Glumville

I have been mostly over the flu for the past couple of days now, but I just can't seem to shake the leftovers. I have felt completely void of any type of motivation and just pretty glum in general. I have even been considering baking up a huge old-fashioned chocolate cake, complete with icing and all 30 million calories. Will that really help things? Most likely not, but part of me is sure it will. I guess it doesn't help that I have a nasty cough that just won't quit. And, the piles of dishes, dust bunnies and laundry that are the result of having the kids home all day every day while I was sick don't add to any motivation I might have. I just feel like I need an escape from my life. A day spa, maybe. I have actually never done that, but I could totally picture myself relaxing in a nice jacussi and getting a facial and all other sorts of pampering right about now. Are 6-month-old babies invited to these sorts of events? Because I think she could really dig the mud bath (get it? dig - mud. Oh, I kill me. No, that's even really all that funny. See what happens after a week of the flu? I'm just no good anymore.).

There is, however, lots to be motivated about. I mean, I have this gorgeous new house. It is full of space and light. I love it, but I can't feel excited about cleaning it today. In fact, I would like to find any other thing to do to occupy myself. And, we have some fun new friends outside. I didn't mention it around here, I don't think (because it coincided with the move, and I just didn't get around to it), but we now have 15 sheep. They aren't fiber sheep, unfortunately, but they are really cute. I love to just sit and watch them through our front windows. Talking about them reminds me that I need to fill you in on the great story of the first day I was left alone with them. I lost them. Yes, I did. Don't think you misread that. The very first time they were entrusted to my care, and I lost 15 whole sheep. Had to go hunt them down. That's a story for another day, though.

For today, I think I'll tell you about my new computer instead. I should actually take a picture of my old laptop, but it's too sad, and you might cry. I know it's probably enough to make my Mac–loving older brother teary-eyed just thinking about its missing keys and other pathetic problems. I have had that laptop since October or so of 2001. It was even dropped on its poor little head two or three times by Lambchop #1. That episode caused us to have to change its hard drive. It was a real low point in our relationship. Obviously, the computer wasn't pleased, but I was pretty bummed to have lost a decent number of baby pictures as well as the very important application to get into grad school here that I was working on at the time. It has recently started being very bizarre and jamming up way more than it should. Given its age, most people would have said it was time to move on to someone new. We didn't really have the money for that, though.

Luckily for me, my mother and my brother plotted in my absence. I had told my mother that I couldn't think of a nice house-warming gift I needed for the new house. I really couldn't, though I have since thought of several things I'd like to have, even if they might be considered unnecessary. My brother knew of my computer troubles, and he suggested a new computer. Odd house-warming gift, to say the least, but worth every penny, looking back on it. I say that, because it sure is nice to type on this new-fangled keyboard. Who'd have thought they make them with all their keys still attached? And, I think the best thing about the new computer has to be that I can now properly use iChat to see my family with our fun little webcams. Before, it was too fuzzy a picture to warrant the effort needed to actually get a connection between my mom's computer and my own. Just when we got things going, it would all jam up. Last night, we learned that was no longer a problem. Money definitely well-spent, I would say.

Ooh, and with this new computer, when I type, the words can actually keep up with my fingers (and, no I don't type 100 words a minute). Very cool, indeed. Makes me just want to sit here and type and type and type. Surely, you will get bored with this post after too long, though, so I guess I should attempt to find some motivation for other tasks. Like... blog reading. I haven't done much of that in that past couple months that I haven't had an internet connection in the new house. I'll have to gradually work my way back into the groove of blog reading and see what all my favorite online friends are up to these days. Luckily, most of the blogs I read the most are written by people who can't find the time to post TOO often. So, I only have a little under a thousand blog posts to sift through. No big deal. Right?

I think I will go clean some windows now. That is completely unrelated to the dishes that are calling my name downstairs, but it still qualifies as household chores, right? Good thinking. If only knitting and blogging qualified. I'd have no trouble finding motivation. I really just want to sit down in front of the computer and read a bunch of blogs while I knit. I haven't knit more than a few rows in the past couple of months, and I really miss it (and those rows were on shoulders, which is like knitting less than one normal row). Yeah, on to those windows, so I can get a good picture of the sheep from here for you.