This Just In

Really. It's just in. Like, today. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I am writing this post to you on my brand new computer! (Insert trumpet sounds, applause, and cheering here.) It's thin. It weighs next to nothing. And it's tiny. I love it!

Notice my two printers towering above it in the background. It's really tiny. The gray box next to the computer is the CD drive, which was too big to fit in the actual computer. That's how tiny it is. But it's my very own, and I'm so grateful to get to start putting my life back in order electronically.

Is it sad that the first picture I put on my new computer is one of my new computer? I kind of think so, so I took a picture of the tulips we currently have in our kitchen. Did you know I love tulips?

The other thing which allows us to get on with our lives is the wrought iron bars which have been installed on our house. My parents have passed on the idea to me that in business there are three areas you have to think through: time, cost, and quality. And, almost always, you can only get two of the three. That is, maybe you can get quality bookshelves made for a good price, but they will take forever to be installed. Or you can have a beautiful backyard landscaped in a timely fashion, but it'll cost you an arm and a leg. Or, if you're getting something like, say, wrought iron bars put on over your windows and doors, and you want them quickly and for a good price, you just can't expect the best quality.

These are the bars on the living room windows.

This is the front door.

You might not take particular notice that there is a door-knob on the front door. That's because you would expect a door-knob to be on the front door. Apparently that was too much for me to expect, and I had to provide my own door-knob. It was also too much for me to expect that my doorbell would work properly after the door was installed. This is going to be fixed tomorrow. I hope.

This is the back door. Wait. Is there something different about the scrolls on the back door? Why yes, there is. They are upside-down. Was this for visual effect, or because someone forgot to check which way the door opened and had to install the security door upside-down in order for it to be usable?

Finally, the bedroom windows have to have a special mechanism on them which would allow someone inside to open the bars if they had to get out (like in the case of a fire). To his credit, the man who installed the windows told me that there would be a lever inside. He just didn't tell me that he'd have to drill a huge hole in the wall, and that the lever would be a big, ugly black handle which now adorns my otherwise delicate purple wall. To gain a full appreciation for the thing, you must see it up close.
It's pretty hideous. And it sticks out from the wall pretty far. Fortunately, we discovered that we can hang a shelf over it to hide the handle, so that should be going up sometime this week.

Still, I have to say, with all the frustration this has caused, I am grateful to God. I am grateful that I could afford to have bars installed. I am grateful that they are functional, if not pretty, and that I can feel somewhat safe in my house once more. I am grateful that I have people in my life who really care for me and have walked through this whole thing right alongside me. And, once again, I am grateful for the Mullet house men who have given up their time and comfort to sleep on our floor, work on our doorbell, install our door-knobs and just really love on the Strudel house women. Praise God that He is sovereign and good!