
My
In spite of my admiration for Catherine the Great and Empress

My knight in shining armor
Wu, right now my friend/neighbor Wayne is my new hero. My computer collapsed. Poor thing had to be hospitalized and have surgery. Wayne carried it gently down to his car and drove it to the Apple hospital, where they deemed it too old to bother with. (Apple must be hard up for cash and needs us to purchase new ones. Make a donation if you can.)

My ailing old computer
Undaunted, gallant Wayne found somewhere else to take my ailing computer, drove it there and after a few harrowing days, brought it back to me. I was more than willing to shell out the $392 required for a new video processor chip, whatever that is.
Meanwhile, I had fretted and lost sleep over the possibility of losing everything on it. Worrying, as you know, is something I excel in. However, I also learned how much time I spend on this electronic contraption. I now must admit I’m addicted and I missed it terribly.

Without my computer I had no excuses
This monster takes up so much of my time, there are dozens of obvious tasks-to-do I pass by each day and think I must take care of ‘one of these days’. Well, these four days ended up being those days. I couldn’t produce any other delaying tactics not to do them.
Instead of checking my email and seeing how many visited my blog first thing in the day, I made my often neglected bed every morning. Then, although I attend Tai Chi every Monday, plus exercise classes on Wednesdays and Fridays, I managed — in addition to get on my Exercycle and Stepper three times during the four days without electronic distractions. (The last time I’d managed time for that was March 8th!) I also managed to daily do the physio-recommended arm exercises for my torn tendons.

My desk is now neater…
I have oodles of paper left over from my old printer which require detaching before I can use them in my new one. I now have a respectable stack ready and prepared. My desk is also somewhat neater. I filed many papers which had sat there for months. Papers and documents awaiting shredding got shredded and properly recycled. At last, my 2016 phone book/calendar got disposed of, with all your names and phone numbers safely shredded as well. Long neglected, shocked loved ones and friends received phone calls out of the blue. I feel so noble!
My kitchen received attention as well. I neatened up my ‘plastic bag’ drawer, piling various bags high on my counter, after which I diligently separated them by size. I carefully weighed the separated stacks down in the drawer with paperweights. (I did this in spite of son Rafi’s warning that this madness would indicate to visitors that I’m neat, thus making them uncomfortable in my home.) After that, I attacked my wealth of plastic containers, matching tops and bottoms, and discarding all those I couldn’t fix up with anyone. Then, because I;d rather not go out when it snows, I’d accumulated extra ‘just in case’ food supplies during winter, I pulled everything down from those crowded cabinets and put things in order. Can you imagine?

I cleaned up the winter debris
Nor did my balcony get overlooked in this frenzy. On a rain-less day, I got out there and cleared up the debris left over from winter. My outdoor pots are now ‘almost’ pristine and ready for spring planting. You’ve got to be impressed!
Well, now I have my computer back and this ain’t gonna happen again for (hopefully) a very long time. I’m back. Thank goodness for small favors! I was even driving myself crazy…..
This is absolutely priceless! Funny, and so true! Maybe my computer should take a holiday (heaven forbid), so that I can finally catch up with long-neglected chores….
See you next week:)….V.
Ah, I did, indeed, suffer withdrawal even though I did accomplish a lot more. See ya V.
Oh Gawd, Mom — I hate to think of what I would do without my computer! I mean, how could I possibly survive without my online jigsaw puzzles? However, were the unthinkable to happen, I’m quite sure I could find many perfectly useless things to do rather than actually cleaning or being otherwise productive!!!
Well Susan: Being productive was what I certainly was. But, I’d neglected so much working hard online playing solitaire, I still have some chores for you to do when you get here. Chuckle. Love ya, Maughm
I was feeling your pain as I read this write up Muriel!😆😄😂You are too funny! I would be lost without my iPad! I use it more than my laptop! Mind you, I might get more done around here if it went out of commission! Lol . Hope you are well my friend.
Cheers
Pat
Good to hear from you Pat: I’ve recovered by now, but it was indeed painful. I never thought it would happen to me, but it did. This electronic machine surely is addictive. Who’d uv thunk it? Stay well, Muriel
“Apple must be hard up for cash and needs us to purchase new ones. Make a donation if you can.” This delighted me to no end. Hopefully we stop letting these greedy arseholes get away with their often questionable business practices.
Glad you were productive while you were disconnected from the Internet!
And I’m glad you enjoyed it. Enjoy your stay in China and come back with oodles of stories for us. Love, Muriel
Not having downsized yet, I have a lot of stuff to sort and give away.
But if I spend time there, my emails become really overwhelming….45,000?
So, I go out instead. What else am I to do? Love, Leonor
Hey, I like your solution to the problem of the computer better than the one I used. Next time, let’s have lunch instead. Love back, Muriel
Muriel, I am out of breath after reading your blog. If my computer collapses I would do just the opposite that you did. I would take a vacation at home and do as little as possible. If my computer took a vacation I deserve one too. Listen to music on Youtube, Harry James, Glen Miller, Benny Goodman, Tommy Dorsey, Frank Sinatra and more, write longhand letters (if I still remember how) to old friends who are in other states, go to the library and read every newspaper on the shelf, practice my violin which has been neglected for a few months as I was too busy on the computer, nap in between, think about what files have to be shredded…..notice I said think….. and then nap again, and in general I would not be out of breath like you probably were. Muriel, you are very organized and I used to be. We all are somewhat addicted to the computer by necessity. But if it should suddenly break down hurray. Vacation time. Joe
You always manage to make me chuckle Joe: Thanks for reading my blog and for your comments, always worth reading. Cheers, Muriel
Perhaps an annual 4 day break from our computer should be compulsory – I am amazed at what you managed to do in those long and fearful days and I share your pain at the thought of losing everything. Very clever and delightfully illustrated.
Please don’t vote for the 4-day break to be compulsory Tony: I don’t think I could handle it again, it was too painful. Ha, ha. Love to you and Barbara, Muriel
Ha Ha! I loved this line, Muriel: “… shocked loved ones and friends received phone calls out of the blue. I feel so noble!”
Re matching plastic containers (leftover yogurt contains, etc) and lids: Karen and I keep extra lids around, so we don’t get frustrated searching for that missing one. Plus we try to keep only containers that can fit each other’s lids…
Yes Chris: My loved ones are still recovering from the shock. As for the containers, they are now organized in different stacks of shapes and sizes too. That should last at least a week or so, no? Chuckle.
You’re a whirlwind!
Glad that your computer is back on its feet.
See ya’ —
Neil
Me too. Shall look forward to your next post Neil. Muriel
Glad I could facilitate your sabbatical Muriel, but now it is time to get back to the hard reality of computer assisted procrastination. Wayne
Ah, you know my secret Wayne: Procrastination is what I do best — after worrying. Love to you and Mairona, Muriel
Great blog!! You are a master story teller and it is always fun reading your blogs. Writing a blog requires a lot of time and thought. What is so shocking is your need to add fake comments. All the kind words from your alleged readers are about as real as the tooth fairy. You should be ashamed. I know for a fact that you do not have any children either. Please stick to writing blogs and let the politicians mess with fake news.
Oh my love Brian: You crack me up. Now everyone knows you’re planning to leave you wife for me. I may be older, but like good wine, only better. Oh, well, the truth will out. (Is this what they call ‘fake news’? Love you so you nut, Muriel
P.S. Readers note: Brian’s sense of humor can only be understood and enjoyed by a mother. Chuckle.
Brian is RIGHT!!! Both my brother and I are figments of my mother’s crazed imagination! Boy, that would sure explain a lot about MY life, eh??? ; )
Awe, so now the whole world knows, huh?
Welcome back!!
Thanks, couldn’t believe how much I missed it. Love, Mom
Just 4 days and so much work done!!
So how come things in my environment are beginning to unravel again? Guess we can spend as much time as exists to try to keep things in order. So, the heck with it! Back to my computer. Chuckle.
Good for your readers!😀
Right on!