Well, the day started with sister Sue, actually. And Marilyn and I taking her to Emanuel hospital to get a blood draw. We actually parked up above in Marilyn's 'favorite' spot (as even Sue called it) and we all three walked all the way over to the lab area. Good for Sue! She walked really well. (She needs more steps!)
Speaking of steps, I got 6,207 steps today. Not bad for someone who is 'inactive' according to Leslie, my nurse practitioner. (Thanks, Leslie. Every person I tell that to is astounded, by the way. The LAST thing they would call me is 'inactive,' I'm happy to report... And I've heard that now at least a dozen times.) I still love my Fitbit! (I had to change the battery while at Emanuel as it was low, yet again.)
The blood draw went quickly. The drive there, parking and getting Sue back home again? Driving -- especially during rush hour -- in the city of Portland and surrounding suburbs is always difficult now. So...
We had to stop at Safeway by Sue's to get her prescriptions -- and Marilyn got Sue Starbucks. We need to figure out the deal with her prescriptions and insurance, by the way. We're not at all convinced that insurance is currently covering things -- and Sue has GOOD INSURANCE! And boy, does she NEED coverage!
Then off to work for the two of us. Donn had texted me and was there before we could get there...
I went for Starbucks right after getting there. My regular baristas were all happy to see me -- and I them!
I had festival website updates to do -- from Jessica M. I love working with her!
And I gave Wanda the gifts I've had for her: a rock that reads 'courage' (in light of some recent things), plus a cross embedded in plastic to carry in her pocket. She's a delight to work with!
Donn and I met several times about his work and he kept plugging away.
Carol reminded me about the one printer that needed fixing. I phoned Kris and asked him to come by. He told me he'd be there by 1:00 and would could go to lunch.
I got the Band Program changes made after several attempts.
Aside: it's helpful if I touch the website more frequently than not! It just keeps me on my toes to see the coded part and do it so that I don't forget it. And I have certain ways I like the pages done. Just sayin'... Not that I'm anal or PICKY or anything. Right.
Kris comes in (a bit late) and he and I immediately go to the Mandarin Cove for lunch. That's always nice! But lunch always becomes a meeting, too, for the record! Discussing projects and so on.
We bring Marilyn back food. And Kris tackles the printer. Then we have another meeting in Marilyn's office about projects that need doing -- the second Server, the contract for Comcast and the other imaging thing that must be put off until the new fiscal year...
Kris decides to take the second Server home with him to work on (cheaper for us that way). I help his get it to the car (super-heavy!!!).
Then after he leaves I'm back to doing website work. This time it's court-related pages that are usually updated around October 1. We're doing them early for an event this coming Sunday where we want to pimp those pages out.
I need to put up the court application. The PDF is way too big -- the website rejects it! Jessica, Carol and I discuss it. Marilyn is also in the mix. I find a way to compress it. Later on it turns out it's dumped all the fillable stuff -- plus the red indicating that certain things are mandatory. Terrific. We leave that for now (sigh) and move on...
I do part of the work, check with Jessica. It's wrong. I tweak and check with her. More changes. And on and on all afternoon!
Marilyn and Carol have a meeting that runs well past 5:00. Good by ME, as my website work is also running long...
At around 6:30 Marilyn hits the wall and tells me to pack it up. I'm not done -- I'll have to finish things up tomorrow...
We stop at Safeway on the way home and get Chinese there for dinner (nobody feels like fixing anything!). And I grab rye bread and a couple other things, including kitty litter -- which Marilyn manages to remind me I need! Tonight, after all, is garbage and recycling (the real deal!!!).
We're both TIRED tonight.
And the SMOKE is still a hazard. Everybody is coughing at the office. My eyes are killing me. My seasonal allergies would always be bad now, but they are horrible right now. If you go outside you suffer. If you stay INSIDE you still suffer! There's no escape from the effects of all the wildfire smoke!
And, yeah, now I'm getting as pissed off as everybody else that our wildfires and all this misery barely even gets national coverage on the news. WHY IS THAT??? Our state is still burning like crazy. People can't go home. Major interstates are closed. The smoke is everywhere and nobody can breath. But we don't even get a mention on national news... Yet requests for assistance for hurricane relief are everywhere (Oregonians are really doing their part, believe me). I just don't get it. I'm now as big a whiner about it as everybody else. Hahaha.
I take a 'nap' because I can't keep my eyes open. And I blog, but I need to go finish the garbage and recycling NOW -- and get back to bed! We have another busy day facing us tomorrow.
Marilyn and I saw Sean at Safeway. He's a young man who is part Irish and part Scottish with a heavy accent. And a body covered in tattoos. And he's ripped with muscles! A very physical guy. And what a personality! We love it when we run into Sean -- he's maybe our favorite grocery clerk right now. He always makes our shopping trip, that's for sure! Hahaha.
Kris had a new buzzed haircut today that looked GREAT! He made Marine jokes, but it's seriously a good look for him.
And I need to get moving, as it's now 2:30 a.m. and I have lots more to do!
This is annoying! I just discovered that my ENTRY for yesterday (Monday) DID NOT POST!!! I don't know how I missed that yesterday (???), but when I came into LiveJournal tonight, it asked if I wanted to 'restore' my draft! The 'draft' I thought had posted! Oh well. At least the full entry was still available to post and I didn't lose it...
As for today, it was another busy day at the festival office.
Three birthdays to celebrate: Steven, Angel and Lilia. Marilyn and I took along Cinnabon pound cake and some cookies and Wanda and I made up a tray for the Staff meeting.
Donn was in today -- he moved Tanya's computer to her new spot. And was there in case she needed help setting up the check reader (she didn't -- they did it Remotely from the bank). He also set up the new station upstairs. Well, the new and improved version! Exciting. There's finally really room to work on computers in this building!!! (About time.) I was promised that way back before we ever moved in...
Talked to Kris on the phone about the new (used) printer he bought and installed to replace the old 'Marketing' printer that had a broken drawer. It was so old they don't make parts for it anymore. But all our printers were quite expensive when we originally bought them -- and are work horses!!! They really made them well back then! Somehow Kris found a similar model that was an improvement on the one we used to have! Three instead of four drawers! It's immaculate! It looks brand new -- not a mark on it. I can't believe how clean it is! We tested it out and it works great. And best of all? He got it for $150!!! The original models were thousands of dollars!
I actually prayed with Wanda at one point today. We held hands and prayed out loud for Christine (we want her to get this job she's applying for). We won't make a habit of that, but she really wanted to do it...
She was excited when she found out I pray all the time. She has a cross tattooed on her arm. Marilyn doesn't like me to talk religion at work (it's not appropriate, of course), but Wanda and I will be careful in the future.
Christine was there for a bit today. She was going for a meeting about the possible job...
Hot day today! The air conditioner is running right now as a matter of fact...
Marilyn's leg is better, but so red, swollen and clearly infected tonight. She walked on it far too much today.
Marilyn and I went to Starbucks for coffee with Steven and Angel.
Jeff was back from vacation today.
Went to lunch at the Turkey Place with Angel (Marilyn and I). Marilyn bought for all of us. (It was recently Angel's bday, as I mentioned above.)
McDonald's for dinner -- we ate the meat and tossed the buns (as we usually do). And had the meat with cottage cheese. Yummy. (And much easier than cooking.)
Watched several "Diagnosis Murder" episodes -- Marilyn is now hung up on the series, too. (smile) We really enjoy Dick and Barry Van Dyke.
I got 7,000 steps today! Wow.
Never called sister Sue today. I should have checked on the 'tasks' Marilyn assigned her. (grin) She was supposed to get a doctor appointment and call for a hair appointment...
Total aside: Marilyn and I were sorry to see Venus Williams lose at Wimbledon. But we were pleased to see Roger Federer win. Another year, another Wimbledon!
Marilyn's knee has been giving her a tremendous amount of pain. She had a hard time driving last week and this weekend -- and even getting in and out of the car was difficult. Of course, she had to be up and on the leg all during the week and only really got to rest it on Sunday (thankfully). But it does seem better today (Monday).
Saturday we'd been going to attend a picnic we were invited to, but ended up not doing that. We did take some food and drove to Champoeg park and had a picnic of two (just us, in other words). As children we used to go every year to Champoeg with our entire family -- Mom, Dad and sister Sue, yes. But Grandpa Ed, Aunt Dorothy, Uncle Butch, Aunt Helen and their whole family, Uncle Alfred, Aunt Beverly and their family and on and on. Plus many close family friends would be there! It was the celebration of the annual Steamboat Picnic, and Grandpa Ed was a member -- so we all turned out. What fun we used to have!
As we got older, especially, we were allowed to go out and play on all the many paths that ran through the large park. We'd just disappear for hours playing in the woods. We have very fond memories of Champoeg.
Anyway, we think we should go out there now and then and spend time. Why not?
Since getting the beach house, we focus a lot on going there, or being here at the Portland house. And there are so many places in the state of Oregon and nearby Washington where we can go.
Of course, we couldn't walk much because of Marilyn's poor knee. I'm so glad for her that the pain is less and the knee feels better. She's really been suffering.
And last week was a tough week for her!
We're adjusting to the changes in the office, which are many and have been difficult. There's so damn much to do. I'm not suggesting it's unfair. But this should be a slightly easier time of year, considering we've just finished up six-plus months of very difficult work when we're 'in season' and then during our festival. But with the layoffs things are hard. And that's all there is to it! Marilyn has very little support right now...
And there's a bunch of stuff I have to do, as well.
Anyway, I need to head to bed. It's nearly 1:00 a.m. and I have Donn coming in tomorrow. Kris was in today setting up our new 'Marketing' printer. Now I think we'll have to 'find' in on the Server and set the various computer to be able to print to it...
Plus we need to get Tanya's computer moved and the check reader set up tomorrow. (sigh)
It's enough to deal with all the passwords and settings and so on!
I still haven't set up Carol's new access which I'd planned to get done last week.
I didn't do my pills for the week today!!! What's wrong with me???
Marilyn and I did see sister Sue today!!!!!!!!!!!!! We went over to her house (she's been home with Candy recently) and took her to Starbucks. Then back to the house where we saw Candy. Marilyn is going to help Candy with her resume.
As ALWAYS, I've been stubbing my little toe on my left foot, yet again. I've done it so many times this year (and broke it at least once -- maybe twice). It's been giving me fits. I did it again a couple days ago and broke the nail right off it! Little wonder, I suppose. But boy does it hurt!!! I have no idea why that poor toe is always getting stubbed, but nothing I do seems to stop it!
I'm hung up on Coke Zero right now. Hahaha. Funny, huh? We normally drink a lot of Diet Pepsi -- or I drink Diet Dr. Pepper (especially Diet Cherry). Go figure.
Still eating a ton of cottage cheese. And we had corn on the cob (off the cob for Marilyn) for dinner tonight!
No sign of Hector and haven't been able to reach him. Our yard is a mess! (ugh)
Candy and Sue have no working furnace -- meaning no air conditioning -- at their house! Yikes. I can't imagine. No clue what they'll do about that. They're talking about selling the house...
Been playing a lot of zuma...
Marilyn told Sue to set up a doctor's appointment and she'd take her. And a hair appointment (her hair is very white and long -- she needs color and a cut bad!).
We seem to have issues being able to email from work to any Yahoo account. You have to be kidding me. Not again!!! That damn Mail Chimp. (sigh)
A busy day at the office -- both Marilyn and I felt it was productive.
Starbucks this morning.
I got more than 6,000 steps today (I also did on Tuesday when at the office). Poor Marilyn can barely limp around. It's very frustrating to her! She asked me if we could leave the office around 4:00, as she was in such pain she just wanted to go home and put her leg up. I think the bone is really bruised, aside from the wound, which appears to be infected. Poor thing! Just getting in and out of the car nearly kills her.
Adeena came in and was a big help with Marilyn's nominating project. Christine visited so she could work on her resume (I had her sit in Rich's space near Marilyn).
There was a huge drama about the check reader which wasn't working. Steven was trying to help Tanya fix it. They had moved it from Sheila's computer to Tanya's computer. I asked to be in the mix, considering I'm the only one currently on staff that knows the processes we went through to originally set it up...
Donn got involved when he came in, then we put it off for next week. I was also going to have him move Tanya's computer, but we put that off for next week, too.
I did have Donn set up the 'front desk' Profile on what used to be Christine's machine. It's now on both the Receptionist machine and the second computer in that area -- which should be perfect going forward.
The 'Marketing' printer is having issues. So Kris came in to deal with that. He got it to work again (apparently the machine wasn't reading the network card) -- but it has a bad drawer. So he found us another machine for $150 to replace it. So that's where we're going soon...
I helped Kate with her project, then I went and gave her access to change out the Director Distribution Lists. (It's not complicated, but just requires me to access my notes on my own computer.)
I also need to set Carol up with access to the locked drives. I didn't get to that today, but will tomorrow...
Kris is working on getting us on Comcast -- but apparently so is Jeff! That should prove interesting! Anyway, Marilyn is very unhappy with our internet connection in the office. Plus then we could get Xfinity cable TV instead of DirectTV (which she hates).
Kris and I went to lunch (he kindly bought) and brought some Chinese back to Marilyn.
I was working on a bunch of IT-related projects during the day, anyway. But have more to do tomorrow...
Wanda has been jumping right in and finding mistakes at the website -- she's sent me a bunch to check. Good for her!
I took several bags over to June when we got home. Clothes and stuff. Hopefully she can use some of it, anyway...
Can't think what else. Did the recycling, and now am headed to bed.
We had a personnel change today. Because of certain changes at the festival office and new needs going forward, an existing position is being replaced by a different role. This means that Shelley was let go and her job is being changed. Going forward we'll have an Business Manager who takes over the work she did, plus additional tasks.
I'm always there to process people when they start, and when they leave us. Kathy (a former president of the festival) is a finance consultant, and she was also present -- to specifically deal with finance-related needs (which meant I didn't need to try and do that, thankfully). Christine assisted me, as she has in the past.
Shelley took it very well, and I hope to keep in touch with her. She's a very sweet person who has been a big help to me.
I ended up having IT to deal with in the middle of this. We had a printer that stopped working. Christine called in our repair people, and the man who came out said the machine had somehow changed IPs!!! I knew it wasn't Server-side, but he wasn't sure how it happened. He assigned it a new IP, which means Donn and I will need to re-write part of our Profile setup instructions...
My own computer was acting up. I'm not sure why! But it gave me around 45 minutes of grief. (sigh)
Marilyn had lunch with Marcia. It was supposed to be with both Marcia and Gail, but poor Gail has shingles, and is in terrible pain. So she couldn't be there. Rich and I went to lunch together, which was nice...
Jillian was a big help to me today. I really love her! And we were chatting about her little boy, John. She's convinced John will end up a priest -- and I have to say I agree with that. There's just something about him...
In the afternoon I had a bunch of website-related stuff to do.
Then Carol and I our website meeting with Fish -- Nate and David came over. It went VERY WELL, and was quick, too. I think it will end up being a reasonable expense, and something they can 'fix' pretty easily and soon. So I was very happy after that meeting.
I did speak to sister Sue twice during the day. Things aren't going well at home -- so prayers (good thoughts) are still appreciated. I'm praying as I type this.
Plus she went to see her doctor and got a bad report, which also upset her. Marilyn tried to be upbeat, reminded me that sometimes health levels go in cycles. She's down right now, but it hasn't been that long ago that she was doing really well. So hopefully things will turn around again. Talking to Marilyn made me feel better, so I'll share what she said with Sue when we next talk (and she'll probably read this before that). Marilyn is right, of course. My current flare-up is a perfect example. This time of year my psoriasis gets worse, for example. And that often leads to other issues (like my ankle). But in a month or so it will probably be just fine...
Sue said he was adjusting her meds, which didn't please Marilyn. But I imagine we'll talk that over. Maybe we can discuss it next Tuesday if she ends up coming down to the beach house!
After the website meeting, I worked on a News item for our upcoming Toy Drive. We needed a landing page that Marissa could point to when doing Social Media. I didn't get it finished (I want to add photos), but I did get the basics done today, thankfully!
Marilyn and I are both feeling swamped with work, so we're planning to work this coming Saturday. That's okay. We'll feel better about having the week off if we go in and get some things done. I hate feeling buried!
By 4:20 we were leaving the office for Marilyn's hair appointment. It had been TEN WEEKS (!!!) since she last had her hair done. We got there around 5:00 (traffic was a bear), and she was done just past 7:00. Her hair looks great!
It was another miserable day -- and cold!
We got McDonald's on the way home, then watched "Jeopardy" while eating dinner (which included more green beans for me). Matt didn't do well tonight -- but the Finals are both Thursday and Friday combined, so he's still got a chance to win.
Marilyn is dozing downstairs. And I'm tired, too. So I'll head to bed soon...
I plan to WORK FROM HOME tomorrow. I've got a bunch of things to get done, but I'll probably accomplish more of what I need to do if I'm NOT in the office. (I can generally focus quite well here at home.)
I didn't feel all that well today. I was nauseated in the morning and felt like I was running a fever much of the day. I was either too hot or too cold. Marilyn reminded me that she'd felt punk all week long, so it wasn't really a surprise to her! I hope I feel better tomorrow, because I really want to get some things done! Marilyn told me she was still feeling bad today (and had to take pills for her issue) -- and that she was chilled all day long. Poor thing!
I need to reschedule the Comcast appointment tomorrow! I totally forgot about it today. And it takes such a long time that I wouldn't have been able to do it today, anyway. (sigh) I'm needed at work on BOTH December 8 and 9 (totally aside from the trip to Pittock Mansion)...
In all that's been going on, I've totally forgotten about getting in touch with Blake! I still need to do that...
And Margarita is calling tomorrow. So I hope to set up a meeting at the house so she can see what we'd like done and give me a bid on the cost.
And that is my Thursday. Hope all is well with all of you! Sleep tight!
Happily (and I mean HAPPILY), there wasn't anything IT-related from the office today (!!!). Yes, that is a total shock! Hahaha. I wish I was joking, believe me. Lately there's been IT stuff every single day (or close to it).
It was refreshing to have a day where I didn't talk to anybody work related. Actually, I have to take that back. I did phone Donn to be sure he'd be in to work tomorrow. But that was ME calling someone, rather than someone phoning (or emailing) me...
Marilyn and I went to Starbucks today, late morning. We relaxed with some coffee (I had hot for my poor sore throat) and food, playing on our iPads and chatting.
Then we headed home so Marilyn could put her very sore feet up. She did end up with blisters, but she's had worse (believe it or not). And she's got them really under control. So we'll see how she is tomorrow. We do have to do some walking going to our Retreat location.
She's really recovering nicely from her half marathon, I think. I'm SO PROUD of her for doing that! She's so amazing (and stubborn). It's incredible she could do that run with little or no prep.
As for the Retreat tomorrow, Marilyn is still saying I will NOT be going (!!!) if I'm not well in the morning. We'll see about that. Even if I didn't attend the Retreat, I'd want to go in for IT purposes...
Spent part of the day reading and sleeping. I'd actually promised yesterday that I would STAY DOWN all day today. That didn't quite happen, but it's okay. I did get some rest.
Tonight we had to dash over to sister Sue's house. Nicole was unable to print her paper due tomorrow. So I transferred it to a jump drive (LEXAR -- the only brand I ever use!) and we took it down to the office to print it out. Then we drove it back to their house.
Living on the peninsula as we do here in the St. Johns area of Portland, we tend to get a lot of heavy weather patterns. (Water on three sides of us -- duh.) So we had nasty fog to drive in going to Sue's house and toward downtown. It was better in the downtown area, then bad again heading to Sue's and back home...
But we were glad to help out! It's a long complicated story. But mainly, new printers won't print when one cartridge goes out. Seriously??? So even if you only need black and the color is out, you cannot print. That just sucks.
Well, I've washed my hair and have on clean jammies, so I'm all ready for bed! I need to update with our Instagram account stats one of these days!!! Not tonight. Too tired.
I had a very lazy day, doing little or nothing. I spend much of the day napping and outright sleeping...
The pain is still there, but Marilyn has me taking ibuprofen for the swelling and pain. The fatigue is the thing that is still annoying me, but I'm sure it's going to improve as I continue the iron.
I did start reading a 'new' book last night that I was reading much of today. Some of you may be familiar with "The Group," by Mary McCarthy -- it was published in 1963 it immediately made the New York Times Best Seller list where it remained almost two years! I've actually read it before years ago (I don't recall exactly when), but I'd forgotten how fascinating it is. It's placed initially in the 1930's -- but it could never have been published at all if it had truly been written then! As it was it was quite controversial, even in the 1960's. The frank discussion of sex is really entertaining and interesting...
And she's a good writer -- you all know how picky I am about that. (smile)
Went out briefly to get Starbucks in the evening. Then got home in time to see "The Walking Dead" and "The Talking Dead" after. Marilyn ran me over to help Candy with her printer problem (Nicole needed to get a paper ready for school tomorrow). She wasn't feeling well, so she dropped me and headed back home. After I finally got the printer working, Candy brought me home.
I owe her a pot of curry noodles for her birthday, by the way! I just haven't been up to any real cooking lately...
Sue won a little money at cribbage, but Candy's car has yet another issue (!!!) -- this time it's her heater that's gone out. I think she needs to check with the people who fixed the transmission -- in case they accidentally bumped something or whatever! Sue was going to put her $$$ toward new tires for her own car, but the heater will have to come first, that's for sure.
Also saw "Revenge" tonight. So much happening on both TWD and Revenge that I can't even begin to discuss them. Anyway, our Instagram accounts for both shows are doing GREAT -- and we're having a lot of fun with them!
I guess that's it for today. We skipped manicures, so really need to go tomorrow for that (sigh)...
Just woke from a much-needed nap. Glad I ate something BEFORE going to the Nurse Practitioner at 5:00 p.m., because all I could force down this evening was a slice of cheddar cheese... (And I still don't feel hungry now.)
The morning started with me getting up and pulling myself together (the same routine as a work day, hair, makeup and clothes) to get ready to meet with both Angel and sister Sue. Angel was LATE (circle the calendar -- this NEVER happens, as he's always very early for everything) for the first time ever. I was even worried briefly until he arrived.
He came in and kindly carried my bag (I had the new small bag that contained my iPad, Sue's tablet and my Kindle paperwhite -- he had my bag with my external hard drive and the additional container of CD software, etc.) to the car. With the PAIN from my damn knee (I take that back: POOR KNEE!!!), it was all I could do to carry ME to the car!
I gave directions (bad ones) to get him over to Sue's Starbucks on Hayden Island (which is very near to the river and is the same way people take to go from here over to Vancouver, Washington). Angel lives in Vancouver, so he'd been stuck in traffic getting to me. And there was still quite a bit of traffic heading over toward Sue's. Sue was already there waiting for us when we arrived. Angel bought me coffee (!!!) and I had actual coffee (Pumpkin Spice -- only half the pumps), as it's supposedly good for gout.
After we all had our coffee we went directly to Sue's house. Angel had never been there before and was very impressed by the view (which is lovely).
I started out working on his new Lenovo laptop, sitting as Sue's kitchen table with him beside me. Sue eventually went into her bedroom to see her show (from 11:00 to noon). Originally I couldn't get the first set of software to work -- he has Windows 7 as his OS on the new computer, so there were complications. The happy news? I managed to uninstall and reinstall in a way that made it work (!!!), so we were good to go with that (woo hoo). I was pleased, having had this fail before! I've written down the steps and saved them, because this issue has come up before and is now RESOLVED (which is a very big deal to me!).
After that I installed the second major set of software, using what I'd found on the external hard drive. I hadn't been sure I had it -- the license is through the office, so it's appropriate for him to have a copy (he does so much work for us on his laptop -- most of what he'd ever use the software for is our stuff). While that was installing, I went over to do the work for Sue. I found the cable from the printer and ran it over to Sue's computer (rather than Candy's). I tried just using the Windows built-in hardware wizard installation, but it failed. So I hunted for and FOUND the actual printer driver and used that successfully! Score two for me! Now they can print as needed. Candy needs to print things for work, Sue for cribbage and Nicole for school (homework), so this was important for them. Previously they were networked and could print from both computers, but now they needed to settle for one machine only -- better than at our house were I've never had our printer work, period...
Back to Angel's computer. The software installed fine. And I showed him how to take text/Copy from a PDF and revert it back to Word (it's really not that difficult to do). Then we decided to see if I could get him Remoting or not. I used to have that working for him, but it's been months (!!!) since he could. My first couple of attempts failed. Then I tried one more thing and got it to work!!! (woo hoo) We were shouting and high-five-ing and just very, very excited! Anyway, he was good to go. I wanted to get my own laptop from the office and try to set up Remote on it, so we left Sue's and he drove me down to the office. (We took along Marilyn's old tower that Candy is no longer using, so I can try to put it to use in the office where I'm currently down a computer...)
Once there, Angel kindly carried in my bag AND the old tower. Then he left me to come home with Marilyn and went to his next appointment.
I had to phone our friend Marcia and tell her I couldn't help her with her Excel spreadsheet. I'm far from an Excel expert -- plus I didn't have TIME between now and Tuesday to get it done (she needs it on Tuesday). And it turns out she has a very new version of Excel (2013!). I explained that each version is different, so it would explain why her granddaughter who is good at Excel couldn't do what she needed. (Marcia and husband Stan are dealing with a bunch of SERIOUS health issues, so I'm praying for both of them, poor dears...)
Marilyn and I headed home around 3:00 p.m. Later we headed over to the appointment, but had to rush back home for the paperwork I carefully had down regarding my medication (which I wanted to review with Leslie). Amazingly enough, we were still on time (!!!), even so.
The rest of this will be sort of a Health Report. I suppose I should be doing it separately, but I'm just going to throw it all in here. If you normally don't read about all my damn health stuff, feel free to stop reading now! (grin)
We began by focusing on my poor knee, because I was in SO MUCH PAIN. This may be the most pain I've ever been in, shy of surgeries. I was calling it more than a ten on a scale of one to ten -- and anyone who knows me knows I rarely ever complain about pain. Leslie agreed that it sounded like gout, by the way. When she looked at the knee, she felt it could either be gout or psoriatic arthritis -- and said they were both treated the same, in any case. When Marilyn asked, she said a blood test would confirm gout, so set me for blood work today (the previous blood hadn't been set up to test for it, of course).
We discussed the knee in detail. Then moved on to the results of my recent labs. The really, really good news was how low my cholesterol was (!!!). Marilyn remarked it was the best she'd ever seen for anyone! My blood pressure was VERY HIGH today -- maybe my worse ever. But I was in terrible pain, and it can bring that result. So we're going to test again in a week, just to be sure. If it's still bad, that medication will have to be raised.
I'm also highly anemic (!!!) and iron deficient. She had no clue why. We discussed my upcoming colonoscopy -- and what it's like when you have blood in the stool. But when Marilyn and I got home we discovered that gout is tied in some way to anemia (we need to study it more). Leslie put me on iron and vitamin C. The down side is that iron is constipating, and I've had recent issues with that. I don't know what exactly I'm going to do, but I'll work on it. (sigh)
My diabetes is LESS controlled than the last time I was tested. This was disappointing to me. But we're changing my meds a bit. I now take Metformin and night. I'll now be taking it in the morning. I've had issues in the past with Metformin and Glipizide combined in the morning causing low blood sugar whenever I do even the smallest amount of exercise, so she's giving me a time-release version.
What else am I forgetting? My weight was up a couple of pounds since the last visit, but that could be related to the swelling around the knee...
We picked Prednisone for treating the gout (or psoriatic arthritis). We had to go get meds after our office visit, which took forever (as always!!!). We got most of the stuff today, anyway, so I could start the Prednisone right away. You take it for five days, starting with a lot of pills that reduces downward. She also offered me pain pills, but I told her I had some and would use that. I took a pain pill right away when I got home and it was soon working -- and I had to wonder why I hadn't done that before! I tend to avoid pain meds and never take a full prescription (even after surgery), which is why I have pills around the house. But the relief was just WONDERFUL, I have to say!
I felt sick after the Prednisone (which could have been the pain meds, too), so I went directly to bed and slept almost immediately. The pain is back right now, but not nearly as bad as before. And I can always take more pain meds, so it should be better than the past several days!
I'm trying to do what Marilyn said and dwell on the positive aspects of this. It's annoying that I have even MORE medication to take on a daily basis (I'm not talking about the Prednisone, which is only five days, after all) -- and that I need to juggle things a bit differently. I honestly take a slew of pills both morning and night and find it daunting to manage sometimes. But I'll learn to deal with it, I'm sure.
She wanted me to have my flu shot today, but Marilyn suggested we wait until my current pain was controlled and Leslie immediately agreed. So I'll get the flu shot when I go back in to have my blood pressure tested in a week. (I guess I need to set up an appointment...)
They were doing a survey today -- mostly about how happy patients are with the service of the front desk (and a little bit with the doctor/nurse they see). Marilyn ended up filling that out for me...
Well, I'm more than ready to head to bed. It's been a long day -- and a long week! And all that pain has really worn me down.
OH!!! I asked if the anemia could be responsible for my constant fatigue, and of course the answer is yes. At least that makes some sense to me! I wonder how long I've been anemic? While it's tied to gout, generally it's anemia bringing on gout -- and not really the other way around. I'll read up and try to learn more, of course...
This is hugely long -- sorry! I just wanted to try and get it all down for myself as a reference for the future. I hate dwelling on my health all the time, but hopefully when things have improved I'll get away from all this and back to normal topics (like TV, movies and books... hahahahaha...).
I'm just back from riding my bike (woo hoo) over to our local Goodwill, where they have a BALLOT drop-off. I was supposed to take Marilyn's and my ballots there while I was out and about with sister Sue earlier today -- but both she and I FORGOT (!!!) about it. Seeing as they must be there by Election Day (tomorrow), we didn't want to wait until the last minute. We've got a hotly contested item on the ballot this time: Fluoridation of Portland's water. (You can see all about it HERE.) But we're also voting on a couple of other items, and some school board members...
But it's difficult to explain to people from other states what a big deal the question of fluoride in our water has been during my lifetime... And people are really nasty about it on both sides of the issue, I'm afraid! Well, anyway, we've cast our ballots (I dropped 'em off!), so that's it for now (until we have results).
I need to share several PHOTOS today, I think! Remember: CLICKING ON IMAGES WILL TAKE YOU TO THE LARGER VERSION
Here's the BASE IMAGE of the banner I'm creating for our eNewsletter for this week. My goal in this banner was to focus on CityFair and our Fireworks show -- and I think it turned out very nice, really. (It's hard to see in this SMALL version -- so do click and see it larger!)
Here are two photos from the Sing-Off that Marilyn and I attended on Saturday. The photos didn't turn out all that well (sigh). I wish I'd known then -- I'd have taken more to try to make the odds better for a few good pictures...
And here's a couple of photos of the Expo from Saturday (we went there directly from the Sing-Off):
Then we headed to Peninsula Park to see the Junior Clowns training:
On Sunday it was Rock 'n' Roll Portland Half Marathon time. These are the RF Runners:
And here's a crowd shot prior to the Race:
This morning sister Sue and I went to Elmer's to have a Rose Meal:
Then I went to her house. As we were leaving, I got to see the baby geese:
And feed mommy, daddy and the babies:
Aside from all those photos, the GOOD moments today???
At sister Sue's I spoke to Candy and found out they couldn't use the printer (since I'd set up the new computer). So I got the printer working on Candy's computer. Then I actually got all three computers networked (!!!). And the final step was to get all three computers able to use the printer to print. It was quite successful -- and I'm proud! Normally I suck when it comes to working with printers (at home or at work). And I hadn't set up a home network in YEARS! So this was a big WIN for me. (smile)
And it was FUN to get out on my bike, even if that was only a short ride.
Frankly, it was FUN creating the banner, too -- even if I am under the gun to get the latest eNewsletter started. One every week now (sigh). I enjoy them, but they are a lot of (hard) work...
It's past 5:00 p.m. now (where did the day go???) and I still need to COLOR my hair (!!!), do some laundry (!!!), wash the dishes and figure out dinner. And that's not including all the WORK I need to do! I've got website changes to make, the Starlight Parade script to review/edit, phone-related crap weighing on me (what's new) and who knows what else. I don't know how much of that I can get done in one day, but I need to try...
And I'm TIRED all the damn time right now, I'm afraid. So I just keep slammin' down the coffee and other stimulants... (I wish I was having a NAP right this second.)
Well, the sooner I get back to it, the sooner I'll be checking things off...
Marilyn and I were at the office by 7:30 a.m. today. Yeah, it was hard getting up -- but SHE is amazing! She just drives herself no matter how tired she is...
Marilyn was beat last night. She worked until past 7:00 p.m. again and had another hard day. (Which has been true for her all this week, actually.) The book project is on major deadline and simply couldn't happen without her input! (Both in the selection of photos and in writing captions.)
Me, today? It's about more IT! (surprise)
I brought the new laptop in and set up our auction software on it (the GreaterGiving program). Then I moved the actual database there. I had to phone the GreaterGiving support people to get this done correctly, by the way. I'd assumed I could put the database pretty much anywhere, then point to it, but that wasn't the case. It's clearly different on a stand-alone computer than on a network, where I can place the data on any drive and in any folder...
I met with Ashley more than once and made sure she was comfortable with the new machine and using the auction software ONLY there -- and not on her networked computer! The minute I put it from the network to the laptop it was converted (to the latest version of the software), so it's even more complicated than just keeping the current data separate from the old data.
I wanted to update all the individual machines in here that were running GreaterGiving -- but you have to update the Server first. I tried that last year and failed, so I'm waiting on Kris. Hopefully he can SHOW ME HOW this year -- then I'll be able to do it alone from here on out. That would be groovy!
Then I worked on the 'new' machine we bought during the festival. I struggled to get it on the network (the process is completely different than it was in the past when I used to do it all the time and knew it like the back of my hand). I finally got it added, then of course couldn't navigate to the server drives. (sigh) So I hunted down the batch file (it took me ages to find it!) and copied it over so it was available on the new machine. Then I had to remember how to add it to the start up, which I haven't done in years, I swear. (Or it seems like years, anyway.) Finally I got that done, so it would get the computer pointed where it needed to be.
Now I'm STUCK on trying to add printers. I got the Ricoh (our copy machine) added okay, but not the other two machines. (big sigh) Not for want of trying, though! Where the HELL the actual drivers are, I have no clue. But I tried tons of drivers per each printer to no avail...
Meanwhile I hunted for photos for Marilyn (no go -- I didn't have the cool photo she wanted) and tried to help her when she had an error regarding some data she didn't save but needed to. There should be some way to avoid this issue better, that's for sure...
Kris was originally coming in this morning. Nope, he ran long. Then he told me 2:30. It's now AFTER 3:00 p.m. (surprise) and he's still not here. I wouldn't mind so much, but I'm starving and don't dare leave to get a bite -- if he shows and I'm not here it's going to be ugly...
So I have three things on my list for him, now, rather than two. I hope he's going to get here and get them DONE for me. I'm in a real bind.
Marilyn and I both knew this would be a long, hard day before it ever started. I'm sure it's all going to turn out well, but we need to hang in there. I wish I could have helped her -- I felt bad for her problem! I certainly hope Kris can help ME, as I'm up that creek without a paddle right now.
You'd think I was an idiot, I swear! I used to be able to do more of this stuff. I'm happy for what I can still do, but still! Damn, it's frustrating. Seriously.
I'm ... hungry ... and ... slightly ... cranky. But fighting it. Marilyn and I have promised ourselves a TREAT at the end of today -- it we're good! So I'm going to ignore the cranky part. Christine laughed when I said Kris was due at 2:30 -- and told me I had an hour to wait, at least. Well, it's been more than 40 minutes since I expected him now.
Oh! Just got a text message. He's STILL at his 1:00 appointment (which I don't think was CLOSE to our office). That's great news (not). He's now saying 5:00 or LATER. Great. Just terrific...
All I want is for him to do all the tasks I need today. But I need to MANAGE that -- IT Manager is the title and managing the work is what I do, after all. (sigh)
On that note, I'm off to look for food, I think. I don't know what, but something. Crap. (big sigh)
I promise my NEXT entry will not be about IT! Hahahahahaha. Right.
My work day? Rough. The IT could have gone a lot better, that's for sure...
But the morning with Kirstie (the PR intern) was productive. And she must have called me a 'great teacher' half a dozen times or more... She's doing a terrific job with the eNewsletter and should be able to have it published on time next week, as planned.
I did get Christie's new computer on the network (woo hoo) and mostly set up -- though there are some glitches that are annoying. (sigh)
Her profile didn't roam properly, so she's missing her My Documents and was pretty freaked about that. This is something Kris can fix (he's done it many times in the past), so no worries. My main issue is that he's never shown ME how to fix it, so we don't need to wait on him to get it done. (big sigh)
We've been issues adding printers to new computers, as well. I've been unable to print for weeks now -- and Christie can only print on our RICOH copy machine (which is better than nothin').
There's more, but whatever. There's no point in dwelling on it. Marilyn is in the mix now, so at least we're finally hearing from Kris. Maybe I'll get some of my long list of items resolved -- especially the fact that Marilyn is still unable to Remote (and she's a pretty high priority, frankly).
I made up a long list of IT Projects for Donn to tackle on Friday, so his normal two-hour day will probably be a three-hour day this week. Plus he needs to take some equipment home to work on...
I did get home early (by 6:00), because Marilyn had a 6:30 meeting away from the office she needed to attend, so she dropped me here on her way. She has another late meeting tomorrow night, too...
This weekend sister Sue will stay over in her room at the Beach House for the first time (!!!), so we're all excited about that. We're only staying Saturday night this time around, with neighbor June house-sitting and tending the cats for us (again).
Marilyn's king headboard is in (!!!), so hopefully we'll get that delivered this weekend. It's the last piece of furniture, aside from the bookcases we're getting for my bedroom, for all of my many, many books. (Ralph will buy and put those together, just as he did the ones I have in my office area right outside my room.)
I finished 'book one' of "The Hunger Games" last night. So I've now bought the next two for my Kindle, which means Marilyn and I can also read them on our iPads (and I can do so on my iPhone, too). I've been reading a lot again, which is always nice...
I did a little bit of drawing (!!!) at the beach this past weekend, and hope I keep up with my art. So nice after all these years!
The weather here in Portland today is LOVELY! Blue skies and sunny. Summer is clearly just around the corner (next week, literally). And we're supposed to have weather in the 70's and 80's next week. (woo hoo)
Marilyn and I took a mid-day break with a ride to Sauvie Island -- something we really love to do!
After we got back, Marilyn went straight to her office to work, and I grabbed my Kindle and headed out for some food.
I've been having some trouble eating while taking my current meds (and maybe because of the infection in my body, too). I'm eating carefully, one might say. And my blood sugar has been quite low (too low) as a result...
Well, I went to lunch at the 'turkey place' (I honestly don't know the name), which is located on Jefferson, a few blocks walk from our office. On Fridays they have a homemade curry and chicken (served with white rice) that I just love.
You know what? Every now and then it's nice to go all alone to lunch. I actually love to sit and read while eating -- even though I know everyone and their cousin thinks it's wrong. Tough! I've always LOVED to read. And I see nothing wrong with reading during a meal if you're alone. You're not being rude to anyone. And if it means I'm a 'loser,' then whatever -- I really don't care. We can't always eat with another person (or lots of others), no matter what TV and the movies tries to make us think... (smile)
The place was fairly quiet, which was nice. It's clean and has good (if not terrific) food. I also got a bottle of pop for Marilyn as well as me, which is a nice mid-day pick-me-up.
Now I'm sitting upstairs messing with my small HP printer, which I can't seem to get to work. I've never hooked it back up again since Rosanna borrowed it last year for WFV. So it's been sitting unused for an entire year (!!!). I suppose I need new cartridges or something... (sigh) I originally bought it to use because now and then I just need to print something out that shouldn't require me to run all the way downstairs (!!!) to one of the shared printers. Well, I'll try again to get it to work, if possible...
I had to go get some paper from the workroom -- and we barely had any. Apparently nobody planned for them to need to take a box to Rose Cup, so... (Really???)
It's right around 3:00 p.m. -- so the day is close to ending. I'm very much looking forward to that -- and a long nap tonight! We almost went to the midnight movie for "Green Lantern" last night -- but we were too tired. And that's NOT something you'll hear me say very often!!!
We're going to see "Super 8" tomorrow with birthday girl Jessica. I'm going to make a casserole for dinner -- and maybe we'll pick up a cake or something...
The weather is supposed to turn yucky this weekend (sigh), but as I'd love to rest and work around the house, it really doesn't matter, I guess. Of course, if the weather changes, we'd probably make a quick change of plans that put us somewhere we could enjoy it!
I barely spoke to sister Sue yesterday and haven't talked to her at all today. I wonder how things are going with her health and the 'new' car?
Marilyn and I need to go shopping -- probably to WalMart. (And I need a chicken from Freddies to make my casserole.) We keep thinking about going, but again, we've been tired -- so...
Sister Sue and I did go to Costco today -- mainly so I could (finally) get a new printer for at home.
You might remember me talking about getting our then-new Kodak printer last January, 2010 (actually purchased in December 2009). I later mentioned HERE how much we ended up HATING that Kodak printer. Because of the LIES told in the ads for these Kodak printers, I no longer trust or respect the Kodak brand, by the way. I'm still surprised I allowed myself to be taken in, but I suppose it's a good thing if it keeps me away from Kodak products in the future. (And I tell this to anyone who cares to listen, as well...)
Prior to that purchasing mistake, I've always recommended Hewlett-Packard (HP) printers -- and that's almost all we've ever owned (with the exception of some early printers we bought back in the days of our very first computer). My experience with HP printers has been excellent, though there's no doubt in the world that the ink for these is spendy as hell.
Anyway, I bought a NEW printer today -- and am back to HP! I got the HP OFFICEJET 6500A Plus. (See it at the official site HERE. And read a review about it at PCMag.Com HERE.)
Photo share!
It's HEAVY, but I have to keep reminding myself that it's actually considered an office model, and not a home printer. Plus I suppose that's really a good thing. (smile) I didn't necessarily think that when I was hauling it around today -- or lifting it to get it in the right place in our home office!
I've only started to test it out, but so far I'm quite impressed! As for size, I'm happy to report that it fits nicely in the spot where our old printer was kept -- without moving anything that sits next to it on the stand. (I was worried it would be bigger and need more space...)
It's such a relief to have a working printer again! I can't say what a pain it's been to go for several months with no printer at home -- a true inconvenience. And the cost seems so reasonable to me! Of course, the last HP printer I bought cost around $350 (and did less). But that's what printers cost back then, of course.
Marilyn got home late (the only one at the office for ages after everyone else had left). We had leftovers for dinner, then got the movie "Black Death" On Demand, featuring Sean Bean and Eddie Redmayne. (You can read about it HERE at Wikipedia -- but be mindful that it totally SPOILS, telling the entire story in detail. However the link above gives details without spoiling...)
She fell asleep during it. Little wonder, as she had many intense meetings today, never got one break and worked late -- after a really busy week. I'm glad she's getting some rest, as she has a really LONG work today again tomorrow (and will be on her feet for hours on end). Anyway, I did enjoy the movie. It wasn't what I expected and had a very unusual end...
Now I'm headed for a much-needed nap! Maybe I'll play around more with the new printer when I wake up...
Our Board Meeting is over -- and it went very well.
Neither one of my laptops will WiFi, though. Very frustrating. (sigh) I can't even go there right now.
Carol has a weird problem that is clearly due to her new dual monitors. Her cursor is corrupted and displays incorrectly. I hope Kris can fix this, but I've no clue what to do...
Christy got more RAM today, as did two of the intern computers. Kris took the donation from Rosanna home to work on it. I should end up with one spare piece of equipment, which I'll probably need.
I was mostly busy with IT -- I got little of what I'd planned to do done, though. Oh well.
Mark was in and I ended up spending more time with him than I really had. But I love the guy. I really do. So whatever.
Exciting moment! Rich phoned me from the Verizon store on his new cell! He was so thrilled! Just like a kid on Christmas. I'm so happy for him! (He has the same phone as Marilyn, which is the upgrade of the phone I have.)
I colored my hair this morning and did website edits -- so it was busy, too. (No, I never went back to sleep after Marilyn woke me as she left.)
We got Greek olives and feta cheese from the deli and ate it with the Crumpet Bread that Jim (of PSSCA) brought for us when Marilyn saw him -- how considerate! We're hung up on the olives and cheese combo lately, and love having it with special breads. So it was a perfect dinner after the meeting.
We're both beat. Marilyn has tons of meetings again tomorrow. I'm supposed to go to Costco with sister Sue and get a new printer, which we need really, really bad...
I probably should go to work, but whatever.
Saturday is Court judging. I don't know if Marilyn wants me to go along or not, but I'm certainly willing to be there. I should take photos. I did that tonight at the Board Meeting, and I think I got some good shots...
We're off shortly to Forest Grove, Oregon for our annual get-together with Mary and Mike and friends! I should try and get photos to share this year...
We sit out on their deck and share good company and good food and have a lovely time. They set the date over half a year in advance, so it's very important to them. (Sister Sue will not be able to attend, which is too bad. She's missing out, and Mary was sooooo excited she was coming... Oh well. Candy had an emergency -- and though Nicole is 12 now, they won't leave her at home alone. So maybe next year.)
By the way, Marilyn and I FOOLISHLY bought the Kodak ESP 3250 All-in-One Printer several months back. This is the WORST printer ever. The print quality sucks. It's a noisy machine. It shakes so hard it moves the furniture it sits on. And that famous SAVINGS on ink? Oh hell no! It runs out of ink really fast -- much faster than other printers. Plus it's terribly difficult to find replacement ink cartridges for it.
I admit to be enthusiastic and excited about it after the Kodak ads for this machine. Sister Sue bought one on my recommendation. I've always liked Kodak products (our first digital camera was a Kodak). But Kodak lost me as a future customer on this one! I can't think of a single GOOD thing to say about the printer.
So we'll be going back to HP (why did we ever leave???). And I'll think twice about any and all Kodak purchases from here on out...
Whatever happened to honest advertising? Whatever happened to name brand trust? How sad.
I wanted to find them at Twitter to complain there, but they have a really pathetic account. (I wonder WHY that would be???) And I can't bring myself to 'Like' them at Facebook, considering I DON'T like them much right now. (smile) Anyway, just don't be taken in (as I was). Save yourself the aggravation!
I was having a B.A.D. bad day -- but Kris helped turn that around for me! So now it's a GOOD day, big time! (smile) Yeah, some days IT kills me. But today has turned out NOT to be one of them.
For the record, you CAN use a local printer to print when using Remote Desktop -- but NOT if the printer is USB. That was driving me CRAZY, until Kris told me it was a well-known issue. In other words, I'm not an idiot who can't figure out how to add our new printer (the Kodak) so Marilyn mistressmarilyn can print the way she used to with the old HP.
I still don't know WHY I was having an issue changing a user password, but as we got it done, who cares? And we have a much easier way for Marilyn to be able to send out emails as our festival president, rather than needing to log out as herself and back in as him! So that's a good deal, too! (woo hoo)
On that note, a quick (small) nog (with whiskey) is in order, before I have a much-needed nap. It's been a busy, busy day -- and tomorrow I'm in the office.
Marilyn mistressmarilyn and I started off our New Year by shopping for some new clothes yesterday. Very cool!
We both got bras (so hard to find for most women) and underwear (boy, did I need it). And we each got the new coats we'd been promising we'd buy after Christmas. I've been wearing the coat I got back in the 1990's, just to show you how necessary this was!
And we got pants and tops, too. I got several pairs of jeans that I just adore (in a size down from what I've been wearing, I might add). It was aerobic shopping, no doubt, and nearly exhausting -- especially by the time we'd cut off all the damn tags and pulled off all the sticky tags (!!!). By the way, have I ever mentioned that I HATE all those plastic things they use to fasten on price tags? Why, oh why, do they need SO MANY OF THEM on every item??? (yikes)
Anyway, it was great fun (exhaustion aside) -- and I wore a new pair of jeans to the show last night, and have on another new pair right now! (smile)
While Marilyn did the treadmill (after we got back from the movie), I FINALLY set up the new printer we bought weeks ago. It was just sitting in the box in my bedroom, because we had so much going on I couldn't face the work involved. It seems like just another IT problem for me, to be honest. (heh)
It's one of the Kodak printers, and was under $100. The real benefit, however, is the idea that replacement ink cartridges don't cost all that much, which is cool by me! My main worry was that I wouldn't have the proper cable to hook it up (!!!), as we didn't buy one when we bought the printer. Never fear, the IT side of me not only had a 2.0 USB cable, but I also had an extension cable that I seriously needed, as well.
Now I need to decide if the built-in scanner will be good enough for my needs. If so, I'll take my large HP scanjet to work, and free up the space it takes on my desk (which would be really nice). Our old HP printer (bought back in the 1990's) didn't have a scanner, so...
I felt so accomplished to finally get the printer working, I must say! It's not easy crawling around to feed the cables where they need to go and everything. But it's done, thankfully. I feel so accomplished that it's silly! (heh) Go, me!
I just printed a page to show Marilyn how well the printer works. Yes, it's a bit noisy (so what?) and it does shake (as sister Sue suzy_qp had pointed out -- again, so what?). However it's FAR faster than our old HP was (and I'm generally an HP fan) and did a lovely job with the final product. We've been having problems with the old printer for ages and ages, so this is a real delight and comfort. Anyway, it's thumbs up for the Kodak!
(I guess I'm used to printer noise from the office, where they certainly are far from quiet. I sit right by one in the interim space -- and it's used a lot, mind you -- so I'm pretty much 'whatever' about it. Printers make noise when printing, but as we don't print that much at home, it's no big deal...)
