So Tom and I won't be online tomorrow, what with the threat of that annoying April 1 computer worm. We'll turn off the modem/router thingy and unplug everything computer-related, etc. And we'll even take a little money from the ATM today. Just in case.

It's sad, really, that there are people out there who create these viruses and probably find the whole high-tech crime thing fun and exciting.

Last week I had to go 24 hours or more without using the computer because we had a sort of ad virus and, since he was working night shift, Tom didn't have time to fix it. And actually? It was rather pleasant not having computer access. Those occasional breaks remind me of what life was like before all this. It reminded me to stay balanced, too.

On his way home from work last night, Tom bought another tractor, one for only $20. Sigh. The seller will even deliver it for him on Friday, though Tom said this morning that he'll give the guy an extra $20, because after all, that's a lot of trouble to go to for only twenty. Maybe Tom can retire and just sell tractors full time. Maybe it would behoove me to just accept his love for them, especially since I'll now be living with 6 of them. Again. Especially since Tom subscribes to two tractor magazines, reads about tractors online, has fat binders crammed with tractor information and dreams about tractors at night.

A girl should realize when she's losing battles.

Making threats and begging Tom to stop bringing tractors home certainly hasn't worked and you'd think after 30 years I could remember the lessons I learned long ago. Namely, nagging nearly always backfires. Nagging makes the other person want to do the opposite of what you say.

I've beheld miracles when I stop nagging. When I stopped getting after Tom to pick up his clothes, he began picking them up. When I stopped telling him to put his dishes in the sink, he began putting them in the sink, himself. There are more examples, but you get the idea.

Nagging, I think, is a sign that I don't believe God can get through to Tom. It's as though--by nagging--I'm acting like Holy Spirit Junior, except that the Holy Spirit does not raise His voice and get ugly (though He, too, can be pretty darn insistent).

But He does speak in a soft voice and if my loud one keeps blaring, then that could make it harder for Tom to hear the One who he should be listening to the most. So I guess it makes lots of sense, all those times I've watched Tom change after I gave-up trying to change him. Maybe only then was he able to hear that still, small voice.... only after I switched off that blaring Nagging Siren.

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So did you hear we're supposed to avoid pistachios now? Always something...

Here's a Peek...

... at what I've been doing today. I've been painting, though the color appears darker here than in real life (once again I'm having lighting issues). But anyway, I love this new spicy mustard thing I've got going, although it took me forever to get the color right. In the past I've had a sort of mysterious gift for mixing my own paint--today there was no mysterious anything. No, just tons of trial and error, dumping one can of paint into another, and painting a bunch of test patches on the wall.

For now, I'm leaving the blue sponge-painted and stenciled part above the window. We'll see if it remains. Didn't want to so quickly paint over my hard work from months ago.

But anyway, this color is so much warmer than my previous light-blue and so next winter our dining room will not resemble a room right out of the Snow Queen's castle. :)

For months I've known what color I want to paint our dining room and living room, but I keep walking out of hardware stores because I just couldn't find the right 'autumn gold'. 

Or the price of paint was scandalous. Or I needed more time to decide. Or more likely, I just wanted to decide alone without Tom standing nearby, waiting for me to make a decision. During our long winter I never did drive to a hardware store or Walmart alone--I hardly drove anywhere alone. Unfortunately, I shop best when all by my self.

So finally this morning--hooray!--I drove through the sunny countryside to Walmart. I just knew this would be The Day when I'd discover my autumn gold paint and in the Oops Paint Section as well (Why not believe big?). 

And guess what? Before I even knelt down, I spied that perfect little dot of paint on top of the can. The perfect shade of a dark autumn gold, darker than I need, which is a great thing because now I can stretch the paint and mix it with white, creating more than just one gallon. (Always, we've got white paint around the house, but then, doesn't everyone?)

And the paint was only $6.34 for the whole gallon. Love that. And no, it's not a less-toxic kind. I seem to vacillate, especially lately, between saving money and risking my health. Sometimes the penny-pincher wins, other times the tree-hugging, health nut does. 

Today it was the penny pincher. Alas.

Anyway, great fun, for as I said, I just knew my paint would be there waiting for me. And it was.  I whispered, "Thank-you," many times while I rolled my cart away.

It's exciting to walk in faith and expectation of good things, even for just a simple can of paint.



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