A Happy Compromise

As of this morning I had no printer. As of this afternoon, after I retrieved my Brother HL-2040 from Donald & Jeannie's house, I am ready to print. I always loved this printer. It is monochrome and only prints - no copy and no scan. But it prints fast and prints exceptionally well. It installed in a flash - power cord plugged in, USB cord connected to computer, install disk inserted, and in under 5 minutes it was good to go. I bought this printer about 2 yrs ago at Staples, on sale for about $40. When I went to buy a new toner I was stunned that it costs over $50! I found an online supplier and have bought two toners since then for about $20 each. I don't expect to print as much as I have in the past when I was printing lots of articles on full-time RVing, among many other things, so the cost of toner isn't much of a problem. I weighed the Brother before I left NC and found it weighed 15#. I had hoped to find something lighter in weight, but after seeing what is out there in the stores, I think I will be happy with the 15#. I will still keep looking for a multifunction printer and if I can find one without fax that fits my wants and needs, then I will buy it. Until then I'm happy as a clam with my old printer.

While I was at Jeannie's, Joe came by to pick up Alyssa (he leaves her there on mornings he has class), so I got to visit with him too. In the conversation I dropped the statement "I need someone to get on the roof before I leave...." and before I finished the sentence he replied "I'll do it". My youngest child, he has always been a daredevil, and when Jeannie & Donald had squirrels in their attic, Joe was the one they sent up to the very-high roof to get them. One storey--three-storey--ten storey is all the same to him. How I ever survived raising him I will never know. But I am glad to have someone as agile and sure footed as he is to get up on my RV and inspect the roof, seals, caulking, etc. My four kids have no idea the anguish I still go through over them, and now I can add all my grandchildren to the number I worry about. My oldest granddaughter, Ara, is in Florida on spring break and I fret about that although I keep it to myself around Jeannie because I know she worries too. When my ex husband was living at least I knew someone shared the worries with me and we balanced each other out, but now I'm on my own. Darn him for leaving me to handle it alone! (This picture was taken in February of 2007 and Bill died on March 24th).