All the better to blog with, my dear.

I don't like sitting with my feet on the floor. I avoid straight back chairs when possible. If on a couch or recliner you can bet my legs will be tucked up under me or that I am, in fact, reclined, with my feet up. I sit at the kitchen table for the sake of my family so that we can all be together when we eat, but if I'm eating alone I head for the couch.

The one place I just positively have not been able to avoid this most detested position is at the computer, a dilemma to be sure, considering my affection for it. Incidentally, I have found an uncanny connection between my sitting at the computer and the onset of the need to go number two. Weird, yes. Gross, for sure. But am I the only one who experiences this? Anyway... so I don't like sitting at the computer.

Well, ha, guess what? I am writing this post seated comfortably on my bed with the love of my life sleeping peacefully beside me, comfortably propped up with pillows. Yes, folks, I am the proud owner of my very own laptop!

Let me relate how this blessed occurrence, though a bit convoluted, came to be.

For a while I was becoming a real Craigslist junkie. With two little ones and burgeoning expenses I was after any way of providing the necessities for as little cash as possible. We found my daughter, well past the age of the toddler bed, a nice twin for an amazing price. We got a piano for free. Just for fun I looked at the electronics section, well aware I wouldn't be able to afford anything, but just to see what people might be selling. I found a guy selling an IBM ThinkPad for $150. He included a picture of the actual machine and a list of all its noteworthy features. I called my spouse and asked if he thought it sounded like a good computer. He did. So I emailed the guy and asked why he would be selling this computer for so little. He replied that he already had another one and just figured he could help someone out by getting rid of the other. Hmmm. Okay. A quick run to the ATM and we (meaning my kids and I) were off to pick the thing up.

As I pulled in front of his house I wondered if it might be best to hope he hadn't seen me and drive away. It seemed only slightly friendlier than something haunted and had it not been midday I'm sure I wouldn't have dared step foot on the property. With children held close and gripped tight we knocked on the door.

I'm not a smoker, but I think even a smoker would have felt overwhelmed by the pervasive smell. The carpet in the front room had been worn down to bare wood and the cracks in the walls stood out through the greasy wallpaper. The man, whose congeniality was in stark contrast to his haggard appearance, led us past two grim, staring women on a sunken couch. They might have been able to scrape up a set of teeth between the three of them. The women seemed oblivious to my greeting. The man showed me the computer, I handed him the money and hightailed out of there, wondering if I'd not paid for his next fix, and wondering also if the merchandise had been legitimately acquired by my host. I don't mean to pass judgement, but, MAN!

Upon inspection the computer had all it had been purported to except a DVD drive and wireless Internet. While these were not expensive problems to fix, I was left with a pretty useless machine for a while, since I couldn't get any programs put on it and I couldn't use the Internet. Thanks to SuperHubby, however, we're rocking and rolling. Time and a thorough cleaning have even left it smoke-free.

I'm looking forward to more control over my writing atmosphere, being able to actually see my kids while I'm on the computer (the desktop is in a kind of secluded location) and most of all, never having to write with my feet on the floor again.


Sorry my list of Vocab Words is by the desktop.


And thank you all for missing me while I was gone. I had a lovely time and slept in for the first time in years.