and grief. Eventually, you begin the slow recovery and, "A shout comes in the morning..."

My days of mourning our Dell laptop have come to a close. Last night we went to Best Buy and I fell in love with a Sony laptop with BluRay, no less. When BB opens in an hour, our new baby will be ready to come home and brighten our lives again. Last night the Geek Guy did a free 15 minute assessment of our old laptop, just TO BE SURE... After a few steps in the process, he connected a different charger cord to see if that would make a difference, and ACTUAL SMOKE!!! came pouring out of the toddler (less than two years old) Dell. Well, at least we know now that the mother board was really gone.

We've missed video conferencing with our kids and grandkids, and I've been less computer-friendly with just this slo-o-o-ow desktop model. While I was dragging my heals (mourning), CA had done some research and formed a relationship with Jeff at our local Best Buy. CA's requirement was that we (read that I) come to terms with the less than two year life span of our Dell Inspiron XP M1330 (read that, get over it) in time for our Virginia Beach vacation. We leave in one week, so I barely made the deadline.

In addition to my grief, I was obsessing about $$$. We are still learning to live on CA's retirement and contract work, çuz I refuse to work any more. I keep reminding CA that soon (still over a year away) I will have my big fat Social Security check! Woo-Woo! Really, though, when I retired last September CA said there will have to be some lifestyle adjustments, and I committed to doing whatever it takes. It's just that life keeps happening and those unexpected, unpredicted expenses tend to come in bunches. We're doing quite well, and being reminded to spend less and live more is a very good thing (ala Martha Stewart, It's a good thing.)

We didn't buy the Toshiba CA had scoped out--spending just a tiny bit more for this handsome coppery brown Sony. I'm in love.