When it rains

I got a new laptop last week. Laptop computers have definitely improved over the last six years! I am loving my new laptop and hoping it will last me at least six years as switching from one computer to another is a headache. I used Paul's external hard drive to copy files from the old to the new computer. This computer doesn't have a CD drive as all of my previous computers have. I had a copy of Microsoft Office 2010 on CD. I opted to purchase a digital copy of Office 2021 rather than paying an annual fee for Microsoft. That was the cheaper way to go as long as I keep the computer for at least two years, and I hope to use it for much longer than that. When I logged into my Adobe account, I learned that they no longer would provide the download link for the Lightroom 6 I had purchased in 2017. There is no longer a way to download a previous purchase or purchase it aside from paying a monthly fee. I couldn't envision paying $10 a month for years on end. If I was earning money through my camera I might feel differently. Thankfully I was able to locate the exe file on my old laptop, copy the file, transfer it to my new laptop, and I installed it on my new computer. That was a big relief, but yesterday I found out I couldn't transfer pictures from my camera card to Lightroom on my new laptop so it's not fully functional yet. I also installed the video editing software on my new laptop that I had purchased last summer; that was much simpler. Nadia and Ian are now using Grandma's laptop for Python (coding), Quiz Master (Bible quizzing), and Ian's Teaching Textbooks (on CD) so I didn't install any of those programs on my new laptop. The only other thing I think I need to purchase and install in the coming weeks will be an antivirus program for my new laptop. Paul has held off thus far on getting a new cell phone, but his days of using his 5 year old cell phone are definitely numbered as the battery dies out very, very quickly these days. The reason I said "when it rains it pours" is because our microwave oven that I purchased in December 2019 also decided to give up the ghost this week. Seriously?!? Ironically when I searched online on various websites that gave reviews on microwaves, the one that only lasted a little over 2 years was the one that most sites recommended as the #1 microwave to buy! I am not buying the same one again, and I hope the one I ordered will last a LOT longer than two years. The one that died in November 2019 lasted more than 11 years because I know we had that one when we moved to this home in 2008.

I'm hoping we don't have to replace anything else for awhile. We received a tax bill this week that was $800 more than last year's tax bill, but thankfully that was an error and we received a corrected bill today. Whew! I've never paid more than $4/gallon for gas in the state of Pennsylvania. The only time I've paid over $4 gallon has been on vacation. When I first moved to Pennsylvania in 1996 the gas was less than $1 a gallon. Back then it used to cost me $10 to fill my tank, and I could go 400 miles on a tank of gas. Now it costs me almost $80 to fill my tank that lasts a little less than 400 miles. I filled my tank on Monday before the prices jumped  so I haven't paid over $4/gallon yet, but unless this price increase is very temporary I will be paying over $4/gallon the next time I get gas.

The cost of a microwave and a laptop is a drop in the bucket compared to the more than $20K medical bills we have had hanging over our heads since the middle of November. We submitted a complaint to the hospital last week regarding the preauthorization process, and the administrator of the outpatient surgery center contacted us and said she will be investigating our situation and get back to us within 30 days. This is I think our last chance to see the bill come down as all of our other efforts haven't gotten us anywhere. Even though I don't have much hope that it will be lowered, I am still praying to that end. If the bill comes down, the first thing I am going to do is schedule an appointment to see a physical therapist because right now I have no idea how I'm going to be able to do the standing and walking that we plan to do on our vacation in 2.5 months. If I see a PT, I'm also going to ask about my right elbow. Another thing I'd like to spend some money on that costs a lot less than an ankle surgery is having some work done on our basement to keep water OUT. We had water in our basement twice in February.