Every one except the right one

In my storage/toy/photo/catchall room is a closet with a variety of boxes and bins. One of those bins is filled with cords, plugs, small parts to electronics, extension cords, telephones, modems, adapters and other unidentifiable wires.



This morning I went in search of an ethernet cord. Through the years we've had probably seven or eight different modems so I knew there had to be one in that bin. Nope, not one. But in the process of looking and glancing up at the rest of the large closet I realized that it is time to thin out the garbage. That ten year old Caller ID sitting next to the keyboard from the Texas Instruments computer (kidding!) were just taking up much needed space. The life of these gadgets was over long ago. The box has got to go. I never did find the ethernet cord that I needed.



The reason I needed the cord was for my afternoon project. About three years ago Mom (she's 78) finally got rid of her very old desktop computer (Windows 95?). Solitaire was the only thing it was ever used for and that was rare. In the past she had done some emailing but that's about it. Her volunteer position at the hospital was data entry so she was fairly familiar with a keyboard and computers.

Mom's sister is going on a church mission for two years to New Zealand. Internet will be the communication link for them. Yesterday I picked up a shiny new laptop for her and today Eris and I spent about five hours getting her set up and re-teaching her the basics of email. Oh man, was she surprised at the speed it operated, the wireless capabilities and how many things she could do. By the time I left she had entered a bunch of addresses and sent a number of messages back and forth to her sister. I walked her through an online rebate and set up a Skype account. There is a notebook with cheat sheets sitting next to her new toy to get her through the basics. It came loaded with Solitaire and Yahtzee, her favorites. She was smiling tonight, although I think a little overwhelmed at the same time.


$3.92
Yesterday's ralk was wonderful! It was very warm when I left the house. Quarters and dimes were everywhere. Love those car washes this time of year. Two hours later as I headed home it started to snow and continued all through the day. I don't mind because the crocus, daffodils and tulips are all coming up. Sure signs of spring.