TIME FLIES

The saying goes, "My how time flies when you are having fun." I am afraid time flies even when not having fun, although in bad times it seems like time can go way too slow. Or if you are waiting for something or someone who is late, or waiting for water to boil, the time just drags on and on.

Here we are in the middle of July already. I almost wrote June there. Schools will be starting again in about four short weeks. No doubt the kids think they just got out of school and summer should not be over so soon. I am horrible at making any advance plans like so many of you, so I just take things day by day.

Three weeks ago I had laser done on both eyes for what is commonly called secondary cataracts, which many people get after they have cataract surgery. It just means that the membrane behind the implant becomes cloudy. The laser zaps some slits in the membrane to let the light in and vision clears up almost immediately. I could really tell the difference as I drove myself home after it was done. It took a couple of days to become totally in focus. This week I saw my regular eye doctor to see if I needed glasses after the procedure, but my vision is again 20/20 two years after the surgery. I have found that most people end up with glasses after having cataracts removed, so I am very pleased. I just need cheap readers for close up work, which I bought at Walmart for $10. I have three pair - one by my chair in the living room, one at the dining table where I work on Bible studies, and is close to kitchen if I need to read a recipe or instructions, and one by my bed for reading in bed at night. I grab the kitchen/dining pair and put in my purse when I go somewhere where I expect to have read and/or sign something.

I had to make a splurge purchase earlier this week. My laptop has been showing me a blue screen on startup saying the SMART hard disk is failing. I did keep using it for a few days, but then decided I better get it checked out before it completely dies and I lose all my files. This laptop did not cost me anything as it was gifted to me by my niece when she got a new one. At the time I really had no use for a laptop as I had a good desktop that was very handy in my tiny house. But after moving here and the only place to hook up to the internet cable was in the kitchen and there is no room for a desktop where the outlet is. So the desktop, which I am using at the moment, is in the spare bedroom far away from the tv and everything else.  I had to get a thing to plug into the computer to make it wireless as the modem and router are installed in the garage, of all places! I don't know what "brilliant" mind drew up the plans for that, which doesn't make any sense to me. Maybe they think everyone uses laptops these days.

Back to my splurge. The repairs would cost me $300-350 and I would still have an old computer and something else could quit working at any time. Or I could buy a new, basic model laptop for $495. Basic is all I need. I don't do gaming, streaming or any of the other things the young people do with their computers so having that ability would go to waste anyway. The guy called his supplier for the cheapest they had available for $495 and they had one. He said the reason it is so cheap is that it is purple. Well, that is my color! I am totally happy with that! By the time the set up fee and transfer of my data from old computer, my total cost will be close to $700. That is a lot of money for me, but right now I do have enough extra in my account to pay for it, so this is a good time to make the change. God is good!