Roger's new mouse

Tuesday March 8, 2011 Day 251

We skipped the market this morning - we are leaving tomorrow for a week, and there is no point in buying food. I ran out this afternoon to weigh myself. I shrank a centimeter and gained a pound since Friday’s weigh-in. I wanted to know what I weighed before we left for our vacation. I did have Roger pick up a dozen eggs on his way back from chess. I want them to age a week, then I will boil them when we get back. They peel so much more easily if they are aged before boiling.

Surprisingly, there was mail in the mailbox when Roger checked it. It was a new wireless mouse for Roger’s computer. His netbook mouse pad is maddeningly frustrating for him, and a year or more ago I bought him a wireless mouse for his birthday. He really liked it. The transmitting mechanism was in one of those thumb-sized drives which plugs into a USB port and, of course, sticks out from the computer a couple of inches. Apparently he has bumped it one time too many against the sofa or his body or the table or whatever, as the drive is a bit wobbly in the port and doesn’t always connect properly. Disappointed, he gave it up, offering it to me to use if I wanted. I asked him if he wanted me to order another one, and he decided not. This did not prevent me from looking online to see what is available now, however, and I found a new one for only 19€, or $25. In this one, the drive which plugs into the USB port is tiny - only about the length of a thumbnail or less. Technology is getting smaller and smaller! I talked him into it and ordered it for him about 5 days ago, and did not expect it in for a week or more.

I did not paint today. With all the preparations for getting ready for Italy, I did not have the time. Although I try to limit my paintings to 60 minutes (or sometimes 90), the actual painting process takes an additional hour or so, by the time I decide what to paint, make a couple of preliminary sketches, wrap a cutting board in foil for a palette, squeeze the paints onto it, fill a couple of cups with water, then clean up afterward. I try to paint in the afternoon light - starting around 2:30 after Roger heads off to chess club. Fortunately, as the days get longer, there will be more light in which to paint.