Practice and Minions! - A Day Off...

So I have my day off today which means I'll spend an hour or so at the shop in the early, early morning but then I will be able to start my errands and I have lots of them. One of the top things on my list is a new printer. My old printer, the second of its vintage that I got for free years ago when I purchased some digital cameras at a store that no longer exists, doesn't seem to play nicely with my new computer. The quality of print is really bad, the speed - well, the speed just isn't. *sigh* This was an expense I hadn't been expecting and I'm not thrilled.

I'm looking at getting the Epson Workforce WF-3540 all-in-one Printer,
Copier, Scanner, Fax. The price is right and it has the specs that I need.
BUT...just look at it. It's HUGE! *sigh* I really would love a smaller machine
that could do the same things...

I spent quite a while researching all-in-one printers because I really want a good scanner. It's been years since I've had a quality scanner and I really need one, especially if I ever retire and need to sell things through Ebay, Etsy and/or Artfire. I photograph a lot of things, but some things are easier to scan and - even more important - faster to scan. I'm worried about how large the printer that I would like is, so I cut a piece of cardboard to meet the footprint and I'll put it at my printer station today to see if it will fit reasonably or not. I have a four-drawer unit that I would hate to sacrifice so I'm crossing my fingers.

We love minions!

Then standard errands like grocery shopping, office supplies, my weekly conversation with Aearwen, an event that I always look forward to immensely, and also - just for today - purchasing my movie ticket for tonight because....YES.....Chickie and I are going to see Despicable Me 2 tonight. MINIONS!!!! Chickie is my preferred movie partner for silly movies - animated and fun. No deep thoughts, no angst or deep passions - just fun. Our history of seeing movies together goes back to when she worked for me at my Mall of America store and we would catch a movie after I closed the shop for the night. The minute I saw the previews for Despicable Me 2 (and had double-checked to make sure that DH didn't want to see it with me first) I turned to Chickie and asked, "Minions?" Am immediate "Well, DUH!" was her response and we were off and running. We're catching the 7:00 pm show tonight and I can hardly wait.

This photo is from 1993. Since that time a paved causeway has been
built that has helped access for tourists and pilgrims. It almost
looks like Hogwarts School of Wizardry perched in the rocks, doesn't it?

And in news of Le Tour de France, today is an AMAZING stage - an individual Time Trial of 33 km ending up at Mont Saint-Michel. I've seen pictures of this amazing island, the passage to which was controlled by the tides and the seas for hundreds of years, in books and on-line for a long time. It's an amazing place that caught my imagination in ways similar to my love of the large Buddhist monasteries clinging to the mountainsides in Nepal and Tibet and the large cathedrals of the Gothic era that are sprinkled throughout Europe do. There's something magical about Mont Saint-Michel and I'm really looking forward to seeing this stage.