Norm's Birthday

is soon.

And I have just --with one click--bought him a present. A 55" Samsung LCD TV. To replace the one shattered by our daughter a few months ago.

We have been doing without, and doing fine. But Norm misses sitting in his recliner with his laptop doing work and watching TV. Sitting at his desk downstairs doing work and watching TV just isn't as good. And for just curling up for an occasional movie, well, the desk downstairs just isn't romantic.

So I went watching a lot of TV displays and found that for our personal taste, I like the Samsung 55" the best. And then I looked for price. And Amazon had one of those teasers where you have to put it in the shopping cart to see the price. And then you have to enter shipping info. And then you see a price. And the price was about $1450 and that *included delivery to your HOUSE!!* And the delivery was next Tuesday in the afternoon.

I've run out of "And's."

The next closest price was Costco for $1697 but you have to cart it home yourself.

Somehow, without really thinking or examining it too much, I clicked the button. And bought it. And now some TV elf somewhere is madly scurrying to pack my TV up in China and get it on the plane to me before next Tuesday, 5 days from now.

My.

I don't usually buy big expensive things without discussing it with Norm. Plus reviewing and analyzing ad nauseum with him. But I LIKE this TV. And we're tired of using the 19" LCD screen in the basement next to Norm's desk. It's depressing. And Amelia has figured out the TV is there and slopes off without parental knowledge or permission to watch The Suite Life of Zack and Cody or some other PG teen flick that promotes attitudes that I despise. Three days ago I thought she was coloring on the kitchen table so I sloped off to get a bit of weaving done. She quietly slipped downstairs and was watching Shark Boy and Lava Girl when I found her. And evidently she's seen it before because as I was turning it off she wailed, "No Mommy, that's the sad part! Let me just watch that part until he " ...(and then she rattled off a plot point that my brain couldn't wrap around).

Yeah. Time to get the TV back under watchful parent eyes. With a timer lock on it that won't turn on until her bedtime.

We turned on the parental controls on the cable channels last week because we figured out that her "play" time down in the basement wasn't with her toys, dolls, and desk but with Norm's desk and TV. I was terrified that she'd find one of the R-rated films and see something really inappropriate. And then tell all of her camp friends. And then get alienated forever. And I'll get branded as the trashy mom in the neighborhood.

Those "And's" again. Moms have a lot of time to spend worrying.

So the TV cometh. You know, I'm rather sad about that in a way. Just it's very presence can lead to me caving in and letting her watch TV. I'm going to have to be very strong to keep the ban in place until Oct 16.

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Update: No, I'm trying to cancel the order now. I'm not sure of the settings or plugs on that one and I'd like a chance to see the one at Costco again before I take the plunge. And while Amazon would take it back, I'd have to pay for shipping it back. Pricey, I'd imagine.

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Update #2: Got it canceled. Turned out that I was right, the one I'd ordered for $1450 wasn't equivalent to the Costco one that we'd liked. $1450 = LCD which isn't bad, but not as good as the $1700 Costco LED one. Amazon offers it for $1800. Tax might trip the difference here. That's $100 on top. But Costco offers a 2-year warranty for the item, not one. And I can haul it back to the Costco if needed. If I get really generous, the Samsung 55" 3D LED TV is only $2200 shipped to our house.

Ode to Light

One of the biggest peeves about our new house is that the light in it is poor for craft work. Our old house was 90+ years old with windows taller than me that flooded the house with light. Tall ceilings, lots of windows, gentle bow windows. I miss that house more than you could imagine.

The new house, in the fabulous new neighborhood, was designed by trolls. Pretty spaces, but smaller windows, lots of shading trees, low ceilings, and no light.

Craft work requires light. A lot of light.

So, after whining about no light for a year, I bought lamps. And now I've bought more. The first set were to light up the living room and family room. The second set are in my studio (which is the only room in the house that gets light but it only gets it in the morning hours [when I'm at work]) and in the bedroom.

I put a decent light in the bedroom in the "sitting area" corner. I have my recliner there. And a handy shelf for needlework supplies. It's the clearest corner of the room because I'm sort of militant that nothing sits on the recliner but one of us. Last night, I put bulbs in the floor lamp. Two 150 watt bulbs and one 60 watt direct reading lamp on a snaky neck. And suddenly, I can actually *do* needlework in there. It's fabulous!

I dragged my favorite needlework stand upstairs (a System IV) with the Theresa Wentzler "Fortunate Traveller" piece on it. I read a book in my chair! Ahhh, the life.

On another note, the camping towel is proceeding. I have 27 pattern repeats in the body of the piece, each about 2" long. I'm done with 9 of the repeats now.

And the house is getting much cleaner and decluttered. Lots of time spent in decluttering.